Tag Archives: Stem repairs

A Good Smoker

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Next on the chopping block is an unnamed, apple-shaped pipe I acquired in a lot from France. My customer was looking for a simple, modest pipe — nothing fancy, but a good smoker. In his opinion, this one seemed to fit the bill quite nicely.  Clearly, it had been well-loved, as it arrived with a dirty inner tube, plenty of dents, marks and a burn on the rim. Interestingly, this pipe had an orific button at the end of the stem, a feature that apparently disappeared by the 1930s, so it must be around a hundred years old. For more information on the orifice button, take the time to read Steve’s interesting article on the subject. The only markings were on the left side of the shank: Bruyère [over] Garantie which translates to ‘Genuine Briar’. The words Bruyère Garantie on a pipe are the bane of my pipe restoration existence. They are found on a plethora of different pipes, usually without any other identification. Ugh. One comment on the old Pipes Magazine forums confirms exactly what my meagre research has uncovered:

“Lots of French and German pipes, even pre-war ones, were given the label “Bruyere Garantie.” At least the ones I’ve seen for sale were listed as being from the 1920s and 30s. But I suspect that is a genuine date for those because many of them had horn stems, which are much rarer in post-war pipes and some of them definitely had an Art Deco/Art Nouveau look about them as well as old-fashioned rounded buttons.” — pitchfork

Well, time to get to work! I started by sending the inner tube for a soak in some lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. I let it sit for several hours, cleaned it off and gave it a quick polish. Good as new! Next, I wiped the stem with Murphy’s Oil Soap on some cotton pads, then took a BIC lighter and ‘painted’ the stem with its flame to lift the bite marks. This did scarcely anything to fix the damage, but I would worry about that later. Then I cleaned out the inside with pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. Fortunately, it wasn’t overly dirty, and it only needed a handful of pipe cleaners. Next, the stem went for an overnight soak in the Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover. The following day, I cleaned all of the de-oxidizing mess off with alcohol, pipe cleaners, et cetera. The oxidation had migrated to the surface and would be fairly straightforward to remove. I scrubbed with SoftScrub on some cotton pads to remove the leftover oxidation. I built up the bite marks on the stem with black cyanoacrylate adhesive and let them fully cure. Following that, I sanded the adhesive down with 220- and 400-grit sandpapers to meld seamlessly into the stem. I then used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to bring out the lovely black lustre on the stem, with some Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil in between each pad scrubbing.   Now for the stummel. Firstly, I decided to ream out the bowl. I used the PipNet Reamer to remove the built-up cake and followed that with 220-grit sandpaper taped to a dowel to eliminate as much as I could. I took the chamber down to bare briar, as I wanted to ensure there were no hidden flaws in the wall. I also took this opportunity to wash the stummel with Murphy’s Oil Soap and remove as much grime as I could. Following this, of course, I cleaned out the insides with the requisite pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. Now I could address the burn on the rim. I took some oxalic acid, used several Q-tips, and rubbed. The burn improved slightly, but it needed some more help, so I took a solid wooden sphere, wrapped a piece of 220-grit sandpaper around it, and sanded the inner edge of the rim. This helped to both remove the burn and maintain the beveled edge of the rim. The top edge of the rim was sufficiently even, so no extra sanding (topping) was needed.The century-old patina was nice enough that it didn’t need a new stain so I simply finished it up by sanding with my Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit). Then applying some Before & After Restoration Balm added that je ne sais quoi which brings out the wood’s beauty.   In fact, the photo above shows a bit of burn remaining on the inner edge of the bowl. Although I don’t have photos, I did address this and the final product was much improved.

Finally, it was off for a trip to the buffer. A dose of White Diamond and a few coats of carnauba wax were just what this pipe needed. This is a handsome pipe with a classic look and feels very comfortable in hand. The lovely shine made the wood very attractive, and I know that the new owner will enjoy smoking it for many years to come. I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe as much as I did restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Replacing a Shattered Shank Extension Stanwell 643 Rhodesian

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe really caught our attention with the variegated finish on the bowl – both smooth and sandblast. The orange/apricot acrylic shank extension looked great with the briar. Jeff picked it up from an antique mall on 05/10/22 in Astoria, Oregon, USA. The bowl had some interesting grain on both the smooth portion and the sandblast portion. The straight line transition is sharp and clear. There was a lot of dust and debris in the grooves of the blast and there was a thick cake in the bowl. There was a thick overflow of lava on the rim top and the inner edge of the bowl. The interior of the pipe was filthy with oils and tars. The acrylic shank extension had a lot of cracks and fissures but still appeared to be solid. The stem had a Stanwell Crown S on the top of the saddle. It was oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The pipe was a real mess but it was also a beauty. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on it. He took photos of the bowl and rim top as well as the stem to show the general condition of the pipe. You can see the thickness of the cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top. The bowl and rim are a mess. There is also a lot of grim ground into the finish that is visible in the photos. The stem photos show the oxidation, calcification and the tooth marks on chatter on both sides. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a sense of the finish and shape of the bowl. It is an interesting ¾ bent Rhodesian if held right and otherwise appears like a scoop. It really has some unique beauty to it. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank and it is clear and readable as noted above. The shank extension has a lot of cracks and fissures that are hard to capture in the photo but they were there and they were problematic.  Jeff had done a great cleanup on the pipe. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the bowl exterior with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the grime on the finish of the bowl and the lava from the rim top. Upon scrubbing it the shank extension shattered in his hands. It was destroyed and not fixable. He rinsed the bowl under running water. He carefully dried it off with a soft cloth. He cleaned the internals and externals of the stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water and cleaned out the airway in the stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. I took photos of the pipe as I saw it when I put it on the table. You can see how badly Humpty Dumpty had come apart and there was no putting him back together again – no matter how many hands tried. It was going to have to be a replacement.In order to work on the pipe I need to remove the debris around the nub that had held the acrylic shank extension. I used a small file and a knife to scrape away the debris. I used small needle files to flatten the face of the shank and to clean up the edges of the nub. I wiped it down repeatedly with acetone on a cotton pad to remove the glue on the briar. I also went through my box of parts and found a nice black acrylic piece that would work well. It had the same diameter airway in it as the nub and should work well once it is finished. I decided to use WeldBond white all purpose glue to attach the acrylic to the briar nub. I set it aside to dry for 30 minutes. Once glue had set I checked the bond for stability and found that it would not hold well. I redid the glue with a clear CA glue and set it aside to cure. This time the bond was very strong and stable and was ready for the shaping. I used a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to start the process of shaping the shank extension. If I continued to sand it the shaping would take a very long time.   To speed up the process I decided to use a Dremel and sanding drum to shape the acrylic shank extension. I used it to taper the end that sat against the shank and upward to the shank end. It was looking good when I finished with the Dremel. I sanded out the Dremel sanding marks on the acrylic with220 grit sandpaper. I continued the shaping of the extension to flow smoothly from the shank end. The shape was what I was aiming for when I started the process. I put the stem on the shank and took some photos of the pipe with the newly shaped shank extension. I liked what I was seeing. Before I started polishing the shank end I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage on the inside of the rim edge. Once I was finished it looked much better.I polished the smooth portion of the briar and the acrylic shank extension with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded both with1500-12000 grit sanding pads and wiped the sanded portions with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris.   I polished the acrylic shank extension with Before & After Stem Polish (Fine and Extra Fine). I buffed it with a soft cloth after each of the polishes and the acrylic began to take on a shine. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes, then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain stood out on the briar. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the surface of the stem on both sides with the flame of a Bic Lighter to lift some of the tooth marks and chatter. I was able to lift some of them but there were several deep ones on each side available. I filled in those that remained with some clear CA glue. Once the repair cured I sanded the repair smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the surface. I stated the polishing process with 400 grit sandpaper.I touched up the Stanwell logo Crown S on the top of the stem with some Rub’n Buff Antique Gold. I worked it into the logo with a tooth pick. I let it sit for a few minutes and then buffed it off with a soft cloth. I worked over the stamp with a won 1500 grit micromesh pad and the stamp looked very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I finished the polishing with Before & After Polishes – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final rub down with Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. This Stanwell Sandblast/Smooth Mixed Finish Bent Rhodesian with a replacement acrylic shank extension and vulcanite saddle stem is a beautifully grained pipe with a flowing shape that looks great . The rich browns, reds and blacks of the contrasting stain makes the grain come alive with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Stanwell Bent Rhodesian really is a beauty and fits nicely in the hand and looks very good. 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 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.08 ounces/59 grams. This pipe will soon be on the Danish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store if you would like to add it to your collection. It was an enjoyable challenge. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Sprucing up a Peterson’s Sterling Made in Ireland 406 Prince

