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A Mobile Christmas Vacation Restoration of an Exquisite Fratelli Rossi Century Old Briar Billiard

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Blog by Dal Stanton

This Rossi of Italy, along with several other pipes, were donated to The Pipe Steward from a good friend and pipe man, Dave Shain, who I worked with in Ukraine several years ago.   Dave also restores pipes and has a great website, http://www.ThePipery.com and regularly produces live podcasts opining the latest tobaccos, pipes and also critiques on cigars he’s tried out.  In 2017, Dave won the Master of Pipes award from the Chicago Pipe Collectors Club for his restoration work and charitable activities through The Free Pipe Project where Dave spearheads a program to send quality restored pipes to servicemen serving their country.  A few years ago, I visited Dave where he lives near Atlanta, Georgia, and we had a great time renewing our relationship.  He showed me his workshop, pipes and tobacco collection, and of course, we settled down in the ‘Barn’ flanked by a vintage Ford pickup – his Man Cave, to share a bowl or two.  It was a great reunion!  I left with a tin of his aged Escudo which continues to age today and several pipes he wanted me to restore for the Daughters of Bulgaria, which I was more than happy to do.  Thanks again, Dave!

The pipe now on my Christmas Vacation mobile worktable in Port St. Lucie, Florida, is a Fratelli Rossi.  Chris, a pipe man from Argo, Alabama, saw some of my other restorations posted on a popular FB Group,  Pipe Lifestyle, and decided to take a look at the For “Pipe Dreamers” Only! collection.  He reached out to me with 4 contenders that he desired to commission.  In the end, he commissioned the Rossi now on the table and a Cadogan era GBD London Made – Made in London England C789 Pot.  Without a doubt, Chris has learned the meaning of patience that I ask of all commissioners when they commission pipes!  He commissioned them before my wife and I moved from Sofia, Bulgaria, to Golden, Colorado, and so he’s been waiting a while for his pipes to work up the queue to the worktable.  Thanks, Chris!

When I first received this lot of pipes from Dave during that visit to the Atlanta, Georgia, area, I took pictures of each.  Here are the pictures of an attractive Fratelli Rossi Billiard now on the table with a make-shift rustic cardboard backing!   The nomenclature is crisp and clear on the shank.  On the left is stamped FRATELLI [over] *ROSSI*.  The text is old world print and stars flank both sides of Rossi.  The inlaid ‘Rossi’ brass stem rondel is reminiscent of GBD’s pre-Cadogan era rondels.   The right flank of the shank is stamped, CENTURY OLD BRIAR [over] ITALY.  The pipe itself is an attractive pipe with distinctive briar grain.  It is a medium sized classic Billiard shape with the dimensions: Length: 5 1/2 inches, Height: 1 11/16 inches, Rim width: 1 3/16 inches, Chamber width: 3/4 inches, and a Chamber depth: 1 1/2 inches.   When I read this part of the nomenclature after the pipe finally made it to the worktable, I did a double-take.  It reminded me of another pipe that made a similar claim on the nomenclature and my first response was to write it off as hype.  That pipe turned out to be a diamond in the rough – a Gasparini M.G.M. Rock Italy Briar 1912 – 25 Freehand.  The claim was that the briar on this Gasparini was harvested in 1912 which turned out not to be hype, but the reality.  The Rossi claim is similar, the briar being used to fashion this pipe, at whatever point it was manufactured by Rossi, was from briar that was in the curing process for at least 100 years.  That is not only a great claim that points to a nice piece of briar but increases the collectibility value of this Billiard. 

With the question of the “claim” of Century Old Briar, I turn my focus to finding out more about the Rossi name and hope that I can find out more about the claim.  This is the first Rossi that I’ve worked on so doing some research on the origins of the name deepens my appreciation for the pipe on my worktable.  It doesn’t take much effort to uncover a plethora of information about the Rossi name.  I am fascinated by the story and I decide to repeat the somewhat lengthy but interesting and thorough historical focused Pipedia Rossi article here:

In the years around 1870 and still later the bulk of Italian pipes was made by time taking and laboriously manual work. Mainly based on families who sold their pipes to travelling purchasers handing them on to some wholesaler. Most pipes were still made of box or olive wood.

 Ferdinando Rossi from Milan was one of the most important wholesalers for tobacco related goods of northern Italy. When he attended one of his pipe suppliers in Saint-Claude in 1880 he got hooked on the idea to establish this manner of industrialized briar pipe production in Italy as well. Rossi went abroad several times to buy the hardware here and there because the special features of machines for pipe making were secrets – well kept by the French in those days. Many machines and tools had to be modified on Rossi’s defaults.

He acquired a large area of land in Barasso in the province of Varese and founded the Fabbrica di Pipe di Radica Rossi in 1886. For sure there was no lack of skilled workers and Rossi personally recruited 30 craftsmen of different occupations from the environment to get started. After a few years the enterprise had developed well and entered into export trades. In 1892 e.g. the ledgers registered the first pipes shipped to Brazil.

One reason of success was the ultramodern conception of the factory and its equipment at the given time. To give an example: a system of canals invented by Rossi drove water to turbines propelling downstream generators, which supplied the entire machinery with electricity. Also lighting and heating were already electrically operated.

In the first years after 1900 Rossi grew steadily and became one of the ten biggest pipe manufacturers of the world. Rossi’s rapid ascent produced further foundations of pipemaking firms in the area around the Lake of Varese.

  • 1897 Gerolamo Ceresa (starting as subcontractor for Rossi) in Cassano Magnano
  • 1900 Fratelli Lana in Gallarate (bought by Tagliabue in 1922)
  • 1910 Stefano Santambrogio (working with Lana and with Rossi before) in Groppello di Gavirate
  • 1911 Federico, Carlo, Cornelio and Francesco Rovera (all working for Rossi before) even there.

 So, the province of Varese became the most important center of Italy’s pipemaking industry after the turn of the century. Still going strong today along with the brands in the provinces of Como and of Pesaro.

From 1918 on Leonida Rossi supported his father in the management of the company. Later he was designated as chairman and joined by his brothers. Rossi now firmed as Fratelli Rossi Barasso shortly FRB.

Between the world wars Rossi finally promoted to be the biggest pipe factory in the entire world. Next to the domestic market in Italy the United States were the most important client.

The factory was systematically and consequently modernized and extended. The briar was stored in 18 sheds, which were arranged six by six in three rows. There was a power plant, a sawing mill, a department for ebonite mouthpieces as well as a department for horn mouthpieces, a department for filter tubes and one for fittings made of metal etc. Taken for its size practically any of these individual departments outmatched any other complete pipe factory in Italy! At the end of the production line stood a warehouse for the finished pipes featuring the dimensions of a big a department store.

The absolute peak of production was reached in 1936, the year of Rossi’s 50th anniversary. Rossi employed 860 persons – 95% of them were women – who turned out more than 50,000 pipes per day. Per day!

