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Rescuing Another L. J. Peretti Oom Paul: An Upside-Down Stem and Other Hurdles!

Blog by Dal Stanton

As with people, when you look at pipes, the way you look at them can be cursory – like walking down the sidewalk in the city center of Sofia. You see colors, fashions, groupings of people, a quick intake of information and not much of the information reaches longer term memory in our brains. I’ve been looking at the Peretti Lot of 10 that has been my focus over the past weeks as I’ve recommissioned each, one by one. Interestingly though, not until a pipe reaches the status as “the one” on the worktable do you really start seeing it. The difference might be like walking the city sidewalk as I described above and then comparing this to looking at your new granddaughters for the first time just after their births – which I’ve had the pleasure of in the past several months! Oh my, you look at toes, each one, fingers, how the ears hang and curl…. There is no end to the enjoyment of taking in the fulness of the detail! When looking at the ‘the one’ close-up – the detail of an estate pipe in need of restoration, the detail will not be tented with the rose-colored glasses affixed when looking at grandchildren! Here are the pictures I took from the city ‘side walk’ of the next Peretti Oom Paul now on my worktable when I was cataloging the Peretti Lot of 10 when they arrived here in Bulgaria together. After restoring several of these Perettis, all having the same steward, I’ve become familiar with what to expect. Each Peretti has the former steward’s ‘MO’. This Peretti falls in line. It has thick cake in the chamber and thick, crusty lava covering the rim. The left side of the chamber/rim is scorched and charred from the tobacco lighting habit of excessively pulling the fire over the side and damaging the briar. Even as I do what I can to correct it, this Peretti will also leave the worktable with the same limp as his 9 brothers and cousins did in different degrees – an imbalanced and out of round rim/chamber. Additionally, this Peretti Oom Paul’s stem is dented and chewed with almost the same ‘finger prints’ as the others. These are the issues stemming from the former steward’s pipe smoking practices. And yet, the stummel shows great potential – like the others, the grain on this large Oom Paul stummel is quite eye catching under the dirt and grime. I see normal nicks and bumps of being a faithful servant in the rotation – the briar will clean up well, I’m sure of this.

Unfortunately, there’s more to the story. In my previous write ups of the other Perettis, I had commented that some of the Oom Pauls’ stems were not aligned well with the shanks due to less than ideal drilling precision. I have never made a pipe and my hat is off to those whose interests and creativity take them in this direction – there are many beautifully done Free Style pipes I see all the time posted by fellow pipe men and women. I understand that the drilling of a stummel is one of the more complex parts of making pipes – especially when sharp angles require multiple drillings. When I took a closer look at the pipe my eyes focused on the fact that there was a huge ridge overhanging the shank. As I turned the pipe over looking at it from different angles, it appeared that somehow the wrong stem was mistakenly joined with this shank! I looked at the other Oom Paul I have left in the basket to restore, in the queue for a new steward, and it was obvious that the other stem was not matching this stummel. I came to the sad conclusion that this drilling job simply was shoddy. Here’s what I see of ‘the one’ on my work table: No matter which angle I chose or how I squinted my eyes it didn’t make what I was looking at any better! Oh my. The next thought I had was of Abraham, a Californian and fellow pipe man and member of the Facebook group, ‘The Gentlemen’s Pipe Smoking Society’. What would he think when he reads this blog after having commissioned this pipe, waiting patiently over the weeks as it slowly moved up in the queue! Fortunate for him, I AM a man of prayer and this pipe WILL benefit the Daughters of Bulgaria! I’m already wondering what I will do to rescue this ailing Oom Paul! I remembered my research on Peretti for my first Peretti restoration a few years ago. I wondered where the Boston-based L. J. Peretti Co., manufactured their pipes. I sent an email to the Peretti Tobacconist in Boston and was amazed that I received a response. Here is what I learned:

Hello Dal,

We have been sourcing our proprietary pipes from a number of different manufacturers. That said, it is most likely that Arlington Briars made the pipe you have in your possession. Photos would help us identify the pipe further. I will have to look through some of our old content and see what I can find.