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen to work on is a Peterson’s Sterling Prince. The pipe was purchased on 06/24/22 from an online auction in Manorville, New York, USA. It has a Sterling Silver band around the shank that is tarnished and oxidized. The bowl heavily caked with a moderate lava overflow on the rim top. The inner edge of the bowl had some damage but also had cake on the edges. The outer edge looked to be in good condition. The finish on the bowl was filthy with grime ground into the surface but the mixed grain was quite nice. The stem was lightly oxidized, calcified and also has tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The pipe was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] Sterling. On the right side it is stamped with the Made in Ireland in two lines followed by the number 406 identifying the shape. It is an interesting pipe. That should clean up very well. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is heavily caked and the rim top and edges have a thick lava overflow on the edges and top of the bowl. The stem is oxidized, calcified and has tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside near the button. Jeff took some photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the grain that was around this bowl. It is a nice looking pipe under the grime on the outside of the bowl.    He took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is readable in the photos below and is as noted above. He also took a photo of the band.   I checked on Pipephil’s website to see what I could learn about the stamping on the pipe. I found the following information that I quote:

The country of manufacture stamp changed from “Made in Eire” to “Made in Ireland” (In circle) about 1945. Later (1947-49) it became “MADE IN IRELAND” (block letters) stamped in one or two lines (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-peterson.html).

I turned to Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes to see what I could garner from that information. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson#1950_-_1989_The_Republic_Era). In a section on

Prior to 1920 it was rare for a country of origin to be stamped on the pipe, just Peterson’s Dublin on the band. After 1921/22 if it is stamped “MADE IN IRELAND” and the “Made in” is stacked over “Ireland” or “MADE IN EIRE” or several other forms, it was made between 1922 and 1938. A considerable number of Peterson pipes were stamped “Irish Free State”. From about 1930 to 1949, most of the pipes (those which were stamped) were stamped “Made in Ireland”.” If the stamp reads “MADE IN IRELAND” in a circle, the pipe was made between 1939 and 1948. These are all “prerepublic” pipes.

I then turned to the book I should have consulted first, The Peterson Pipe, by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg. On page 155 I found some information on the line.

Peterson’s US distributor during the early Republic era was Rogers Imports, Inc., a New York firm whose catalogs offered all varieties of smoker’s products. Rogers was the exclusive wholesale dealer for several prominent European pipe manufacturers, they also marketed accessories under their own name. On behalf of Kapp & Peterson they registered the Killarney, Shamrock and Sterling trademarks with the US Patent Office in the 1950s, and their catalogs also featured the System, Premier Selection and Supreme.

On page 156-157 in the same book there is a catalogue page with the Sterling shown on it. It sold for $7.50 in 1953. It read:

As the name implies the Sterling quality of this fine pipe is distinguished in a careful selection of its fine Mediterranean Bruyere, its careful workmanship and sparkling finish. Banded with a Sterling Silver band – a Hallmark of quality – the pipe is available in a handsome natural or dark rich walnut finish. Patent P-lip stem. Individually boxed.

With that information in hand I knew what I was dealing with in terms of the stamping on the pipe. It is a late Pre-republic era or early Republic era pipe. The Made in Ireland in two lines stamp on the right side of the shank tells me it was made between 1922-1938.

Now, on to the restoration of this beautifully grained Peterson’s Sterling 406 Prince. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. 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 Before & After Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it  arrived. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top looked good. There was some damage on the inner edge with burn damage and some darkening that was heavier on the front of the bowl. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the tooth marks and chatter on the surface near the button. I took photos of the stamping on sides of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above and is clear and readable.  The stamping on the band is also visible. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good looking pipe and has Nice mixed grain around the bowl. I decided to start the process by addressing the damage on the rim top and the inner edge of the bowl. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to sand the top and to give the edge a slight bevel and clean up the darkening and the damage on the edge. When I finished there was still damage on the right front that needed a little more work. I used a wooden ball and 220 grit sandpaper to increase the angle of the bevel and to even out the edges. It is looking much better. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl surface down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. Once I finished the exterior of the briar looked much better and had taken on a shine.  I paused in the polishing at this point to touch up the stain on the rim top. I used a Cherry stain pen and was able to match the rest of the bowl. I then picked up the polishing again with the last three micromesh pads.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 15 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 the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able lift many of them. I filled in the remaining marks with clear CA glue. I set the stem aside to cure. Once it cured I flattened the repairs with 220 grit sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. As usual at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when it is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the Made In Ireland Peterson’s Sterling 406 Prince back together. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl 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. I polished the silver with a jeweler’s cloth. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The grain really pops with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl. This Peterson’s Sterling Prince was a great pipe to spruce up. It is a very comfortable pipe to hold in the hand. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ 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 37grams/1.31 ounces. This pipe will be going on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipe Makers Section if you would like to add it to your collection and be the first to smoke it. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

Fresh Life for a Republic Era Peterson’s Tankard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is a Peterson’s Rusticated Tankard pipe that was purchased on 05/10/22 from an antique mall in Astoria, Oregon, USA. This Tankard has a dark coloured stain on a very rustic finish around the bowl sides and short shank. It is also incredibly dirty. The Tankard had a nickel ferrule on the shank that was in great condition. The finish on the bowl sides was dirty. It was stamped on the heel of the bowl and read Peterson’s [over] Tankard. Under that it is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland in three lines. The nickel ferrule is stamped K&P over three symbols – a Shamrock, a recumbent Lion, and a Tower. There was a thick cake in the bowl and thick lava overflowing over onto the rim top and the inner edge of the bowl. The stem was oxidized, calcified and had light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the promise that we see in this pipe. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is heavily caked and the rim top and edges have a thick lava overflow filling in the rustication. The stem is oxidized, calcified and has light tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. Jeff took some photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the amazing rustication that was around this bowl. It is a nice looking pipe.    He took photos of the underside of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is readable in the photo below and is as noted above. He also took a photo of the band. I am including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

1950 – 1989 The Republic Era – From 1950 to the present time, the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

During the 1950’s and 60’s the Kapp & Peterson Company was still in the ownership of the Kapp family. However 1964 saw the retiral of the company Managing Director Frederick Henry(Harry) Kapp.

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Tankard Pipe. On page 313 it had the following information what they called the Specialty Briars. I have summarized the various pipes that were part of the Specialty Briars below and have also included the description of the Tankard itself.

The Tankard pipe was part of a line of Specialty Briars (1945-) which was a term used to describe the following lines: Lightweight, Junior, Churchwarden, Barrel, Tankard, Calabash, Belgique  and Giant.