(Remember, those were the days when good restaurants offered a free pipe to the gentleman to end a fine meal with a fine smoke!) These numbers were never reached by any other manufacturer. Even not approximately.

Rossi is also credited with exemplary social features. The company maintained a well equipped hospital ward, the employees enjoyed large dining rooms and showers after work. There were shops where they could buy the products of some Rossi owned farms from the environment at subsidized prices. For the youngest children there was a kindergarten and the elder ones could spend their school vacations in a holiday camp named after the founder’s wife Marisa.

From appr. 1946 up to the end Ferdinando Rossi II, a grandchild of the founder, headed the company. But after World War II the world of the pipe changed dramatically. Especially in Italy, where those big pipe factories mainly turned out pipes for the lower priced segments of the international mass markets. The demand for these pipes shrunk considerably as more and more smokers turned to cigarettes. Rossi got into this vortex as well. Little by little the number of pipes produced sank. This evolution was accelerated by the upcoming fame of pipes from Denmark. As well, new Italian brands established after the war like Castello, Brebbia or little later Savinelli operated cleverer and thus were more successful.

So, the decline went on through the 1960’s and 1970’s, even though Rossi offered more than 800 possible shapes in dozens of lines and uncounted finishes. Besides the completely machine-made pipes there were also some lines of semi-freehands and even quite considerable freehands were made. But all these efforts could not stop the fall anyway. Due to increasing financial difficulties Rossi closed down in 1985, just one year before the 100th anniversary.

“Ferdinando Rossi was one of the pioneers in bringing the production of briar pipes to Italy, a contemporary of Achille Savinelli. And though the two were competitors in business, in their private lives they enjoyed a close friendship. So it came to be that, just shy of a century after its founding, the Rossi family’s marque came into the caretaking of Savinelli, after the former found itself unable to adapt to the changes in the post-WWII tobacciana market. This same old friendship is also one of the reasons why Savinelli has been keen to give the Rossi name new life, as Rossi by Savinelli, focusing on quality, affordable Italian pipes.” Courtesy, smokingpipes.com

The heights to which the Italian pipe manufacturing enterprise of Rossi reached in 1936, of a workforce of 860 and a production pace of 50,000 pipes per day is astounding.  The decline of the company, especially in the 60s and 70s, is in stark contrast to the earlier entrepreneurial vision of Ferdinando Rossi who built the company into an empire.  The last paragraph above is important.  It references from Smokingpipes.com, what seems like the epitaph of the Rossi Company that closed its doors in 1985 – “unable to adapt to the changes in the post-WWII tobacciana market”.  The Rossi name was taken over by Savinelli because of the friendship of the founders of these two competing Italian enterprises and Savinelli’s respect for Rossi motivated the continued production of pipes with the Rossi name.   I find this factoid not only to be interesting but quite remarkable.

The same Pipedia article concludes with a section on the dating of Rossi pipes which draws my attention with the focus on the Fratelli Rossi ‘Century Old Briar’ on my table.  I include what is described in Pipedia only the later periods of the Rossi evolution:

From, approximately, Seventies, until 1985, Rossi pipes were marked with “ROSSI”, into an oval (sometimes there was also “ITALY” on the shank); on the stem, there was “ROSSI”. In these years, appeared the signature “Nino Rossi” (in cursive font): he was the last heir of the factory.

When Savinelli took back the production, it is said that first pipes had a twinbore mouthpiece, with “ROSSI” on the stem, and they were marked with “ROSSI” on the shank. Today most of them had 6 mm or 9 mm adapter (also, for the most part, the stem was made by methacrylate, always with “Rossi” on the side).

The lack of a twinbore mouthpiece and what appears to be an older tenon/stinger setup would suggest that the pipe on my table is pre-Savinelli – pre-1985.  There is no mention of a period when ‘Fratelli Rossi’ was used as the nomenclature marking by either Rossi or Savinelli.  In the history above, ‘Fratelli Rossi’ was a son of the founder, Ferdinando Rossi, who in 1918 joined the company with his brother, ‘Leonida’, at which time the new labeling became ‘Fratelli Rossi Barasso’ or abbreviated as, FRB.

Looking to Pipephil.eu’s information about Rossi, it is added that ‘Ferdinando Rossi Junior’ (Nino), was also among the brothers of 1918 and headed the company from 1946 until its closing in 1985.  Pipephil.eu’s panel below shows the evolution or uses of several differing stamping styles and stem displays over the years and 1000s of different lines that were offered by Rossi.  Of interest is the very first example.  The pipe is very similar to the Rossi on the worktable, but the nomenclature is different.  Yet, what is exact is the brass rondel on the stem with ‘Rossi’ in a cursive-like text.  The comment beneath says, “Rossi’s first logo: an inlaid metallic oval disc.”

It’s difficult without more direct information to place a date on the Fratelli Rossi Century Old Briar.  My efforts to find more than anecdotal information about the ‘Century Old Briar’ were unsuccessful.  I found a few Rossi pipes marked ‘Century Old Briar’ for sale on different platforms such as Etsy and eBay.  Much of the ‘info’ given about the pipe on the block was incorrect and someone guessing.  One seller placed the pipe in the 1960s and described the ‘Century Old Briar’ as coming from the warehouse of the famous Savinelli company… Savinelli didn’t come into the Rossi picture until the mid-1980s.

I looked through old catalog listings and searched but found very little information about this specific Rossi nomenclature.  With no more than an informed guess, I would say that the pipe comes from the 60s or 70s based upon the stem’s nickel screw in tenon/stinger.  It predates Savinelli’s involvement it would seem to me.  The information that the brass rondel was the ‘first’ model, doesn’t provide a definite dating, but would confirm a pre-Savinelli dating. Yet, the overall ‘feel’ of the pipe is that it wasn’t manufactured during or before WW2.  The claim to have been produced with ‘Century Old Briar’, I’m inclined to believe based upon the integrity and history of the Rossi name.  So, my sense is that this pipe was produced during the declining years of the Rossi name – 60s, 70s, and perhaps the early 80s before Rossi closed its factory, but was perhaps a special line of high quality briar that included the ‘Fratelli’ name with Rossi and the claim of ‘Century Old Briar’.