Hope this helps, Tom LJP

Per Pipedia: Arlington Briar Pipes Corporation was founded in 1919 in Brooklyn, New York, and produced the Arlington, Briarlee, Firethorn, Krona and Olde London brands among dozens of others, primarily acting as a subcontractor making pipes to be sold under other brand names. Among others, in the 1950’s, Arlington turned pipes for the famed Wilke Pipe Shop in New York City. The corporation was dissolved by the State of New York as inactive on December 6, 1978.

I don’t know for certain that Arlington Briar Pipes produced the Peretti Lot of 10, but when I looked at the Pipedia page, this picture of Arlington’s own brand, this Oom Paul was staring at me. He looks very familiar! Well, we won’t know for sure, but the history of L. J. Peretti and the drilling of this Oom Paul interests me! In the back of my mind as I begin restoring this pipe, is the huge misalignment of the stem and stummel.

The first step in the restoration of this L. J. Peretti Oom Paul is to add the stem to a bath of Before and After Deoxidizer. After several hours in the bath with other stems, I take out the stem and drain it of Deoxidizer and wipe it down with a cotton pad wetted with light paraffin oil (mineral oil) to remove the oxidation that was raised during the soak. I then use Before and After Fine Polish followed by Extra Fine Polish to further condition the vulcanite and remove oxidation. I work the polishes in with my fingers and after a time, wipe them with a cotton cloth.Turning to the Oom Paul stummel, I see that there is still tobacco at the floor of the chamber. I clear that, and I ream the thick cake using the Pipnet Reaming Kit. I start with the smallest blade and working to the larger blades as the cake is incrementally removed. I use three of the four blades in the Pipnet Kit.I then turn to the Savinelli Fitsall Tool to fine tune the reaming job. This is the most painful part for me – carefully removing the charred briar on the rim and watching the rim grow thinner on the damaged side and out of round! The good news is that the chamber itself looks stellar. To clean the chamber further I use 240 grit paper wrapped around a Sharpie Pen and sand the chamber. Finally, I wipe the chamber out with a cotton pad wetted with alcohol to remove the carbon dust for all the reaming. The pictures show the process. With all the other Perettis, the basic cleaning of the external surface and the rim revealed beautiful grain underneath the grime. I have the same expectations for this Oom Paul stummel. Using undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a cotton pad I go to work on the briar surface and the lava on the rim. I also use a brass brush to work at removing the lava on the rim. To carefully scrape the rim, I utilize the flat sharp edge of the Savinelli Fitsall Tool. I rinse the stummel with tap water. The pictures show the progress, before and after. Quite a difference! My eye is drawn to a spider web grain pattern on the stummel’s left side – shown in the first two pictures – very nice! I turn now to clean the internals and it doesn’t take too much. I use pipe cleaners, cotton buds and a shank brush to work on the draft hole and mortise. Even though the internals are cleaning up nicely, I like to utilize a kosher salt and alcohol soak to freshen and clean even more thoroughly preparing the pipe for a new steward.To prepare the soak, I form a wick using a cotton ball. I stretch and twist it and then push it down the mortise and draft hole. I use a straight piece of an old wire clothes hanger to push and guide the wick. This wick acts to draw out the residual tars and oils as the salt and isopropyl 95% do their job. I then position the stummel in an egg carton for stability and fill the chamber with kosher salt. I asked the question when I first saw this method used, why kosher? The answer I received was that it didn’t leave an aftertaste as does iodized salt. Sounded reasonable to me. I then give the stummel a shake with the chamber cupped to displace the salt. Then, using a large eye dropper I fill the chamber with isopropyl 95% till it surfaces over the salt. After a few minutes I top it off with a bit more alcohol because it has absorbed into the fresh cotton wick and salt. I put the stummel aside and let the soak do its thing. The next morning as expected, the darkening of the salt and wick indicate that more tars and oils were pulled out of the internals. I thump the stummel on my palm releasing the expended salt in the waste. I wipe the bowl with paper towel, blowing through the mortise to dislodge remaining salt. I also use a multi-sized shank brush to do this. Finally, I run another pipe cleaner and cotton bud dipped in isopropyl 95% in the mortise and draft hole to finalize the cleaning. After reuniting the stem and stummel again, I take another long, hard look at the goblin stem that was lurking in my subconscious! I have been mulling over the stem/shank junction and what it would take to repair – counting the cost in sanding and lost briar. As I fiddled with the stem, twisting it around checking the looseness of the fit, I stumbled onto the solution to the alignment conundrum! When I reversed the stem, so that it was upside down, the