Tankard (1945-) P-lip or fishtail mouthpiece, smooth or rustic finish, sandblast offered in 1970

I knew that I was dealing with a Republic Era pipe made between 1950 and the present. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

 Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. 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 Before & After Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it  arrived. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top looked very good. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks on the surface near the button. I took a photo of the stamping on the heel of the bowl. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable.  I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good looking pipe and has a rugged rustication around the bowl. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process.   I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able lift many of them. I filled in the remaining marks with clear CA glue. I set the stem aside to cure. Once it cured I flattened the repairs with 220 grit sandpaper.   I polished out the light tooth marks on the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine.  I am excited to finish this Republic Era Peterson’s Special Series Tankard. I put the 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 buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I also hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the rugged rustication all around it. Added to that the polished nickel ferrule and the thin black vulcanite stem was beautiful. This rugged Classic Peterson’s Tankard is nice looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: 5/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 23 grams/.78 ounces. This pipe will be going on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Transforming a Sad Looking Comoy’s Second “The Golden Arrow”

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Blog by Paresh Deshpande

It’s been a while that I had worked on any of my inherited pipes and decided to fish out one from the last remaining large box that I had received a few years back. The pipe that I selected to work on is a very sad and tired looking Canadian with an oval shank that just shouted as being an English made pipe.

The entire stummel is covered in dull grey patches of water stain, dust and grime through which some great cross grains over the front, aft and shank surface, awaits exposure. The pipe is stamped upper flat surface of the oval shank as “The” over “GOLDEN ARROW” over “LONDON PIPE”. The underside of the shank is stamped, starting from bowl end to shank end, with shape code “296” followed by “MADE IN ENGLAND” over “BY” over “COMOY’S”. The COMOY’S stamp is in simple block letters without serif, letter C is the same size as the rest of the letters and with an apostrophe before letter S. The stem is without any stem logo.   I have a keen interest in studying and collecting English made pipes and in this quest, I have read up as much material as I could lay my hands on and still continue on this path till date. Pipedia.org has detailed information on the origins of Comoy’s brand; it’s dating guidelines and shape chart, all aspects well supported with pictures of pipes, stampings and old flyers/ catalogues. Here is the link to the article (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Comoy%27s)

After refreshing my knowledge and based on the stamping on the pipe, I know that I am working on a Comoy’s Seconds from the 1950-1960s. This is based on the way COMOY’S is stamped, firstly, the stamp is in simple block letters without any serifs, secondly, the letter C is the same size as the rest of the letters and lastly, presence of an apostrophe before the letter S.

Furthermore, G L Pease, in his research on Comoy’s states that “Sometime in the 60’s, it the serifs were returned to the “COMOY’S” lettering, though, as mentioned above, the typeface is not as fancy as the earlier one”. (http://www.glpease.com/Pipes/Comoy.html)

At the end of the article on Comoy’s on pipedia.org, is a link to Comoy’s shape number chart. The chart tells me that the shape # 296 as seen on this pipe corresponds to a large straight Canadian with oval shank/ stem.

With the provenance of the pipe now established, I moved ahead with my initial visual inspection.

Initial Visual Inspection
The stummel is covered in dirty grayish white water stains and the surface appears dull and lifeless. The first look would dissuade anyone from even considering it for restoration. However underneath all that grime and stains, lurked a solid beautiful 60/ 70 year old English pipe. The stummel surface has a couple of scratches and dings/ dents. The chamber has a decent layer of uneven carbon cake with the lava overflowing over the rim top surface. Under the coat of lava, the rim top surface appears uneven. The inner rim edge appears uneven and charred. The mortise is filthy and shows accumulation of ash and oils and gunk. The smells of old tobacco inside the chamber and mortise are strong and acrid. It seems that my grand old man was out to prove to the world that the tapered vulcanite bite proof stem was anything but bite proof. The stem has some seriously deep tooth indentations on either surface in the bite zone. The stem would require major efforts to reconstruct the bite zone, including the buttons. Following pictures will give you a general idea of the condition of the pipe before I start my work on resurrecting the pipe. Detailed Inspection
The chamber has a decent layer of cake that is even all around. The condition of the walls of the chamber will be ascertained once the cake has been evened out. Given the solid feel and even color of the stummel, the probability of serious damage like a burn out or deep heat fissures to the walls is a distant possibility. The rim top surface is uneven and signs of having been knocked against hard edges is evident at 12 o’clock and 4 o’clock directions where the surface is chipped (enclosed in green). The beveled inner rim edge appears charred in 12 o’clock to 9 o’clock and 4 o’clock to 6 o’clock direction (enclosed in red) and is uneven along the complete edge. The outer rim edge has a few minor dings and chipped surfaces and should be easily addressed by sanding. The smells of old tobacco are pretty strong and would need to be addressed.The entire stummel is covered in dirty grey white water stains and grime, a result of the pipe being stored in some damp place for years. The stummel appears to be dull and lifeless beneath all the grime and water stains. However, beautiful cross grains can be seen along the surface underneath the grime. There a number of small scratches and road rash marks on the surface can be seen, notably over the left side of the bowl (marked in yellow). The shank is dirty and clogged with old ash, oils and tars.   The twin bore tapered vulcanite stem is deeply oxidized and has significantly deep bite marks on both upper and lower surfaces of the stem. The buttons too are damaged and rendered out of shape due to the bite marks. The airflow through the stem is laborious and could be either due to the compression of the airway due to the bite marks or could be due to accumulation of old oils, tar and gunk in the airway. I have purchased GORILLA CA glue as I had read rave reviews about it and am excited to try it out.    The Process
The first repair that I decided to tackle was the damaged stem. Before I could proceed with actual repairs, I cleaned the stem internals first. Using a thin shank brush and anti-oil dish washing soap, I cleaned the stem airway. The airway was filthier than I had imagined as can be judged from the following pictures. I took me a considerably long time, but eventually the airway was clean. I ran a couple of pipe cleaners through the stem to confirm that the airway was clean and also to dry it out. With the stem internals now clean, I moved to 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 it’s further removal a breeze, while the minor oxidation is eliminated to a very great extent. I usually dunk stems of 5-7 pipes that are in-line for restoration and the THE GOLDEN ARROW is marked in yellow arrow. I generally allow the stems to soak in this solution overnight for the solution to do its work.With the stem soaking in the deoxidizer solution, I moved on to reaming the chamber with my PipNet pipe reamer. I started the reaming process with head size 2 of the PipNet reamer blade and progressed through to head size 3. I used my fabricated knife to remove cake from areas inaccessible to the reamer blades and completed the process of removing the cake by sanding the walls smooth with a folded piece of 180 grit sandpaper. I wiped the chamber with a cotton swab wetted with alcohol to clean the residual carbon dust. The chamber walls are solid and a few minor thin heat veins are visible on the aft and right side of the walls of the chamber. I shall give the chamber a bowl coating as a precautionary measure against future damage. Next, I cleaned the mortise by scraping out all the dried oils and tars from the walls with a dental tool. I further cleaned the mortise using bristled and regular pipe cleaners dipped in alcohol.Continuing with the internal cleaning of the chamber and mortise, I subjected it to a salt and alcohol bath. I used cotton balls which is an at par substitute as I have realized over the years. I 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 and further into the chamber. Thereafter, I packed the chamber with cotton balls to about quarter of an inch below the rim inner edge and 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/ tars from the chamber and mortise and loosened out any residual cake and tar build up, fulfilling it’s intended task. I removed the cotton balls and ran pipe cleaners through the mortise to clean out all the loosened tars and gunk. Using my fabricated tool, I scraped out the entire loosed gunk from the mortise and further cleaned it with alcohol and q-tips. The large blobs of now moistened gunk that was removed from the mortise should give the readers an idea of how filthy the mortise was when I started the process of cleaning. The chamber now smells clean and fresh. I set the stummel to dry out naturally.    I cleaned the external surface of the stummel with undiluted Murphy’s oil soap and a hard bristled toothbrush. I cleaned the smooth rim top surface with the soap and Scotch Brite pad. The prominent dip on outer rim edge in the 12 o’clock direction is now clearly visible (marked in red). I thoroughly cleaned the mortise with shank brush and anti-oil dish washing soap. The mortise is now thoroughly cleaned and fresh. With the internal and external surface of the stummel now nicely cleaned, I fished out the stem that had been soaking in the Before and After deoxidizing solution for nearly 24 hours. I first scrubbed the stem surface with a Scotch Brite pad. 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.Continuing with the stem refurbishing, I heated the bite zone with the flame of a lighter to raise the tooth indentations to the surface. Though the results were not what were expected, the vulcanite was raised a little. The button edges and deeper tooth indentations on either surface of the stem were filled with a mix of CA superglue and activated charcoal powder and set aside for the fill to cure. I would like to bring out here that I had purchased a new tube of Gorilla Superglue gel after reading rave reviews and it was this glue that I had used to prepare the mix to fill in the tooth indentations. That this was a bad purchase for me personally became amply evident later during the restoration process. While the stem fills were set aside to cure, I addressed the damage to the rim top surface of the stummel by topping it on a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I frequently checked the progress being made as I had no desire to lose any briar estate than was absolutely necessary. Once satisfied with the result, I wiped the rim top surface with a moist cloth. The uneven darkened rim top had been addressed completely, however, the beveled inner rim edge was still dark and the chamber was still slightly out of round (though greatly reduced) with slight charring visible in the 12 o’clock direction. I addressed this issue by simply running a piece of 220 grit sand paper along the inner rim edge bevel, till the darkening was eliminated.Next, I addressed all the dings over the stummel surface by steaming them out by heating my fabricated knife on a candle and placing it on a wet towel covering the dents. The generated steam pulls the dents to the surface leaving behind a slightly discolored and uneven patch. I evened out the discoloration and stummel surface by sanding the entire surface with a piece of 320 grit sandpaper. At this stage in restoration, I turned over the stummel to Abha, my wife, for her to work her magic in polishing the stummel while I turned my attention to the stem repairs.