With a deeper appreciation for the history of the Rossi name and the heritage that this Fratelli Rossi brings to my table, I take a closer look at what is needed to recommission this pipe for Chris.  The pipe is in good condition.  The stummel shows no fills or major issues.  The only issue I see is what looks like an acrylic-candy apple finish that needs to be removed.  The chamber has moderate cake buildup, and the stem is rough and with moderate oxidation.  I start with the stem. I take a couple additional pictures of the upper and lower stem to show the fuzzy haze of oxidation and wear and tear.  The bit has minor tooth chatter and some marks on the button.    I start by cleaning the airway using pipe cleaners and the smaller diameter shank brushes to clean the airway.  Using isopropyl 99% the airway is cleaned as well as the tight quarters of the nickel screw in stinger.  After a bit of effort, the airway is cleaned up.Next, to address the oxidation in the stem, the Rossi stem joins other pipes in the queue for a soak in Mark Hoover’s Before & After Deoxidizer (www.lbepen.com).  I leave the stem in the soak for several hours to achieve the full benefit of the Deoxidizer.With the stem in the soak, I now address the cake buildup in the chamber.  I take a starting picture showing the moderate cake buildup.The chamber is cleared of the carbon buildup first using 2 of the 4 blade heads of the Pipnet Reaming Kit.  This is followed first by scraping the chamber walls with the Savinelli Fitsall Tool which does a great job cleaning the angles of the chamber floor.  Next, the chamber is sanded with 220 grade sanding paper wrapped around a Sharpie Pen.  This gives more leverage and pressure as I sand away the remaining vestiges of carbon.After wiping the bowl with a cotton pad, an inspection of the chamber reveals no problems – all looks great.With the chamber cleared, I use undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to clean the external briar.  I’m hopeful that the cleaning will possibly make a dent in the sheen of the candy apple finish.  Murphy’s does a good job cleaning the grunge off the surface, but the sheen remains.  I transition the stummel to the sink and continue the cleaning with shank brushes to work on the internal mortise.  With liquid anti-oil dishwashing soap on the brushes, warm water is used to scrub.After thoroughly rinsing the stummel, I go back to the worktable and take these additional pictures to get a closer look.The glossy sheen is now clean, but the sheen continues unabated.  The cleaning does show some thinning in the finish where the raw briar is peeking through.  The first picture shows a gap in the finish on the heel of the bowl and the next pictures show the finish wearing away on the shank.     The rim lip also shows a bit of roughness that should be rectified through minor sanding.My next step is to address the ‘cotton candy’ finish.  It needs to be stripped so that the finish is even and revealing the natural briar underneath the shell.  My personal preference regarding finishes on pipes that create the high glossy shell is that the gloss is fake.  It is not the natural briar showing off but a shell of sorts which does protect the briar, but the sacrifice is an artificial gloss.  My goal is to remove the gloss and hopefully retain the patina of the ‘Century Old Briar’ which can stand on its own.  It is a beautiful block of wood!   I first attempt, which I’m not hopeful of from the outset, is simply to wipe the bowl surface with a cotton pad wetted with isopropyl 99%.  This does not phase the finish.The next step is to place the stummel in a soak of isopropyl 99%.  My experience is that this will also not do the job, but I do not have on hand acetone in the supplies of my mobile Christmas worktable in Port St. Lucie.  Acetone will probably be the only thing that will break down the finish.  I decide to soak the stummel overnight in isopropyl 99% to see if it does the job, but I plan to go to the store tomorrow morning to pick up acetone.The stem has been soaking in Before & After Deoxidizer now for several hours. After fishing out the stem and letting it drain off – using my fingers to squeegee the remaining Deoxidizer, I use pipe cleaners wetted with isopropyl 99% to clear the airway of Deoxidizer.  While the stem was draining, I noticed for the first time that the nickel stinger was in fact inserted into the metal barrel and not one piece!  After wrapping the stinger with paper towel, I gently gripped the stinger with needle nosed pliers and coaxed the stinger out!  What a wonder and thankfulness for small things.  With the airway now clear of the stinger, the cleaning of the airway is more productive and easier!  I also wipe off the stem with cotton pads and alcohol to clear away the raised oxidation.I wasn’t satisfied with the results of the deoxidation process after a closer look.  There remains deep oxidation that I can see with the eye and only visible with the aperture open on the camera.After just perusing Steve’s latest posting of a very nice blasted No Name Danish, (See: The Sandblast on this No Name Hand Made in Denmark Freehand is Incredible) I noticed that Steve used Soft Scrub with cotton pads to address the oxidation with the fancy stem he was working on.  Taking his cue, I did the same and I like the results.  It took some intensive scrubbing, but the results are better.I finish the stem clean up by applying paraffin oil to the vulcanite to rejuvenate and condition it.The next morning, the brownish hue floating in the alcohol indicates that some progress has happened through the night soak.After fishing out the stummel and inspecting, with the sheen still shining and with patches of bare briar still silhouetted against old finish, I grab the keys and head to the store to purchase acetone.Having the right tools and supplies is key to any job – not just pipe restoration!  When arriving home, I open the acetone and place a small amount on 0000 grade steel wool.  I then gently apply the acetone-wetted steel wool over the stummel with the hope that the shiny shell will break down allowing the unadorned briar patina to be exposed.I was able to observe immediately the removal of the finish as the wood dulled.  I apply the steel wool over the entire stem removing the shell as I go.  I complete the project by wiping the stummel with a cotton pad wetted with acetone.  I’m pleased with the results.  The basic hue of the briar’s patina remains intact.  Sometimes, after using acetone, the briar seems bleached which probably indicates that the stummel was colored with a dye.  This stummel looks like it received a hot oil treatment and was then covered with the shellac-like shell to protect it.   A quick picture of my Christmas Vacation worktable on the balcony of my mother’s condo in Florida, with a bit of Plum Cake in the bowl is very enjoyable!Continuing with the Fratelli Rossi stummel.  It’s time to let the grain make an appearance.  Using the full regimen of micromesh pads, I begin by wet sanding with pads 1500 to 2400.  Following this, dry sanding is done with pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000.  With each 3-set picture, the briar is teased out and without doubt, this is an exquisite piece of briar.  It appears to be a very high-grade briar with absolutely no fills and displaying beautiful vertical flame grain and bird’s eye on the heel of the stummel as one would expect.   The next step, before again turning to the stem, is to apply Before & After Restoration Balm to the stummel.  Mark Hoover’s product (www.lbepen.com) does a great job bringing out the natural hues of the briar.  After putting a small amount on my finger, the Balm is worked into the briar surface. The initial viscosity of the Balm is cream-like, and it gradually thickens as the Balm is worked.  After applied, I place it aside for about 20 minutes.After 20 minutes, a microfiber cloth is used to wipe off the excess Balm and to buff the surface.  I’m loving the quality of this Rossi stummel.With the stummel on the sideline, the stem is ready to catch up.  I take a few pictures looking closely at the bit.  There is little in the way of tooth chatter, but the vulcanite is rough.     I begin by doing a quick sanding using 240 sanding paper and refreshing the button with the flat needle file. The button lips over time have rounded.  I like a crisp lip to allow the free hang function of the button to work.  A plastic disc I fabricated is used to guard against shouldering the edge of the stem facing during the 240 sanding.  The 240 sanding is followed by first wet sanding with 600 grade paper and then applying 0000 grade steel wool to the entire stem.   With the heavier duty sanding completed, the stem is sanded with micromesh pads.  From pads 1500 to 2400 the stem is wet sanded and then dry sanded with pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 120000.  Between each set of 3 pads, Obsidian Oil is applied to guard against future oxidation and to rejuvenate the stem.  I love the newly micromeshed ‘pop’ that emerges with this Rossi stem.  Now, in the home stretch.  The Fratelli Rossi stem and stummel are reunited to see how things are going.  I find that through the cleaning that the stem is now somewhat overclocked.  I take a picture to show the few degrees out of alignment it is. To remedy this, I use a Bic lighter to heat the nickel screw in tenon which in turn, heats the vulcanite in which it is seated.  As the metal heats, gradually the vulcanite loosens its grip on the tenon.  When this happens, the stem is rejoined with the stummel and as it screws in, I continue to rotate the stem after the tenon tightens with its threads.  I continue to rotate the now loosened stem around the fixed tenon almost 360 degrees until it is aligned properly with the stummel.  The heat and rotate method works like a charm!   Next, Blue Diamond compound is applied to the entire pipe (minus nickel shank facing) with a cotton cloth buffing wheel mounted on the rotary tool at about 40% full power.After the compound is applied, a felt cloth is used to buff the pipe removing vestiges of compound residue left behind.  I do this to prepare for the next step, application of the wax.Another cotton cloth wheel dedicated to application of carnauba wax is mounted onto the rotary tool maintaining 40% full power.  The wax application I treat as frosting on the cake after the primary shining process results from the sanding processes – papers, steel wool, micromesh pads and compound.After application of the wax over the entire pipe, the pipe receives a vigorous hand buffing with a microfiber cloth not only to raise the shine, but to remove excess wax that was not absorbed.