saddle of the stem and the shank lined up almost perfectly! The old 70s song came to mind, “Oh happy day!” I have absolutely no idea what was going on in the production line of the Arlington Briar Pipes factory that day, if indeed it was there, but there was a breakdown in communication between the drill man and the stem bending man (or women!). My mind wonders whether they had a few beers over lunch…. I’m scratching my head, but this restoration was just made a little less difficult! The junction between the end of the shank and saddle stem shows a bit of gap (daylight) but that can be addressed. My plan: re-bend the upside-down stem, thereby turning the upside-down stem to right-side up! Did you follow that? The pictures show the discovery! To make sure I retain the same angle of bend, which seems to be on the money, I trace the stem’s angle on a piece of paper which I’ll use as a template for the reversing bend. I use a narrow-rounded glass bottle to provide the back-board for the bending. I then insert a pipe cleaner through the draft hole to help to maintain the stem’s integrity during the heating and bending. Using a heat gun, I gradually heat the stem in the bend area and when the vulcanite becomes pliable I bend it over the glass and size it up on the template. When I think I have it right, I place the stem under cool tap water to cool the vulcanite and set the bend. The first time through, I’m not satisfied that I create enough bend. I repeat the process again. The second time was the charm. I like the bend – the fit is now much, much better in the shank. While I’m on the stem adjustment, I now address the gaps or ‘daylight’ I can see between the shank base and the stem saddle. I start using by 600 grade paper on the topping board and I VERY gently top the shank base primarily to clean and start with a flat surface. I then use a piece of 600 grade paper, folded over once, inserting it between the shank base and saddle of the stem as a two-side sanding pad. I work on sanding down the high spots so that the gaps close. After a while, I’m not making progress too quickly, so I switch to 470 grade paper – a little coarser, and it does the trick. It takes quite a while sanding and testing repeatedly and making sure the stem stays in proper straight alignment during the sanding. I’m able to sand the high spots and achieve a much better, not perfect(!) union between the stem and shank. Another adjustment is needed with the fit of the tenon and mortise. The fit now is looser than I prefer. I will tighten the fit hopefully by heating the tenon while inserting a slight larger drill bit into the tenon’s airway and expanding it. I heat the tenon with a Bic lighter and gradually work the smooth end of the drill bit down the airway. I cool the vulcanite with tap water to hold the expansion and withdraw the bit and test in the mortise. The fit is now snugger and that is good. That completes the mechanical adjustments to the stem – its working well! Even after the stem was turned ‘upside down’ to achieve better alignment, the saddle of the stem is enlarged over the shank at different places creating a ridge as I move my finger toward the stem over the junction. To correct this, I use 240 sanding paper to work on these ridges of vulcanite. I keep the stem inserted into the shank to do this. As I sand at the edge, dealing with the ridge, I’m also sanding up the saddle to taper the angle. I don’t want a mound of vulcanite to circle the saddle, so I blend the angle through the entire saddle – rounding it as well. The first picture shows the evidence of a ridge with the vulcanite dust collecting. The rest of the pictures show the stem flush with the shank and the tapering work on the saddle. Of course, the ‘L. J. Peretti Co.’, stamping on the shank is carefully safe-guarded during the sanding. After the 240 grade paper, I go over the same area with 470 grit paper followed by 600 which goes much faster because the purpose is to erase the scratches of the previous sanding paper. I am truly amazed at the recovery of this Oom Paul’s shank/stem alignment issues. The entire structure of the pipe is now tighter and sharper. The pictures show the completion of this part of the restoration for which I am thankful! Now I remove the stem from the stummel and flip the stem over to the bit area to repair the tooth chatter and dents. I take pictures of the upper and lower bit as well as a severe dent on the lower button lip to mark the starting point. The first step is to employ the heating method. I use a Bic lighter and paint the vulcanite with the flame. As a rubber composite, the vulcanite expands with the heating and so the dents will rise reclaiming their original place in the whole – or almost. The dents have been lessened but not removed. The lower bit’s dents have almost vanished and will probably only need sanding. The upper bit and the button lip still have quite a bit of damage. I then take 240 grit paper and sand the bit and button to see what is left to patch. While I’m at it I sand the entire stem since it was re-bent in the extreme opposite, I want to remove any residual ripples in the vulcanite. The lower bit dents sanded out completely. The upper bit and button need to be