The stem repair fills had cured nicely and I moved ahead with the process of filing and shaping the button end with a flat head needle file. For a better blending, I further sanded the entire stem with 220. At this stage, the fills appear as ugly grey patches that are very uneven. I hoped that further sanding with progressively higher grit sandpapers would help in blending of the repairs.I continued to dry sand the entire stem with a folded piece of 400 followed by 600 and 800 grit sandpaper and further progressed to wet sanding with 1000, 1500 and 2000 grit sand papers. However, the fills still appear dirty grey and a closer look showed the entire filled surface peppered with numerous tiny air pockets. I refilled the patches with a fresh mix of CA superglue gel and activated charcoal and set the stem aside.During the time that I was struggling with the stem repairs, Abha completed the polishing of the stummel by wet and dry sanding the surface with 1500 to 12000 grit micromesh pads. She massaged a small quantity of B & A Restoration balm and set it aside for 10 minutes for the briar to rehydrate. Thereafter, she gave a rigorous hand rub using a microfiber cloth. The appearance of the stummel at this point is truly satisfying. Once the stem refills had cured completely, I went through the complete process of sanding and shaping the fills using a needle file followed by sanding with sandpapers as described above. Though the finish is better this time around, the coloration of the patch still remains a light shade of grey and easily discernible against the rest of the stem surface. I would like to inform our esteemed readers that I had to go through the complete repairs six times before this attempt and for the sake of brevity, I deliberately kept it short. Yet, the results are not what I expected and have been achieving consistently with other brands of superglue. There was only one more issue that needed to be addressed and one that could not be ignored, being a functional issue. After I had reamed and sanded the chamber walls, I had observed very minor and superficial web of thin heat fissures/ pits all along the chamber walls. I addressed this by mixing activated charcoal and plain yogurt to a thicker consistency, just enough that it would spread easily and applied it evenly all along the chamber walls after inserting a folded pipe cleaner through the draught hole to keep it open. Once dry and set, this will not only protect the walls but also aid in faster buildup of cake.   To apply the finishing touches, I mounted a cotton cloth buffing wheel on to my hand held rotary tool and applied a coat of Blue Diamond to the stummel and the stem to polish out the minor scratches. With a cotton buffing wheel that I use for carnauba wax, I applied a coat of carnauba wax and continued to work on it till the complete coat of wax had been polished out. I mounted a clean cotton cloth buffing wheel and gave the entire pipe a once over buff. 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 beautiful and is ready to be added to my collection of inherited pipes. Thanks to all readers of rebornpipes who have spared a moment of their invaluable time in reading through this write up and as is always, your suggestions and advice are always welcome. P.S. – The opinion that I have expressed about the Gorilla CA superglue Gel is my personal opinion based on my personal experience. There are definitely others who have had fantastic results using this product, but not me.

Resurrecting A Loewe “Sloane”

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Blog by Paresh Deshpande

The next pipe is also from my inheritance and is similar to the “THE GOLDEN ARROW” that I had worked on earlier. This too is a large Canadian with an oval shank and flat stem. The stummel is covered in dirt and grime accumulated over the long years of uncared for storage. Through all the grime, beautiful cross grains and swirls can be seen and are waiting to be unraveled. This pipe is stamped on the top flat surface of the oval shank as “L & Co” in a lozenge while the right side of the shank edge is stamped as “LOEWE” over “LONDON. W”. The bottom of the oval shank is stamped “SLOANE”. The stem is sans any stampings.  I have worked on Loewe & Co. pipes before and also have many in my personal collection and I am fairly well versed with this brand. However, I visited pipedia.org and refreshed my memory with the history of the pipe, dating guide and shape names. The 1930s Loewe catalog is an interesting read and also has a  pipe stamped exactly as the one currently on my work table. Here is the link to the catalog: (https://pipedia.org/images/8/88/Loewe_pipes_1930.pdf).

However, further down on pipedia.org is a link to the 1967 Loewe catalog and it has no mention of the shape name SLOANE!

I have reproduced the details relevant to dating this pipe as found on pipedia.org below.

1920-1955 middle Haymarket era

Left shank: – L & Co. (in oval)

Right shank: – Loewe London W.

Underside of shank: – shape name Made in England (encircled) this may just have been on export pipes

*Prior to 1955 Loewe had no series, stamping only the shape name on the underside of the shank.

Thus, the pipe currently on my work table dates to pre-1955.