The grain on this Fratelli Rossi is, as I described before, exquisite.  The classic lines of this medium sized Billiard are timeless and will serve his next steward well.  The exact dating of the pipe remains obscure and the claim of ‘Century Old Briar’ is not to be doubted as I look at the pipe’s overall presentation.  Chris had the vision to commission this Rossi and will have the first opportunity to claim him from The Pipe Steward Store benefitting the Daughters of Bulgaria – helping women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited.  Thanks for joining me!

Rebirthing a Republic Era Peterson’s Kapruf 86 Apple

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Blog by Steve Laug

Today is an interesting day for me to work on pipes. It is Christmas Day and still fighting the sprained wrist. It is better than it was yesterday and the wrist brace really helps. I am slowed down a bit by it, but I have not stopped. The next pipe I have chosen is another Peterson’s Sandblast Apple. It is more delicate looking than the previous one but it was another very dirty pipe. It also came to us from the estate of Anglican minister that was a great friend of mine here in Canada. The grime was ground into the grooves of the sandblast finish on the bowl sides. The contrast of the brown stains gave the blast a sense of depth. It was stamped on the flat underside of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] Kapruf. To the left of that on the heel was the shape number 86. To the right of the Kapruf stamp it read Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines). This pipe must have been another favourite as it had been well smoked. There was a moderate cake in the bowl a light overflow of lava and darkening on the thin rim top. The edge of the bowl looked was rough and out of round. The stem was oxidized, calcified and had light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and 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 moderately caked and the smooth rim top and edges have a lava overflow obscuring the apparent damage to the inner edge. The photos of the stem show that it was oxidized, calcified and has light tooth marks on the top and underside near the button.   Jeff took a photo of the bowl sides and heel to show the blast that was around this bowl. There were some nicks in the sides but overall it is a nice looking pipe.      He took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable and reads as noted above.     I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Aran line. On page 306 it had the following information.

Kapruf amd “Kapruf” (c.1922-87) Sandblast (hence the name, Kapp-rough) P-lip or fishtail mouthpiece, in catalogs from 1940-87. Early documented specimens stamped IRISH over FREE STATE, no Eire specimens documented. Mid-century specimens may be stamped LONDON MADE [over] ENGLAND or MADE IN ENGLAND forming a circle or MADE IN [over] IRELAND, all dating no later than 1970. Those of recent vintage stamped MADE IN THE[over] REPUBLIC [over]OF IRELAND.

I knew that I was dealing with a KAPRUF made before 1970 as it is stamped MADE IN IRELAND as noted above. That fit with the majority of his pipes so I was clear what I was working on. 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 photo shows some damage on the back side of the rim top and inner edge. It should clean up really well. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks on the surface near the button. There was also some remaining oxidation.     I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is faint but readable.   I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good looking pipe and has a great sandblast on the bowl. I started my work on the pipe by cleaning up the damage on the back of the inner edge and rim top. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage. The rim top was smooth originally so that is what I worked with as I cleaned it up. I crowned the rim edge to eliminate the damage and blend it into the rest of the rim edge.  I polished the rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped down the briar between each pad to remove the sanding debris. I stained the rim top  with a Maple stain pen to blend it into the surrounding briar and to match the smooth panel on the underside of the shank.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horse hair 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 scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub All Purpose Cleaner to remove the oxidation on the surface of the vulcanite. It took a bit of scrubbing and I was able to remove the remaining oxidation.     I filled in the few tooth marks on both sides of the stem with clear super glue. Once the repairs cured I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the rest of the stem. Then started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine.      I am excited to finish this Peterson’s Kapruf 86 Apple, Made in the Republic of Ireland. 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 and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished smooth rim top and the sandblast bowl looks like with the black vulcanite taper stem. This Classic looking Peterson’s Kapruf Sandblast Apple 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 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼  inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 28grams/.99oz. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the Irish Pipe Makers section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Rebirthing a Lovely Peterson’s Kapruf  86 Made in Ireland Apple

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Blog by Steve Laug

Today is an interesting day for me to work on pipes. It is Christmas Eve and last night somehow I sprained my wrist. So I am slowed down a bit by a wrist brace but I have not stopped. The next pipe I have chosen is a Peterson’s Sandblast Apple. It was another very dirty pipe. It is another one that came to us from the same estate of Anglican minister that was a great friend of mine here in Canada. The grime was ground into the grooves of the sandblast finish on the bowl sides. The contrast of the brown stains gave the blast a sense of depth. It was stamped on the flat underside of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] Kapruf. To the left of that on the heel was the shape number 86. To the right of the Kapruf stamp it read Made in Ireland. This pipe must have been a favourite as it had been well smoked. There was a moderate cake in the bowl a light overflow of lava and darkening on the thin rim top. The edge of the bowl looked to be in good condition with some nicks on the inner edge. The stem was oxidized, calcified and had light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and 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 moderately caked and the rim top and edges have a lava overflow obscuring the sandblast and inner edge. The photos of the stem show that it was oxidized, calcified and has light tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. Jeff took a photo of the bowl sides and heel to show the grain that was around this bowl. It is a nice looking pipe.       He took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable and reads as noted above.    I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Aran line. On page 306 it had the following information.