patched. Pictures show the progress – first, upper then lower bit and button after sanding with 240 grit paper. Now I will patch the upper bit using BSI Maxi-Cure Extra Thick CA glue mixed with activated charcoal dust. I will patch the two dents as well as the left side of the button lip. It needs to be rebuilt. After I put a small amount of charcoal dust on an index card, I drop a little CA glue next to the activated charcoal dust. Then, using a tooth pick, I draw charcoal dust into the dollop of glue mixing it as I go. Gradually, as I draw more charcoal dust into the CA glue it begins to form a thicker putty. When it reaches the right consistency – like molasses, I use the tooth pick as a trowel and apply the patch putty to both dents and to the left side of the lower button lip to rebuild it. I put the stem aside to allow the patches to cure.With the stem patches curing, I now look to the rim damage. I take another close-up to get another look…. It’s amazing how things jump out – when I took the picture of the rim to begin working on cleaning it up, in the picture I notice what I hadn’t seen before – look beyond the rim to the shank….When I first saw it, I thought it might simply be a wet line left over from cleaning the stummel. But after closer examination with a magnifying glass it confirmed what I was hoping against! A crack in the shank emanating from the ‘crook’ or where the shank and bowl join. I had almost the same thing in a previous Peretti Oom Paul restoration (See: Two of Boston’s L. J. Peretti Oom Pauls Recommissioned) – a shank crack that came from the crook and worked up toward the stem but did not reach the shank end. I closely inspect the mortise for evidence of an internal crack and I see none. I really don’t know how this crack started – it appears to be trauma created from the inserted tenon pushing forcefully toward the top of the mortise because of a drop which forced the stem down – my guess. I would think if this were the case, you would expect more trauma on the back of the shank – as a reaction force. But I see no indication of this. I take a few close-ups of the crack to see it more clearly.The good news is that the crack is localized in the briar and has not crept all the way to the end of the shank. As I did before, to block the ‘crack creep’ I drill small holes at both ends of the crack which will arrest its growth. Drilling in the crook is not easy! With the aid of a magnifying glass, I mark the ends of the crack with the sharp point of a dental probe. I use these as a drill guide (first picture below). I then mount a 1mm drill bit into the Dremel and I VERY carefully drill the holes – not an easy feat holding the Dremel free hand! I wipe off the area with a cotton pad this apply thin CA glue to both holes as well as along the line of the crack. The thin CA glue will seep more deeply into the crack helping to seal it. I then sprinkle briar dust on the entire repair area to help blending later when I sand. I set the stummel aside to let the crack repair cure. While I’m working on the stummel, I also detect two places that have very small gaps in the briar that I want to fill. I apply a drop of regular CA glue to each gap. After applying the first drop, I wait an hour or so for the glue to set so that I can flip the stummel and apply the other patch. After the first patch sets, I apply the drop of glue on the other side and set the stummel aside to allow the CA glue patches to cure. With stummel patches curing I turn again to the stem and the charcoal dust and CA glue patches are ready to be filed and sanded on the bit and to reshape the button. I start by using a flat needle file to bring the patch mounds down to the vulcanite surface level. I also shape the new button with the file. The pictures show the filing progress. Switching to sanding paper, I first use 240 grit to bring the patch mounds down to the vulcanite surface and to blend, erasing the file scratches. I continue to shape and blend the button profile. Then I switch to 600 grade paper and sand the entire stem to erase the scratches left by the 240 grade paper. Finally, I use 0000 grade steel wool to sand/buff the entire stem to smooth out the scratches left by the 600 grade paper. I like the results. The reformed button looks good. With a closer look at one of the patches, I detect very small air pocket cavities in the patch which is common. To rectify this, using a tooth pick, I paint both patches, to be on the safe side, with a thin layer of thin CA glue to fill the cavities. I wait a few hours for the CA glue to cure and I sand the patch again with 600 grade paper and then again with the 0000 steel wool. I have sanding patch projects on the stummel to address. I start first with the crack repair on the shank. Using 240 grit paper I sand down the patch over both holes on each side of the crack as well as the crack itself. I then follow with 600 grit paper over the entire area. The repair looks good and will blend well as I finish the pipe. The main thing was to protect the pipe from a creeping crack – this is done.Turning to the patches on both sides of the stummel, I use a flat needle file, then 240 grit paper followed by 600 on both sides. As I file/sand, I try to