Initial Visual Inspection
The entire pipe is covered in dirt and grime and is sticky to the touch. There are dark patches on either sides of the bowl that would need to be checked thoroughly. There is a thick layer of cake in the chamber with lava overflowing the rim top surface. The inner rim edge is chipped and damaged giving the chamber an out of round appearance. The outer rim edge too has a number of minor chipped surfaces. The mortise is clogged and the vulcanite stem is deeply oxidized with deep tooth indentations in the bite zone. The button edges are damaged due to bite marks and would need to be rebuilt and reshaped. The pictures below would give you the general idea as to the condition of the pipe. Detailed Inspection
The chamber has a thick layer of even cake with overflow of carbon over the rim top surface. The condition of this Loewe, like all other Loewe pipes that I have inherited, has seen extensive use. Such extensive use, without proper care and maintenance, may cause heat related issues along the chamber walls. Here, the condition of the chamber wall will be known once the cake is taken down to bare briar. The inner rim edge is uneven and has suspected charring at 6 o’clock direction and between 9 o’ clock to 11 o’ clock on the left and also between 1 o’ clock and 3 o’ clock directions on the right side. The inner rim damage is encircled in yellow. The outer rim edge too has not been spared any punishment. There are minor dents/ dings and chipped surfaces all along the outer rim edge, likely as a result of knocking against a hard surface to remove the dottle. The outer rim damage is encircled in red. The extent of the damage to the chamber walls and rim of this pipe will be clear once the cake is completely taken down to the bare briar and the rim top surface is free of all the accumulated crud. The ghost smell are very strong and would need to be addressed.The stummel surface is covered in dirt/ grime and feels sticky to the touch. The surface has darkened considerably on either side of the bowl (enclosed in pastel blue) and at the rear and would need to be examined up close once the stummel is thoroughly cleaned both internally as well as externally. I suspect there is a crack (encircled in green) on the right side of the bowl within the darkened area (or it could even be a scratch) and needs to be verified. However, beneath the dull grime layer, beautiful cross and bird’s eye grain await being brought to the fore. Heavy accumulation of old oils, tars, ash and gunk is seen in the mortise as expected. The tapered vulcanite stem is heavily oxidized and has deep bite marks on both the lower and upper surface in the bite zone. The button edges are deformed as a result of these tooth indentations and would need to be reconstructed. My last project had thrown up some bad experiences about the end results of using the Gorilla superglue that I had recently purchased and will try it out again this time around. If the results are not up to standard, this and the other tubes will find their way out the door. The slot and tenon end show presence of dried gunk and would need to be thoroughly cleaned. The Process
I started the process of restoration by first cleaning the stem internals with anti-oil dish cleaning soap and thin shank brushes. I scrubbed the stem surface with the soap using a Scotch Brite pad, firstly to rid the surface of old oils and gunk and secondly to remove the loose surface oxidation. I ran a couple of pipe cleaners through the stem airway to remove all the traces of soap and dry out the stem internals.Next, I moved to 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 it’s further removal a breeze while the minor oxidation is eliminated to a very great extent. I usually dunk stems of 5-7 pipes that are in-line for restoration and the LOEWE SLOANE is marked in blue arrow. I generally allow the stems to soak in this solution overnight for the solution to do its work.The next afternoon, Abha fished out the stem from the deoxidizer solution and scrubbed it with a Scotch Brite pad to get rid of the loosened oxidation from the surface. She followed this scrub with a second scrub using 0000 grade steel wool and this helped in further removal of raised oxidation from the surface and even out the minor scratches resulting from using the Scotch Brite pad. She rinsed the stem under warm running water to completely remove the solution from the airway and slot end. She ran a couple of pipe cleaners to remove the last traces of residual deoxidizer solution from the airway and dry out the airway.  With the external and internal cleaning of the stem completed, Abha handed over the stem to me to complete the repairs. Continuing with the stem refurbishing, I heated the bite zone with the flame of a lighter to raise the tooth indentations to the surface. Though the results were not what were expected, the vulcanite was raised a little leaving behind two deep tooth compressions on either surfaces. The button edges and deeper tooth indentations on either surfaces of the stem were filled with a mix of CA Gorilla superglue and activated charcoal powder and set aside for the fill to cure. I really hope that this time around I get better results with using this new CA glue. Once the stem fills had cured completely, I moved ahead with the process of filing and shaping the button end with a flat head needle file. For a better blending, I further sanded the entire stem with 220. However, my worst fears came true…..I saw grey patches with air pockets, just as I had observed earlier while working on The Golden Arrow. I think the Gorilla glue does not work for me and I shall discard it after I get my regular brand of superglue in next few days. I continued to dry sand the entire stem with a folded piece of 400 followed by 600 and 800 grit sandpaper and further progressed to wet sanding with 1000, 1500 and 2000 grit sand papers. However, the fills still appear dirty grey and a closer look showed the entire filled surface peppered with numerous tiny air pockets. I refilled the patches with a fresh mix of CA superglue gel and activated charcoal and set the stem aside. After the stem refills had cured completely, I went through the complete process of sanding and shaping the fills using a needle file followed by sanding with sandpapers as described above. Though the finish is better this time around, the coloration of the patch still remains a light shade of grey and easily discernible against the rest of the stem surface. It should be noted here that just like The Golden Arrow that I had restored earlier, I had to go through the complete repairs six times before this attempt and for the sake of brevity, I deliberately kept it short. Yet, the results are not what I expected and have been achieving consistently with other brands of superglue. I rubbed a small quantity of EVO into the stem surface and set it aside for the vulcanite to absorb and hydrate. With the stem repairs completed, save for the polishing cycle, I started with the stummel repairs. I started with reaming the chamber with my PipNet pipe reamer using head size 1 of the PipNet reamer blade and progressed through to head size 2. I used my fabricated knife to remove cake from areas inaccessible to the reamer blades and completed the process by sanding the walls smooth with a folded piece of 180 grit sandpaper. I wiped the chamber with a cotton swab wetted with alcohol to clean the residual carbon dust. The reasons for darkened sides of the bowl that I had noted during my detailed inspection were now evident. There are signs of charring to the walls of the chamber on the sides and at the bottom of the bowl. Also there are a few heat lines along the walls of the chamber. All these issues are indicated by green arrows.I gave a preliminary cleaning to the mortise and shank internals using q-tips and pipe cleaners dipped in alcohol. I shall continue with thorough cleaning of the shank internals during the external cleaning of the stummel. Next, I cleaned the external surface of the stummel with undiluted Murphy’s oil soap and a hard bristled toothbrush. I cleaned the smooth rim top surface with the soap and Scotch Brite pad. The darkened areas over both sides of the stummel and the rim top surface are now clean, exposing the gremlins hidden beneath the layer of dirt. I followed up the external cleaning of the stummel with internal cleaning of the mortise and shank using anti oil soap and shank brushes.  This external cleaning of the stummel has now clearly defined the suspected crack that I had noted during my detailed inspection (encircled in yellow). Also the internal cleaning of the chamber has brought the charring of the sides of the chamber walls to the fore (encircled in green). I now need to ascertain if this external crack is a direct result of the observed damage to the walls of the chamber. If it is so, it’s a clear sign of this crack developing into a burn out due to the thinning of the chamber walls.   Continuing with the internal cleaning of the chamber and mortise and also to ascertain if the external crack over the stummel surface is a result of the damage to the chamber walls, I subjected it to a salt and alcohol bath. I used cotton balls which is an at par substitute as I have realized over the years. I 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 and further into the chamber. Thereafter, I packed the chamber with cotton balls to about quarter of an inch below the rim inner edge and 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 observed that the alcohol had seeped out from the crack (encircled in yellow) as can be seen from the picture below. This needs to be addressed. However for now, 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/ tars from the chamber and mortise and loosened out any residual cake and tar build up, fulfilling its intended task. I removed the cotton balls and ran pipe cleaners through the mortise to clean out all the loosened tars and gunk. Using my fabricated tool, I scraped out the entire loosed gunk from the mortise and further cleaned it with alcohol and q-tips.While I was working on the stummel, Abha polished the stem by wet sanding the surface with 1500 to 12000 grit micromesh pads. She applied a little EVO to the stem surface for it to be absorbed in to the rubber. Though the grey repair patches are visible in the pictures, it is not so glaring in person.Staying with the stummel repairs, I first decided to stabilize the crack. I marked the end points of the cracks and drilled counter- holes using 1 mm drill bit mounted on a hand held rotary tool. I filled the crack and counter-holes with clear CA superglue and set it aside to cure.A while later, once the crack fills had sufficiently hardened; I addressed the rim top darkening and unevenness by topping the surface on a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I frequently checked the progress being made as I hate to lose briar more than what is absolutely necessary. The chamber now appears more out of round than before and would be addressed by creating a bevel over the inner rim edge.With a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper pinched between my forefinger and thumb, I imparted a nice bevel to the inner rim edge. This masked the out of round appearance of the chamber and also eliminated the minor charring over the edges.   Next, to protect and isolate the chamber walls from coming into direct contact with the burning tobacco and prevent a burn out, I coated the walls of the chamber with an even layer of J B Weld. J B Weld is a two-part epoxy Cold Weld in two tubes; hardener and steel which are mixed in two equal parts (ratio of 1:1) with hardening time of 5-6 minutes and complete curing time of 6-8 hours. I poured the contents of the two tubes on to a plastic sheet and mixed it well. I inserted a petroleum jelly coated regular pipe cleaner through the draught hole to prevent it from getting blocked due to the J B Weld mix. I applied this mix, as evenly as possible, over the entire chamber wall surface. I worked fast to ensure an even coat over the chamber walls before the weld could harden and set the stummel aside for the application to harden and cure overnight. The J B Weld coat had hardened completely by next day evening. I mounted a sanding drum onto my hand held rotary tool and setting the speed to half of the full RPM, I sanded the excess coat from the chamber walls. To further fine tune and keep the coat to a minimum thickness, I further sanded the coat with a 220 grit sand paper till I had a coat of a thickness that was just sufficient to protect the briar underneath. Here is how the chamber appeared at this stage.At this same stage, I also sanded and evened out the fills over the crack with a flat needle file and further matched it by sanding it with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. Unfortunately, I missed out on taking pictures of this process.