Kapruf amd “Kapruf” (c.1922-87) Sandblast (hence the name, Kapp-rough) P-lip or fishtail mouthpiece, in catalogs from 1940-87. Early documented specimens stamped IRISH over FREE STATE, no Eire specimens documented. Mid-century specimens may be stamped LONDON MADE [over] ENGLAND or MADE IN ENGLAND forming a circle or MADE IN [over] IRELAND, all dating no later than 1970. Those of recent vintage stamped MADE IN THE[over] REPUBLIC [over]OF IRELAND.

I knew that I was dealing with a KAPRUF made before 1970 as it is stamped MADE IN IRELAND as noted above. That fit with the majority of his pipes so I was clear what I was working on. 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 photo shows some damage on the back side of the rim top and inner edge. It should clean up really well. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks on the surface near the button. There was also some remaining oxidation.  I took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is faint but readable.   I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good looking pipe and has a great sandblast on the bowl. I started my work on the pipe by cleaning up the damage on the back of the inner edge and rim top. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage. I gave the rim edge a slight bevel to take care of the damage and blend it into the rest of the rim edge.  I scrubbed the rim top with a brass bristle brush to remove the debris remaining in the finish.  I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process.   I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub All Purpose Cleaner to remove the oxidation on the surface of the vulcanite. It took a bit of scrubbing and I was able to remove the remaining oxidation.  I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a lighter to life the tooth marks on the surface of the vulcanite. I was able to lift most of them. I filled in the few remaining marks on both sides of the stem with clear super glue. Once the repairs cured I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the rest of the stem. Then started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.  I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine.    I am excited to finish this Peterson’s Kapruf 86 Apple, Made In Ireland. 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 and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the black vulcanite saddle stem. This Classic looking Peterson’s Kapruf Sandblast Apple 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 ½ inches, Height: 1 5/8 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼  inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 31grams/1.09oz. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the Irish Pipe Makers section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Rebirthing a Lovely Peterson’s Aran 264 Canadian

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is another smooth Peterson’s Canadian. It was also incredibly dirty. It came to us from the same estate of Anglican minister that was a great friend of mine here in Canada. I was in the airport in Hong Kong when his daughter contacted me to tell me of his death and asked if I wanted to take on his pipes. I told her that I was sad to hear of his death but would gladly take on his pipes to restore and sell.

This Canadian came with a nice nickel band on the shank end that was factory fitted to the stamping on the shank. The grime was ground into the finish on the bowl sides. The contrast of the brown stains gave the grain a sense of depth. It was stamped on the topside of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] of Dublin [over] Aran. The right side had the shape number 264 stamped mid shank. The nickel band was stamped Peterson [over] a stylized P [over] Of Dublin. There was a moderate cake in the bowl but no overflow of lava on the rim top. The stem was lightly oxidized and had light tooth marks, chatter and scratches on the top and underside on and 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 moderately caked and the rim top and edges have a thick lava overflow. The photos of the stem show that it was oxidized and has light tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. Jeff took a photo of the bowl sides and heel to show the grain that was around this bowl. It is a nice looking pipe.      He took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable and reads as noted above. The photo of the band shows how it was stamped on the nickel – centered and clean.   I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Aran line. On page 294 it had the following information.

Aran (1965-) First issue of line described as “handhewn” (rusticated) with black semi-matte finish, in P-lip and fishtail mouthpiece. Second issue 1975, red sandblast, XL shapes. Third issue circa ’97, gold hot-foil P stamped on the mouthpiece, brown semi-matte smooth finish, no band. Fourth issue after 2010, with nickel band, no P stamped on the mouthpiece. Mounted and unmounted versions are available concurrently.

I knew that I was dealing with an Aran from the Fourth Issue of the Aran line that came out after 2010 because of the nickel band and unstamped stem. As such it was one of my friend’s newer pipes. 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 photo looks very good. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks and scratching on the surface near the button.    I took photos of the stamping on the top and right side of the shank. 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 some great cross grain on the sides of the bowl. I polished the briar bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad.     I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out some tooth marks on the underside of the stem with 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I wiped it down with some Obsidian Oil.    I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine.   I am excited to finish this Peterson’s Aran 264 Canadian. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished nickel band and the black vulcanite stem. This Classic looking Peterson’s Aran Canadian feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼  inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 39grams/1.38oz. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the Irish Pipe Makers section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Rebirthing a Lovely Peterson’s Aran 268 Zulu

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is smooth Peterson’s Zulu. It was also incredibly dirty. It came to us from the same estate of Anglican minister that was a great friend of mine here in Canada. I was in the airport in Hong Kong when his daughter contacted me to tell me of his death and asked if I wanted to take on his pipes. I told her that I was sad to hear of his death but would gladly take on his pipes to restore and sell.

This Zulu came with a nice nickel band on the shank end that was factory fitted to the stamping on the shank. The grime was ground into the finish on the bowl sides. The contrast of the brown stains gave the grain a sense of depth. It was stamped on the topside of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] of Dublin [over] Aran. The right side had the shape number 268 stamped mid shank. The nickel band was stamped Peterson [over] a stylized P [over] Of Dublin. There was a thick cake in the bowl a light overflow of lava on the rim top. The bowl was slightly out of round on the inner edge. The stem was oxidized, calcified and had light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and 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 moderately caked and the rim top and edges have a thick lava overflow. The photos of the stem show that it was oxidized, calcified and has light tooth marks on the top and underside near the button.    Jeff took a photo of the bowl sides and heel to show the grain that was around this bowl. It is a nice looking pipe.  

He took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable and reads as noted above. The photo of the band shows how it was stamped on the nickel and how part of the “P” of Petersons and the “O” from OF is cut off. I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Aran line. On page 294 it had the following information.

Aran (1965-) First issue of line described as “handhewn” (rusticated) with black semi-matte finish, in P-lip and fishtail mouthpiece. Second issue 1975, red sandblast, XL shapes. Third issue circa ’97, gold hot-foil P stamped on the mouthpiece, brown semi-matte smooth finish, no band. Fourth issue after 2010, with nickel band, no P stamped on the mouthpiece. Mounted and unmounted versions are available concurrently.