stay on top of the patch mound to minimize impact on surrounding briar. Patches on the stummel are finished. Now I turn to the rim repair. I feel like I’ve been around the block a few times with the repairs to the stummel and now I’m finally looking at the rim repair. I take another picture to get a closer look and mark the starting point. In the picture below, the bottom of the picture is the left side of the rim that has sustained the most damage from burned briar because of the former stewards practice of lighting his tobacco over the side of the rim instead of over the tobacco. I cannot replace the lost briar but what I try to do as I remove the damaged briar is to restore the balance to the rim as much as possible. I do this through beveling. First, I take the stummel to the topping board which for me is a chopping board covered with 240 grit paper. After inverting the stummel, I rotate it over the board in an even, circular motion. I check the progress often to make sure I’m not leaning in the direction of the damaged area. It is especially a challenge topping an Oom Paul because his shank is extended beyond the plane of the rim. So, I hang the shank off the side of the board as I top. I utilize a flat sanding block as well to direct the topping in specific areas. When I’ve taken enough off in topping, I switch the paper to 600 grit on the topping board to give the rim a quick smoothing by removing the 240 scratches. You can see in the pictures below how I unintentionally nicked the shank in the process….Next, to remove the internal ring of scorched briar I use a tightly folded piece of coarse 120 grade paper to cut a bevel around the internal edge. I increase the bevel on the ‘fat’ areas of the rim seeking to balance the roundness a bit – even though nothing will solve it completely! The goal is to give the appearance of more balance. After completing the main shaping of the bevel with the coarser 120 paper, I continue using a rolled piece of 240 grit paper. I take a picture at this point to mark the progress.I take the stummel back to the topping board with 600 grit paper to define the rim lines again.One last step in the rim repair. The external edge of the rim is sharp because of the topping. To soften the appearance of the rim and to enhance the overall presentation of the rim, I cut a small, gentle bevel on the external edge. I do this with 240 grit paper rolled, then follow with 600 grit paper. I pinch the paper on the edge of the rim with my thumb and move methodically and evenly around the circumference. We live in a broken world and many people live their lives with a limp – it reminds us of our frailty. This Peretti Oom Paul will always have a limp of a bowl that is out of round because of the damage he sustained in the past. Despite this, the rim looks pretty good considering from where we’ve come! Anxious to move the stummel along, I now address the briar surface. Using micromesh pads 1500 to 2400 I wet sand the stummel. I follow this with dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000 then 6000 to 12000. I enjoy watching the briar grain emerge through this process! With the previous Peretti restorations, and with this one, I strive to maintain the original Peretti light, natural grain motif. I have used Before and After Restoration Balm to deepen and enrichen the natural grain color. I’ve been more than satisfied with the previous restorations and will apply the Balm to this Peretti Oom Paul as well. I apply Balm to my finger and then I work it into the briar surface with the ends of my fingers. The Balm starts with an oily feel then it gradually transforms into a thicker wax-like substance. After I work it in, I set it on the stand to allow the Balm to work. I take a picture of this and then after several minutes I wipe/buff the Balm off with a microfiber cloth. The results look great. With the stummel awaiting a stem to catch up, I turn to the stem. The CA glue painting of the air pocket cavities in the bit patch is ready for sanding and I use 240 grade paper to sand down to the stem surface. I then use 600 grade paper followed by 0000 grade steel wool to finish it out. The bit repair is done, and it looks good. All the air pockets have been removed.I move on to the micromesh pad cycles. First, I wet sand using pads 1500 to 2400. I follow by dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000 then 6000 to 12000. After each set of 3 pads I apply Obsidian Oil to the stem which rejuvenates the vulcanite. I love the glassy shine of polished vulcanite! After reuniting stem and stummel, I mount the Dremel with a cotton cloth buffing wheel and apply Blue Diamond compound to the pipe. I set the Dremel to its slowest speed and apply the compound in a methodical way – not applying too much pressure to the wheel but allowing the speed of the Dremel and abrasiveness of the compound to do the work. I then wipe the pipe with a felt cloth to remove compound dust. Then, mounting another cotton cloth buffing wheel to the Dremel, and increasing the speed to about 40% full power, I apply a few coats of carnauba wax to the stem and stummel. I finish the process by giving the pipe a good hand buffing with a microfiber cloth to raise the shine.