Abha completed the polishing of the stummel by wet sanding the surface with 1500 to 12000 grit micromesh pads. She wiped the stummel with a moist cloth in between the pads to gauge the progress being made. She massaged a small quantity of Before & After Restoration balm and set it aside for 10 minutes for the briar to rehydrate. Thereafter, she gave a rigorous hand rub using a microfiber cloth. The stummel now has a nice vibrant shine to it with the beautiful cross grains and bird’s eye grains resplendent in all their glory. I just can’t thank Abha enough for her help in polishing the stems and stummel of all the pipes that I restore. After I had protected the heel and the walls of the chamber with a coat of J B Weld, it was necessary to prevent this coat from coming into contact with the burning tobacco. I addressed this by mixing activated charcoal and plain yogurt to a thicker consistency, just enough that it would spread easily and applied it evenly all along the chamber walls after inserting a folded pipe cleaner through the draught hole to keep it open. Once dry and set, this will not only protect the walls but also aid in faster buildup of cake. I set the bowl aside for the bowl coat to cure for 72 hours.72 hours later, to apply the finishing touches, I mounted a cotton cloth buffing wheel onto my hand held rotary tool and applied a coat of Blue Diamond to the stummel and the stem to polish out the minor scratches. Next, I mounted a cotton cloth buffing wheel and setting the speed to ¼ of the full power, I applied a coat of carnauba wax over the stummel and the stem. I worked the complete pipe till the time all the wax was used up for polishing the stummel and the stem. The pipe now boasts of a beautiful and lustrous shine. I vigorously rubbed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine and also to clean away any residual wax that had been left behind. I am very happy with the way this beauty has turned out. P.S. – I am personally not happy with the way the stem repairs have turned out and will surely rework on it once the CA glue that I regularly use reaches me in next couple of weeks.  A big thank you to all the readers of this write up for sparing your valuable time and hope for your continued patronage. Until the next write up, be safe and healthy…

Restoring a Unique Jobey Designer Bent Egg Sitter

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table was purchased on 05/10/22 from an antique mall in Astoria, Oregon, USA. This unique Jobey has a flat base with a short tail that stabilizes the sitter. It has a rugged, finish that looks like a combination of sandblast and rustication (blastication) with lots of nooks and crannies in the briar. The top of the shank and the upper 1/3 of the bowl are smooth briar. The come together and really are quite beautiful! The pipe is stamped on a smooth panel on the topside of the shank and reads Jobey [over] Designer. The valleys and ridges of the “blasticated” grain showing through the grime and dirt are a mixture that leaves a rich texture. It had rich dark and medium contrasting brown stains that do not look too bad. There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a lava overflow on the crowned top of the rim and covering the inner edge. It was hard to know if the rim edges were damaged. It was a beautiful pipe that was dirty and tired looking but there was a thick coat of shiny varnish or shellac covering the whole thing. The stem was golden variegated acrylic that had fancy turnings on the saddle. The tenon was the patented Jobey Link System that was developed to protect the shank. There was a hairline crack on the top of the stem where the tenon fit but it was not open and was very fine. There were tooth marks and chatter on the stem near the button on both sides. There is a brass Jobey oval logo on the top of the stem identifying it as a Jobey pipe. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he cleaned it up. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the lava build up on the rim top and edges of the bowl. It was thick and hard but hopefully it had protected the rim and edges from damage. It was hard to know for sure from the photos. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. The airway in the stem was stained with the tars and oils that would need to be cleaned up. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the rugged dark look of the blastication. There is a lot of dust and grime filling in the valleys. The smooth portions on the top 1/3 of the bowl, the underside of the shank and foot as well as the patch on the top of the shank.  He took a photo of the stamping on the smooth panel on the topside of the shank. The stamping was readable as you can see from the photos and read as noted above. He also captured the logo brass insert on the top of the stem.  I turned to Pipedia to see if I could find a Jobey Designer or any information on the line  (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Jobey). Along with the history of the brand that is there which you can read if you are interested there was also a photo of the same pipe that I am working on with a dark stem rather than the yellow of the one on the table. The shape and stamping are identical so I have included them below. I am also including and advertisement that was included on the site. I have included it below along with an enlargement of the section on Jobey Designer pipes. The Designer series combines real craftsmanship with a unique pipe design. This perfectly balanced briar features a smooth walnut finish, complemented by a golden Lucite stem. It sold for $50USD

Now it was time to work on the pipe. Jeff reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with good looking sandblast around the bowl and shank. Jeff scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and rinsed it with running water. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked a lot better. The airway in the stem still had some darkening and would need to be cleaned up some more. I took photos before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what cleaned bowl and rim top looked like. The rim top and edges looked very good. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks and the staining in the airway on the stem.  The hairline crack is in the darkened spot near the shank end.I took a photo of the stamping on the topside of the shank and it is clear and readable. I also took a photo of the Jobey oval brass inset on the top of the stem.  I took the stem off the shank and took a photo to give a clear picture of the pipe from the left side profile and the top looking down. It is a really pretty pipe.I wiped down the briar with acetone on a cotton pad to remove the shiny varnish coat. It took some scrubbing but the grain really stood out on the smooth portion much better. I polished the extension with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the surface off after each pad to remove sanding debris. It is becomes more shiny with each sanding pad.  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 the bowl aside and turned my attention to trying to get some of the tars from the stem. I removed the Jobey Link Tenon from the stem and worked it over with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol. It was amazing how much grit and grime came out of the stem. I then used some Soft Scrub on the pipe cleaners and continued to work on the airway and was able to remove a lot of it. I flushed it a final time with alcohol. It was much better when I finished. The only draw back (if it is one) is that the hairline crack was very visible after cleaning.There was a tooth mark that was deep on the top left side of the stem next to the button. There was also a small crack in the turned area of the stem and top. I filled both of them both in with clear CA glue and set the stem aside to cure. Once it cured I sanded the repaired areas smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the Lucite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This Unique Jobey Designer Egg Sitter turned out to be a great looking pipe. The mix of dark stains highlights the smooth and rusticated portions around the bowl sides, top and bottom. The golden coloured acrylic stem works very well with the natural and dark finish on the bowl. 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 buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad followed by hand buffing with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished full bent Jobey Designer Bent Egg Sitter fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 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 2.26 ounces/64 grams. I will be adding it to the American Pipe Makers Section on the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in carrying on the pipeman’s legacy with this pipe send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Cleaning Up a Lovely French Made GBD Sandblast Avoriaz 816 Oval Shank Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