I knew that I was dealing with an Aran from the Fourth Issue of the Aran line that came out after 2010 because of the nickel band and unstamped stem. As such it was one of my friend’s newer pipes. 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 photo shows some damage on the back side of the rim top and inner edge. It should clean up really well. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks on the surface near the button. I took photos of the stamping on the top and right side of the shank. 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 some great cross grain on the sides of the bowl. I started my work on the pipe by cleaning up the damage on the back of the inner edge and rim top. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage. I gave the rim edge a slight bevel to take care of the damage and blend it into the rest of the rim edge.    I polished the briar bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad.  I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process.   I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I rebuilt area around the air hole in the top of the button with clear super glue. Once the repair cured I sanded out the repair to blend it into the surface of the surrounding area on the P-lip. I started polishing the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I wiped it down with some Obsidian Oil.    I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine.   I am excited to finish this Peterson’s Aran 268 Zulu. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished nickel band and the black vulcanite stem. This Classic looking Peterson’s Aran Zulu 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 ¼  inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 34grams/1.20oz. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the Irish Pipe Makers section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Breathing Life another Peterson’s Republic Era “Donegal” Rocky 406 Prince

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is another rusticated Peterson’s “Donegal” Rocky pipe. This one is another 406 Prince that has a darker coloured finish than the previous earlier 406 Prince. It was also incredibly dirty. It came to us from the same estate of Anglican minister that was a great friend of mine here in Canada. I was in the airport in Hong Kong when his daughter contacted me to tell me of his death and asked if I wanted to take on his pipes. I told her that I was sad to hear of his death but would gladly take on his pipes to restore and sell.

This Prince had a silver band on the shank that was badly oxidized. The grime on the finish was ground into the rustication on the bowl sides. The contrast of the brown stains gave the bowl a sense of depth. It was stamped on the underside of the shank. The stamping was readable. It read on the heel of the bowl Made in the Republic of Ireland in three lines. Under that it was stamped with the shape number 406. To the right of that it was stamped Peterson’s [over] “Donegal” Rocky. The last part of the Rocky stamp is lost in the rustication. The tarnished band is stamped with K&P in shields [over] Sterling Silver. That was followed by three hallmarks – the seated woman, the harp and the italic letter “h”. The finish was dirty with grime ground into the briar sides and rim. There was a thin cake in the bowl and an overflow of lava on 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 on and 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 moderately caked and the rim top and edges have a thick lava overflow. The stem is oxidized, calcified and has light tooth marks on the top and underside near the button.     Jeff took a photo of the bowl sides and heel to show the rugged 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 a bit of a mess with overstamping but it still readable in the photos 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 hallmarking chart on one of the blogs on rebornpipes to lock down the date for the pipe (https://rebornpipes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/peterson-cataloguecomp_page_27.jpg). The chart defines the meaning of each hallmark. The first one of the seated woman with a harp is known as the Hibernia stamp and identifies the pipe as made in Ireland. The second stamp is a crowned harp which is a fineness mark denoting the high quality of silver that was used. The third stamp is a lower case letter “h”. I have included a larger screen capture of the chart in the lower left of the photo below.I have drawn a square around the date letter below. It identifies the date of this Peterson’s pipe to 1975.I knew that I was dealing with a Republic Era pipe made between 1950 and the present. The hallmarks date the pipe to 1975. 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. It has been sitting here for 2 years so the silver tarnished once again and would need to be polished.   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 and edges look quite good. It should clean up really well. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks on the surface near the button. There is also some remaining oxidation on the top of the stem.   I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank and the band. 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 polished the Sterling Silver band on the shank with a jeweler’s cloth to remove the tarnish and polish it.   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 scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation on the stem surface. I worked it over the surface of the stem with cotton pads and removed the deep oxidation on the top side of the stem.  There was one tooth mark against the edge of the button on the underside of the stem. I filled in the tooth mark with clear CA glue. Once the repair cured I used a file to smooth out the repair. I followed that by sanding it with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing of the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I wiped it down with some Obsidian Oil.   I used Paper Mate Liquid Paper to touch up the “P” stamp on the left side of the stem. It came out looking very good.  I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine.  I am excited to finish this Republic Era Peterson’s “Donegal” Rocky 406 Prince. 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 hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the rugged rustication all around it. Added to that the polished Sterling Silver band and the black vulcanite stem was beautiful. This rusticated Classic Peterson’s Prince 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: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 37grams/1.25oz. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the Irish Pipe Makers section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Breathing New Life into a Jobey Asti 200 Bulldog

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to us from an antique auction mid-2019 from Huntington Station, New York, USA. It is a Bulldog shaped pipe with the mixed smooth and rusticated finish that I have come to associate with Jobey Asti pipes. The pipe has a saddle vulcanite stem. The pipe is stamped on the left underside of the shank and reads Jobey [over] Asti. On the right side it is stamped with the shape number 200. On the left side of the saddle stem was the inset Jobey brass oval logo. The finish had a lot of grime ground into both the smooth and rusticated portions and it was very dirty. The bowl was heavily caked and there was a thick lava coat on the flat rim top and the inner edge of the rim. It was hard to tell what condition of the inner edge was because of the lava coat. Only cleaning would make that clear. The stem was oxidized, calcified and had tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button. The pipe showed promise but it was very dirty. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and the condition of the rim top and edges. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the oxidation, calcification and chatter and tooth marks. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar around the pipe looked like.   He took photos of the stamping on the shank and the logo on the left side of the saddle stem. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable.     I turned to Pipephil’s site for a quick review of the brand (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-j3.html). I quote a section of the post on the Jobey brand: These pipes are made in St Claude (France) by Butz-Choquin (Berrod-Regad group) since 1987. Before this date some were manufactured in England and Denmark (Jobey Dansk).

I turned then to Pipedia to gather further information regarding the brand and quote the first part of the article (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Jobey).

English – American – Danish – French… Sadly, solid information about Jobey is scant… Probably established in England around 1920(?) the brand hiked into the USA later. In the course of time owner, distributor and manufacturer changed repeatedly. As far as is known the following companies have been involved with the brand:

George Yale Pipes & Tobacco, New York (1942)

Norwalk Pipe Co., New York (1949)

Arlington Briar Pipes Corp., Brooklyn (when?)

Hollco International, New York (1969).

Weber Pipe Co., Jersey City, NJ (1970’s)

The Tinder Box, (1970’s – 80’s).

Throughout decades Jobey pipes were mainly sold in the USA, Canada and England but remained almost unknown in continental Europe. The bulk of Jobeys was predominantly made according to classical patterns and mainly in the lower to middle price range. The predominant judgment of the pipe smokers reads: “A well-made pipe for the price.” So there is hardly anything very special or exciting about Jobey pipes although a flyer from ca. 1970 assures: “The briar root Jobey insists upon for its peer of pipes is left untouched to grow, harden and sweeten for 100 years. […] Jobey uses only the heart of this century old briar and only one out of 500 bowls turned measures up to the rigid Jobey specifications.” 99.80% of cull… that makes the layman marveling!