I must admit, I was so occupied with the technical aspects of this restoration that I didn’t fully appreciate the beauty of this pipes color and grain until now. I especially like the ‘burst’ on the left side of the large Oom Paul stummel. Earlier I called it a spider web effect – now it looks more like a center of clustered circles, the bird’s eye grain, and sunburst expanding out from it. Very striking grain showcased on this classic Oom Paul shape. He’s overcome an upside-down stem, a crack in the crook of the shank, a chewed up bit and a burned up rim – I would say he’s looking good now for what he’s been through! This Peretti was commissioned by Abraham in California and he will have first dips on this L. J. Peretti Oom Paul when he goes into The Pipe Steward Store. This pipe benefits the work of the Daughters of Bulgaria – helping women and girls (and their children!) who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. Thank you for joining me!

Working on Paresh’s Grandfather’s Barling’s Make Ye Olde Wood Fossil 271

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Blog by Steve Laug

As I mentioned in my previous blog, Paresh, my friend in India reached out to me over Whatsapp to talk about a few more of his Grandfather’s pipes. He was confident in working on many of them but there were a few that he wanted me to try my hand on. His wife Abha would ream and clean them for me so I would be able to start with a relatively clean pipe. The third pipe was a sandblast Barling’s Make billiard with a vulcanite stem. It was another pipe that was in rough condition when Paresh and Abha started working on it. They reamed the thick hard cake with a KleenReem pipe reamer and clean up the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap. They also cleaned the interior with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. The pipe was in very rough condition. There were cracks in the bowl on the front and the left side. The rim was beat up and out of round. It had been reamed with a knife sometime in its life. The stamping on the underside of the bowl and shank read Barling’s in an arch over Make over Ye Olde Wood. Next to that was the shape number 271. Further down the flattened shank it was stamped with an EL followed by Made In England, Fossil and T.V.F. The stem was lightly oxidized and had some tooth chatter and marks on both sides. It had a faint Barling’s cross logo on the top. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition when it arrived. I took some close up photos of the damage on the bowl to give a better idea of what I was working with on this pipe. The rim top was a real mess with nicks, chips and damage under a coat of tars. The bowl was out of round but workable. There were two cracked areas – one on the front of the bowl from the rim down and one on the left side from the rim down. Paresh and Abha had reamed the bowl for me so the inside was quite clean. The stem was in pretty decent shape with a few tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem near the button and some oxidation. The bowl was a real mess and it would be a challenge. I took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. As noted above it reads Barling’s in and arch over Make and the Ye Olde Wood over 271 on the bottom of the bowl. The shank is stamped EL followed by Made in England, Fossil and T.V.F.I decided to clean up the remaining thin cake in the bowl to get back to bare briar. I wanted to see the extent of the damage on the walls of the bowl interior before I addressed the damage on the outside of the bowl. I used a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to scrape away the remaining cake. Once it was clean, I sanded the inside of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the bowl walls and the inner edge of the rim.To clean up the rim top and remove the serious damage on that portion of the pipe I topped it with 220 grit sandpaper on a topping board. I remove the damage portion and flattened the top of the rim. I would need to repair the cracks in the rim top and then rusticated it to match the finish on the bowl.I wiped down the surface of the briar with alcohol on a cotton pad to clean off the grime. I drilled tiny pin holes at the end of each crack on the exterior of the bowl in hopes of stopping the spread of the crack. I filled in the damaged areas around the bowl and on the rim with briar dust and clear super glue. At this point in the process the repairs appear quite crude. Lots of work still remains to blend them into the sandblast finish of the bowl. I used a brass bristle tire brush to work over the repaired areas on the front and side of the bowl. I wanted to clean up the rough edges of the repair and try to blend it into the finish around it. The bristles are stiff enough to remove the edges and I think works well to blend it into the surface of the surrounding sandblast. I lightly topped the bowl again to smooth out the roughness of the repairs on the rim surface.I used some small burrs on my Dremel running at a slow speed of 5 to try to recreate the look of the sandblast on the rim top. It took a bit of doing but I think it gives the rim top a better look than the smooth finish. I blended a walnut and a Maple stain pen to approximate the mottled finish on the rest of the bowl. It worked pretty well I think. I will show full photos shortly. To fill in the cracks on the inside of the bowl and to protect it from burn out or further cracking I mixed up some JB Weld. It dries hard, is heat resistant and when dry is inert and does not gas off or breakdown (according to all I have been able to read). I used a dental spatula to apply it to the inside of the bowl. Once it cures for a day I will sand it out and remove the majority of it other than what will remain in the damaged areas. I wiped off the rim top with a cotton pad and alcohol to remove the small drops of JB Weld that were on the surface and restained the rim top and the repaired areas on the side and front of the bowl. I will still need to buff the bowl and wax it but it is getting very close to the look I am aiming for with this repair. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the grooves and crevices of the sandblast finish with my fingers and a horsehair shoe brush. I want the product to go deep into the finish because it works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. Once I was confident that it was deeply worked into the blast I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth to polish it. The pipe really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. I set the bowl aside and went to work on the stem. I cleaned the inside of the stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol. Once the stem was clean I checked it with a light for more potential problems inside. It was clear and spotless. I sanded the stem surface with worn 220 grit sandpaper to break up the oxidation (carefully avoiding the stamping on the top of the saddle).I filled in the tooth dent on the top of the button on the top side of the stem and the two tooth dents on the underside with clear super glue.Once the glue hardened and cured I filed the repairs flat and reshaped the button with 220 grit sandpaper. I worked over the surface of the stem again with the sandpaper to blend in the repairs.I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I rubbed the stem down with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to polish out the scratches. I gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. I avoided the stamping on the top of the saddle. There is still some oxidation there that I left because I did not want to damage the stamp. It is a nice looking stem nonetheless. I carefully polished bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the remaining small scratches. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and lightly buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The transparent mixed brown stain worked really well with the black vulcanite stem. The sandblast finish looked really good. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 1/2 inches, Height: 1 3/4 inches, Outer diameter of the bowl: 1 1/4 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ inches. This is the third of the three of Paresh’s Grandfather’s pipes that he sent me to finish. I will pack the pipes up and send them back to India this week after I give the bowl a bowl coating. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of them once he gets to load them with his favourite tobacco and carry on the pipe man’s legacy of his Grandfather. Thanks for walking through this restoration with me as I worked over this beauty.