Over the years Jeff and I have picked up many different GBD pipes from a variety of lines that all have a very English look and feel to them. We have also picked up quite a few that are from the French factory before the move to England. This pipe was purchased from an estate on 06/13/22 from Fort Myers, Florida, USA. The finish on the pipe is a sandblast that is deep but smooth and follows the grain around the pipe. The mix of black and brown stains of the briar looks very good with the black of the saddle stem. The rim top is crowned with a bevel inward and has some great grain. It was hard to know if there was damage with the thick cake in the bowl and the veritable eruption of lava over the top of the rim. The finish was quite dirty with grit, grime and oils ground into the surface of the bowl and shank. The shank is stamped on a smooth panel on the underside of the shank and reads GBD in an oval [over] Avoriaz. Next to the shank/stem junction there is the shape number 816 [over] France. The vulcanite saddle stem was lightly oxidized and well dented with tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. There is a GBD brass oval roundel on the top of the saddle stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe to capture its condition when it arrived at his place. It was going to take some work to bring this one back to life. But both of us thought that it would be worth it. Jeff took photos of the rim top and bowl that show the cake and overflowing lava on the top and edges of the bowl. It is really hard to know what it looks like under all of that. We have learned that it will either be badly damaged or it will have been well protected. Only cleaning it off would reveal which result was on this pipe. The stem had a lot of tooth chatter and marks that are clear in the photos that follow. There is some oxidation and the calcification on the stem surface. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show condition of the briar. You can see the dust and debris ground into the bowl. The rim edge and top have some very nice grain. The sandblast is actually quite different. I wonder if it isn’t manipulated when blasting. It has a unique look to it. He took photos of the stamping on the underside shank. It was clear and readable as noted above. The brass GBD roundel looked good as well.   I always like to be able to set the pipe I am working on in its historical setting so I turn to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/GBD) and read through the brand history. Toward the middle of the article I found what I was looking for. I quote below:

The Paris factory moved to Saint-Claude in 1952. Since 1981 the majority of GBD pipes come from the English factory.

The premium lines of GBD offered very good values, and are considered amongst the most affordable high end pipe of the 1960’s and earlier and a rival in quality, design, and price to Dunhill. Smokers’ Haven was the main retail supplier for GBD’s in the US until the early 1980’s.

GBD produced consistently well made pipes, almost entirely of Algerian or Grecian briar. In the late 1960’s to late 1970’s, they introduced the “Collector” and “Unique” lines, made primarily by Horry Jamieson, who had carved for Barling for many years, and was skilled in freehand design. Older GBD pieces are excellent smokers and unique in design. They did an excellent executions of classic pipe shapes, as well as some beautiful freehands in the “Unique” line. [2]

The following list comprises the better grades in descending order:

The pipe I am working on was stamped Avoriaz (not listed in the GBD line list) and with a shape number that is not on the list either. It is stamped France, thus I knew that it was made either in Paris before 1952 or in St. Claude after that date and before 1981 when production moved to England.

I wondered about whether Avoriaz was a French word or a region. I did a quick search on Wikipedia and found what I was looking for (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avoriaz). I quote the introduction to the article on Avoriaz, a French Mountain Resort.

Avoriaz (French: [avoʁija], Franco-Provençal: [aˈvɔʁja, aˈvɔʁi])[1] is a French mountain resort in the heart of the Portes du Soleil. It is located in the territory of the commune of Morzine. It is easily accessible from either Thonon at Lake Geneva or Cluses station on the A40 motorway between Geneva and Chamonix. Either way one follows the D902, Route des Grandes Alpes,[2] to Morzine and then the D338 running from Morzine to Avoriaz. Snow chains are often necessary. Avoriaz is built on a shelf high above the town of Morzine, which is among the pioneering towns of skiing with its first lifts dating back to the early 1930s. Today Avoriaz is one of the major French ski destinations catering for all standards of skiing and ranks among the top snowboarding destinations of the world. Apart from snow-based pursuits, Avoriaz is also a centre for trekking, golf, VTT (mountain biking) and other outdoor activities during the summer. Cars are forbidden in Avoriaz. The resort is designed to be fully skiable. Other transport around the resort includes horse-drawn sleighs and snowcats during winter.

Now it was time to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual focus on detail. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer and removed the rest of the cake with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush and was able to remove the thick lava build up on the rim top. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He rubbed down the stem with Soft Scrub – an all purpose cleaner that works well to remove oxidation and calcification on a vulcanite stem. He soaked it in Briarville’s Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. The rim top cleaned up really well. The crowned rim top, inner and outer edges of the bowl looked very good. The rim top and inner edge has some darkening on the back side of the bowl but there was no burn damage. The stem surface looked good with some small, deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It was readable as noted above.I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole.  I polished the crowned rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris and dust.  I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips. I worked it into the deeper parts of the blast with a horse hair shoe brush. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks. It worked very well and many of the marks lifted. I filled in the remaining marks with clear CA glue and let the repairs cure. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to blend the repairs into the stem surface. I started the polishing with 400 grit sandpaper.    I polished the vulcanite stem 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 French Made GBD Avoriaz 816 oval shank saddle stem Billiard is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The rich contrasting brown stained finish around the bowl is quite beautiful and highlights the sandblast grain. The stain and finish works well with the polished vulcanite 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 Conservator’s Wax and buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished GBD Avoriaz 816 sits nicely on the desk top and in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inch, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 56 grams/1.98 ounces. I will be putting it on the French Pipe Maker section of the rebornpipes store shortly. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Restemming and Reclaiming a worn and tired No Name Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

Though I am not currently not taking on new work but trying to catch up on my backlog of pipes I have a commitment to doing repairs for customers of our local pipe shop. I have worked on several pipes for the pipeman who dropped this pipe and two others off at my house on Tuesday morning. All three had the tenons snapped off in the shank and two with broken or damaged stems. All three were heavily smoked with cakes almost completely filling in the bowls. It always make me wonder how one can fill a bowl when cake is so thick my finger would not fit in the bowl. The exterior of all three bowls were heavily caked with tars, oils and grime ground into the finish. The pipes reeked of the aromatic tobaccos that had been smoked in them. My wife bagged the three pipes and sealed them until I could get to them.