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He 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 soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I received it.    The rim top and inner edge of the rim looked good with a bit of damage on the inner edge and on the rim surface on the front right. There was some burn damage on the front and right that made the bowl slightly out of round. The stem surface looked very good with some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. It also had some residual oxidation.  I took photos of the stamping on the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above.    I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The stem has a patented Jobey Link Tenon. I started my work on the pipe by working over the rim top and the inner edge of the bowl to clean up the damage. Once finished the rim top and edge looked much better.  I polished the smooth briar on the rim top and cap of the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and a horse hair shoe brush. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine.   I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrubb All Purpose cleaner to remove the residual oxidation. It works very well to remove deep oxidation.   I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of lighter to lift the bite marks on the vulcanite. Heat lift the marks to the surface of stem. I was able to lift the majority of them but there were a few left on each side. I filled them in with clear super glue and set it aside to let them cure.  When the repairs cured I sanded them smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing the stem with 400 grit wet dry 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 Jobey Asti 200 Bulldog with a vulcanite saddle stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The beautiful grain that shines through the polished smooth part of the finish and the dark rustication on the lower part of the bowl is stunning. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel 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 grain just popped with the wax and the buffing. It is a beauty! The finished Jobey Asti Bulldog 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 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 35gr/1.23oz. 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!

New Life for a Peterson’s Republic Era Dunmore 998/9

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen came to us I a group of pipe that we purchased from a fellow in Los Angeles, USA. It was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] “Dunmore”. On the right side it is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland and the shape number which looks to be 999 over-stamped to read 998. The P-lip stem has the gold P stamping on the left side of the saddle.  It was filthy when Jeff brought it to the table to clean. The finish was dirty with grime ground into the briar sides and rim. There was debris in the twin rings around the cap and there was a chip out of the right side between the rings. There was a thick cake in the bowl and an overflow of lava on the rim top and the inner edge of the bowl. The decorative beaded band around the shank end was dirty but in good condition. The stem was oxidized, calcified and had light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and 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 with a lava overflow on the rim top. You can see the grime on the outside of the bowl. The stem is oxidized, calcified and has tooth marks on the top and underside near the button.     Jeff took some photos of the bowl sides and heel to show grain that was around this bowl. It is a nice looking pipe. Notice the chips out of the middle of the twin rings are different points of the bowl in the photos below. 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. 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.

On rebornpipes Al Jones did a great restoration and write up on the Peterson’s 998 shape (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/01/28/1979-peterson-998-challenge/). It is a helpful blog so I quote it below.

From Mark Irwin’s blog entry on the John Bull, we know that the 998 shape was introduced in the 1970’s.  Below, a picture from a 1977 catalog. Marks blog describes the 998 as:

Around 1977, as seen in the Associated Imports Distributor’s Catalog illustrations above, the John Bull 999 became the XL999, and Peterson introduced shape 998, a stream-lined version of the 999 The two shapes ran alongside one another for several years, which happens when shapes are in transition. The XL999 / 999 Large John Bull was still in the 1987 catalog, but by the 1992 Handmade Brochure it had morphed into the slimmer 998 shape, which number was henceforth deleted from the catalog. I might add it was still called the “John Bull,” and Pete Nuts worthy of the name should educate all comers that while others may call the shape a bent Rhodesian, we know better.

Most 999’s weigh in the mid-50 gram range, while this 998 weighs 40 grams.  I then turned to the book I should have consulted first, The Peterson Pipe, by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to garner some background on the “Dunmore” line. On page 298 there is an entry for Dunmore pipes. It reads as follows:

Dunmore (1971-c.1984 2006-10). Appeared first as Iwan Ries & Co. exclusive line “Dunmoor,” a Premier-grade in light-brown smooth or rustic red in all System shapes, with beading at the shank. Documented in the Associated Imports Catalog from 1973. Classic Range Dunmore shapes from ’78. A third Dunmore line (’06-10) featured standard and some B shapes, with beading around bowl instead of at shank-face, produced for European market.

On page 268 there is a shape chart that does comparison of the shapes in the various lines. There I found the following information:

In the Standard and Premier System it was shape 302. In the De Luxe System it was shape 25. In the Dunmore System (1977-1983) it was shape 70. In the Classic Lines it was shape 02/XL02. The production still continues. It is a Peterson Extra Large Size and was named an Extra Large Apple.

On page 165 there were also photos of pages from a catalogue with the description: The unmounted Dunmore Premier debuted in both System and Classic Range shapes circa 1973 with a final appearance in the 1981 catalogue.

The information blurb on each page read: “Dunmore Briars.” Beautifully grained best quality briar in light-brown, matt or rustic finish. Often described as “Petersons Unmounted System” has all the advantages of the system range. Ten models each fitted with the Peterson Lip mouthpiece.

With that information in hand I knew what I was dealing with in terms of the stamping on the pipe. It is a Late Republic era pipe. It showed up in Peterson Catalogue in 1973 and from what I have learned about the Dunmore, this date fits well. 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.    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 and edges look quite good. There is a small chip on the back outer edge of the bowl. It should clean up really well. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks on the surface near the button.     I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. 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 some great grain around the bowl and shank.I repaired the chip in the twin rings with super glue and briar dust. Once it cured I smoothed it out with 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the rim top with 220 grit sandpaper to remove some of the darkening on the rim top at the back of the bowl. It came out looking good.  I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the briar and bamboo down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad.   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 grain really pops.  I sanded out the tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem with 220 grit sandpaper. I worked over the area ahead of the button and on the button edges as well. I started the polishing process with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.  I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine.     I am excited to finish this Republic Era Peterson’s “Dunmore” 998 Rhodesian. Al Jones’ contribution to the shape number helped to cinch this one for me. It is definitely more petite than the 999 pipes that I have worked on. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the grain popping through on the bowls sides and rim top. The polished black vulcanite stem was beautiful. This Republic Era Rhodesian is a 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: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 42grams/1.48oz. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the Irish Pipe Makers section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

 

 

Breathing New Life into a Bjarne Hand-Carved Canted Egg

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe came to us from a lot of pipes that Jeff and I purchased from a fellow in Los Angeles, California, USA. It is canted egg shape pipe that is quite large in the hand. Even though it was dirty it had some charm showing through the grit and grime of the years. The grain around the bowl and shank were quite stunning under the grime. On the underside of the shank it was stamped Bjarne [over] Hand-Carved [over] Made in Denmark. The finish is filthy with dust and grit ground into the briar of the bowl and shank sides. The bowl had a light cake and no overflow of lava on the top and inner edge of the rim. It was surprisingly clean inside the bowl other than being just dusty. The stem is calcified, oxidized and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. It was a filter pipe and came to us without a filter in the shank. The interior of the stem and shank were quite dirty with tars and oils. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show its overall condition before he started his cleanup work. He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the good the pipe bowl looked inside. The rim was quite clean but the inner edge was out of round on backside. It was not burned but appeared to have been caused when it was reamed sometime in its history. The photos show the contrast of the bowl’s general condition with the wear and tear on the saddle stem surface.   Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl and shank to give a picture of what the briar around the pipe looked like. He took a photo of the stamping on the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable.    I turned to my favourite go to sites on the background of brands. The first is Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-b5.html). There I looked up the Bjarne brand. I have copied the pertinent information below.