I decided to work on this billiard first. I opened the bag and removed both the bowl and the stem. It was a real mess. I took photos of the bowl to show its condition before I started on it. I took my normal foursome of photos and then added a few extra to show the heavy grime on the bowl sides, the cake in the bowl and the snapped tenon in the shank. Somewhere along its journey the pipe had been banded. Something about it makes me think it may well have been that I had banded and restemmed for the fellow quite a few ago. I did a bit of searching on rebornpipes for the blog but could not find it. In the big picture is did not matter but I am always very curious. I tried to pull the broken tenon and was not surprised that it was stuck in the shank. I put the bowl in the freezer and let it sit for 30 minutes. Once I removed it I used a screw turned into the airway to wiggle the tenon out of the shank. It actually came out quite easily. I went through my stems and found one that matched the broken one that had been included in the bag. I took a photo. I would need to reduce both the length and the diameter of the tenon to get a snug fit in the shank. It had a lot of potential but would take work to lift the dents in the stem and fit it to the pipe. Here is a photo of the bowl with the broken stem and the new one.Now it was time to clean it up so I could work on it. I like restoring clean pipes so that was going to be a lot of work but worth it to me to get rid of the grime. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer using the largest cutting head. I cleaned up the reamer with a Savinelli Fitsall PipeKnife. I sanded the walls of the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. There was a small mountain of carbon. I scrubbed the externals of the pipe to remove the heavy oils and tar build up on the bowl. It took a lot of elbow grease using a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap. I worked on it until the grime washed away with running water. It looks much better at this point.  With the externals cleaned I turned my attention to the internals. I scrubbed the shank and the airway in the bowl and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol until it was clean. It was a mess.I topped the bowl to prepare it for reworking the damage to the inner edge of the bowl. I used briar dust and super glue to build up the heavily damaged areas around the edge. I layered it in place in the damaged area with a dental spatula. The second photo below shows the repair.I cleaned up the rough edge of the inner edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I wanted to smooth it out before working on the inner bevel of the bowl. I used a wooden ball and 220 grit sandpaper to give the bowl a bevel. The final photo of the four below shows the repaired and reshaped rim edge. I stained the rim top and edges with an oak stain pen to match the colour of the bowl. With the micromesh polishing it would be a good match.I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with a damp cloth. It looks far better than it did before even with the many fills in the briar around the bowl.   I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips. The balm works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then buffed it off with a soft cloth. It is a beautiful pipe. The bowl looks surprisingly good when you consider what it looked like when I started. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the surface of the stem and then “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks and scratches. I was able to lift many of them. I used clear super glue to fill in those that remained. I sanded the surface of the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repairs and started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I also sanded the tenon with 220 grit sandpaper to reduce the diameter of the tenon and get a snug fit. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with some Obsidian Oil. I finished hand polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – Fine and Extra Fine. I rubbed it down with another coat of Obsidian Oil and let it dry. The stem really was beginning to look very good.   This was a very beat up No Name Straight Billiard and now with its newly fit tapered black vulcanite stem it looks far better than when I started. The reworked rim top works very will with the rest of the bowl. I polished the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The brown stain makes the grain just sing and it works well with the polished vulcanite stem. Have a look at the photos below. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem are very well done. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 60 grams/ 2.12 ounces. Once I finish restemming the other two pipes the three will be going home with the fellow who dropped them off. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe.

Restoring a Mixed Finish Danish Pride by Ben Wade Freehand

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Blog by Steve Laug

This particular mixed finished Freehand pipe was purchased on 05/25/22 from an antique mall in Kalama, Washington, USA. It really is another nice looking Freehand pipe that combines a plateau rim top and shank end with curved smooth panels on a sandblast bowl and shank. It is stamped on a smooth panel on the underside of the shank and reads Danish Pride [over] by Ben Wade [over] Hand Made [over] In [over] Denmark. The mixed finish is dirty but still a beautiful looking combination. The pipe had a thick cake in the bowl and a thick lava overflow on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl filling in grooves of the plateau. It is thicker on the back side of the bowl but present all the way around. There was grime ground into the smooth and sandblast finish and dust and debris in the plateau valleys on the shank end. The fancy vulcanite saddle stem had Crown logo on the top side. It was heavily oxidized and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The pipe must have been a great smoker judging from the condition it came it. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl, rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe when we received it. You can see the cake in the bowl and the lava on the plateau rim top and inner edge of the bowl. The turned vulcanite stem was dirty and had chatter and tooth marks on both sides near the button. He took photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel to give an idea of the shape and the condition of the briar around the bowl. It really is a nicely shaped pipe that has the classic look of a Freehand carved by Preben Holm. The next photo Jeff took shows the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. He also took a photo of the Crown logo on the top of the vulcanite saddle stem.In a previous blog I had researched the brand quite a bit. I have included it below for information on this pipe (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/10/03/restoring-a-danish-pride-by-ben-wade-mixed-finish-handmade-freehand-sitter/). I quote:

I remembered that the Preben Holm pipes were marketed under the Ben Wade label in the US and imported through Lane Ltd. I turned to Pipedia and read the listing on the brand to refresh my memory and flesh out the knowledge of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Wade). I have included a photo from that site that was taken from a Tinderbox advertisement.I quote the portion of the article that summarizes the Danish period of the history of the brand:

Young Copenhagen master pipemaker Preben Holm had made a meteoric career heading a pipe manufacture employing 45 people at the age of 22! But around the turn of 1970/71 he was in major financial difficulties. His US distributor, Snug Harbour Ltd. in New York City, left him in the lurch. Holm had three unpaid invoices on his desk and another large shipment was ready for the USA, when Snug Harbour’s manager told him on the phone that there was no money at all on the account to pay him.

So the Dane went to New York for an almost desperate search for a new distribution partner. He made contacts with Lane Ltd. and met Herman G. Lane in February 1971. Lane Ltd. had no interest in Holm’s serial pipes produced at that time but so much the more in the hand-carved freehands because the hype for Danish freehands and fancies in the States was still on its way to the climax then. The meeting resulted in an agreement to start a cooperation. Lane insisted to improve the quality considerably and in return he assured to be able to sell essentially larger quantities.

Holm went back home to work on new samples with all-new designs and altered finishes for Lane. Both, Lane and Holm, agreed that it would be unwise to sell the pipes under Preben Holm’s name as long as Snug Harbour had a considerable stock of Preben Holm pipes and might sell them pipes at very low prices just to bring in some money.

So on Mr. Lane’s proposal it was determined to use the name Ben Wade belonging to Lane Ltd. Lane spent considerable amounts of money for advertising the new brand in the big magazines– the centerpiece being whole-page ads showing a very exclusive Seven Day’s Set.

The cooperation with Lane Ltd. proved to be an eminent business success for both partners. Within a very short time Ben Wade Handmade Denmark sold in much larger quantities and at higher prices than they had ever dreamed of. And the hype these freehands and fancy pipes caused went on unbroken long after Herman G. Lane deceased. Preben Holm – obviously much more brilliant in pipe making than in pipe business – was in major troubles again in 1986 and had to sack most of his staff. The Ben Wade production was significantly lowered but continued until his untimely death in June of 1989.

Up to now Preben Holm made Ben Wade pipes are cult and highly sought for on the estate markets.

With that information my initial thoughts were confirmed. This pipe was a Preben Holm made Freehand distributed in the US by Lane Ltd under the name Ben Wade. The freehand rage occurred in the late 70s and the pipes were made until Preben’s death in 1989. My guess would be that this pipe was made sometime during that time period and potentially in the late 70s.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe following his normal cleaning process. In short, he cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the lava and debris on the plateau rim top and shank end and was able to remove it. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and cotton pads to remove the debris and oils on the stem. He rinsed it with warm water and dried it off. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. It really looked good.   I took close up photos of the stem and the rim top to show both how clean they were and what needed to be addressed with both. The rim top and bowl look good. The stem looked better and the tooth marks and chatter were still present. I would need to remove those to bring the stem back. I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. You can see from the photo that it is readable. It is clearer on the top half of the stamp than the lower but it is still readable.I removed the stem from the bowl and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the beauty of the pipe.The bowl was in such good condition after the clean up that I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips and a horse hair shoe brush to get into the crevices of the plateau and sandblast portions. The product is incredible and the way it brings the grain to the fore is unique. It works to clean, protect and invigorate the wood.   I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift them all and the stem looked much better. I sanded what remained smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface of the briar. I started the polishing of the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.  I touched up the Crown logo on the stem surface with Rub’n Buff Antique Gold. I worked it into the stamp and the buffed it off with a soft cloth. It looks better but not perfect as there are parts of the stamp that are faint.  I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it 1500-12000 pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to remove the dust and polishing debris. I polished it with Before  After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I am really happy with the way that this Preben Holm Made Ben Wade Danish Pride Freehand turned out. It really is a beautiful looking pipe with a great shape and mix of smooth and sandblast finishes around the bowl and shank. The rugged plateau on the rim top and shank end are beautiful. The fancy original vulcanite saddle stem works well with the reddish brown of the stained briar. The pipe really came alive with the buffing. The rich brown stains of the finish gave the pipe a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. 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 multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Ben Wade Danish Pride really is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ¾ inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 ¼ inches long x 2 inches wide, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 69 grams/2.43 ounces. The pipe will be going on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Makers Section if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. It was a fun one to work on!