Bjarne Nielsen (1941 – † 2008) distributed his own “Bjarne” brand and pipes carved by Danish pipemakers (Mogens Johansen, Tonni Nielsen or Ph. Vigen). High grade pipes were stamped “Bjarne Nielsen” without any logo on the mouthpiece and graded A, B, C and D. Bjarne second brand: Viking.

I have included a screen capture of the section on the brand below. I turned to Pipedia and looked up the brand for a bit more information on the pipes that were stamped like the one that I am working on (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bjarne). It is a great history of the brand and a good read. Toward the end of the article I found what I was looking for. I quote:

Among the pipemakers that worked for Bjarne were Johs (for the lower priced high volume pieces), and makers like Ph. Vigen, Ole Bandholm and Tonni Nielsen for high grade pieces. The cheaper line was stamped “Bjarne” while the highest grades were stamped “Bjarne Nielsen” (never with the pipemakers’ name) and graded, from highest to lowest, by the letters: AX, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, and J.

Now I knew that I was dealing with the cheaper line of pipe made by the company. It was stamped Bjarne while the higher grade pipes were stamped Bjarne Nielsen with a grade stamp. Now it was time to work on the pipe. Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the debris on the plateau rim top 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 with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I took photos of the pipe bowl once I received it. It really looked good.    The bowl had been over reamed to the point that there was a pit in the bottom of the bowl. There was a trough from the airway to the front of the bowl and large dip mid bowl. It makes the bottom of the bowl quite thin. There were chips out of the rim top and the bowl was out of round. The stem looks really quite good. There were some light 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 clear and read as noted above. I took the stem off the shank and took a picture of the pipe to give a sense of its overall look. It is going to be a great looking pipe once the restoration is finished. I decided to begin my work on the pipe by dealing with the damage to the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. I took of the damage and removed the chips from the rim top. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to reshape the inner edge of the bowl. I gave it a light bevel to deal with the damage to the edge of the bowl. When I was finished it looked a lot better than when I started.   The next item on the agenda was the surprise mess on the bottom of the bowl. The bowl had a trough from the entry of the airway to the front of the bowl and a pit mid bowl that made the bowl bottom dangerously thin. I mixed up a batch of JB Weld and filled in both the trough and the pit in the bowl bottom. I used a folded pipe cleaner to press it into the bottom and set it aside to cure.  I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad to remove the sanding dust. I stained the top of the rim with a mix of Walnut and Maple Stain pens and was able to match the surrounding briar perfectly. Once it is buffed it will be very nice.I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine.   I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem that I had picked out. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift all of them on the top side and all but one on the underside. I filled them in with super glue and set it aside to cure. I used a file to flatten the repair on the stem and reshape the button. Once I had it reshaped and the repair flattened I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the scratching and blending them into the surface. I began the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. The stamping on the left side of the saddle stem was faint but I touched up what remained with Rub’n Buff Antique Gold.  I rubbed it into the stamping and used a tooth pick to work it into the stamp. I buffed it off with a cotton pad.I polished the scratches out of the 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.    The stem and shank were made for a 9MM filter so I took out a box of Vauen Dr. Perl Filters and fit one into the end of the stem. It fit perfectly in both the stem and the shank. Once the repair in the bowl bottom cured I mixed a bowl of sour cream and charcoal powder to protect the bowl and facilitate breaking it in the first few smokes. I put a pipe cleaner in the airway into the bowl and used a folded pipe cleaner to paint the walls and bottom of the bowl with the mixture. I set the bowl aside to let the mixture harden and cure. Once the bowl coating dries it is neutral and leaves behind no taste that affects the flavour of the tobacco.   This smooth finished Bjarne Hand-Carved Canted Egg is a great looking pipe. It is a pipe made in Denmark. The fancy, saddle vulcanite stem that is drilled for a 9mm filter works well and goes nicely with the reds of briar. I put the stem back on the bowl and 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 Bjarne Canted Egg fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 74grams/2.61oz. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store shortly in the Danish Pipe Makers Section. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Restoring and Restemming an Asselta Freehand Egg

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe came to us from an auction in Huntington Station, New York, USA and has been sitting here since mid-2019. I am finally getting to it. Even though the plateau rim top was dirty it had some charm showing through the grit and grime of the years. The grain around the bowl and shank were quite stunning under the grime. The acrylic shank extension was an incredible mixture of brown, orange and blue swirls. On the left side of the shank it was stamped Asselta. The pipe came to us without a stem so I would need to pick through what I have here and find a good option. The pipe is a smooth egg shape bowl with a plateau rim. The finish is filthy with dust and grit ground into the briar of the bowl and shank sides. The bowl had a thick cake and an overflow of lava on the top and inner edge of the rim obscuring the plateau. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show its overall condition before he started his cleanup work. He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and the lava and dust ground into the plateau rim top.   Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl and shank and the acrylic swirled shank extension to give a picture of what the briar around the pipe looked like.   He took a photo of the stamping on the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable.    I turned to Pipedia and did a search for Asselta pipes. The search came with a link in the American Pipe Brands (https://pipedia.org/wiki/American_Pipe_Brands_%26_Makers_A_-_B). It appears that the pipe was potentially made in Long Island, New York, USA. Seeing how the pipe came to us from New York it had not traveled far in its life before we purchased it. Now it has traveled from New York to Idaho and then to Vancouver, Canada. Where its journey will end only time will tell.

Now it was time to work on the pipe. Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the debris on the plateau rim top 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 with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I took photos of the pipe bowl once I received it. It really looked good.    The plateau rim top was very clean and the bowl was spotless. It was a good looking pipe. The swirled acrylic shank extension was beautiful.   I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It was clear and read as noted above. I went through my assortment of stems and found one that really worked well with the shank extension and the bowl. It is going to be a great looking pipe. I put the stem in the shank and took photos of the new look of the bowl. I like the overall look that pipe had. Once I cleaned up and polished the stem it would look very good.  I took close up photos of the bowl and plateau rim top and the stem. I was going to need to remove the tooth marks but the stem was going to look very good. The bowl was in such good condition that I started my work on it by rubbing down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips. I used a horsehair shoe brush to work it into plateau top. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine.   I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem that I had picked out. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift all of them on the top side and all but two on the underside. I filled them in with super glue and set it aside to cure. I used a file to flatten the repair on the stem and reshape the button. Once I had it reshaped and the repair flattened I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the scratching and blending them into the surface. I began the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the scratches out of the acrylic stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem.     This smooth finish/plateau rim top Asselta Freehand Egg with a swirled acrylic shank extension is a great looking pipe. It is a pipe made in Long Island, New York but other than that the carver is a mystery to me. The replacement fancy, saddle vulcanite stem works well and goes nicely with the extension and the briar. I put the stem back on the bowl and 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 Asselta Freehand Egg fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ¼ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 53grams/1.87oz. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store shortly in the American Pipe Makers Section. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!