Working on another of Paresh’s Grandfather’s pipes

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Blog by Steve Laug

Paresh, my friend in India reached out to me over Whatsapp to talk about a few more of his Grandfather’s pipes. He was confident in working on many of them but there were a few that he wanted me to try my hand on. His wife Abha would ream and clean them for me so I would be able to start with a relatively clean pipe. The first of these was a beautiful older WDC Bulldog with an amber coloured Bakelite stem. It was in rough condition when Paresh and Abha started working on it. They reamed the thick hard cake with a KleenReem pipe reamer and clean up the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap. They also cleaned the interior with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. The rim top had a thick over flow of lava that hid the briar that Paresh topped to smooth out. There was some darkening to the rim top and down the sides of the bowl cap. The briar was very dirty. There was a gold stamped WDC triangle on the left side of the shank and a brass decorative band that was loose. The stem was a mess. There was a large chunk of the Bakelite missing on the underside and deep tooth marks on the top and underside near and on the surface of the button. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition when it arrived.You can see the work that Paresh and Abha had done to the rim top to clean it up and remove the damage. He had also worked over the inner edge of the bowl to smooth out the damage to the edge. You can also see the extensive damage to the stem in these photos.I took some close up photos of the bowl and stem to give a better idea of what I was working with on this pipe. The rim top was clean but there was darkening down the edges of the cap for about a quarter of an inch. The stem was a mess. Paresh had tried to repair the damage and tooth marks with some clear super glue that he picked up in India. He found that it was inferior and did not harden quickly. Once it did the repair tended to fall out. It was very frustrating. He was able to patch the tooth marks on the stem but not the missing chunk at the stem/shank union.The bowl was the easiest part of the restoration on this old pipe so I started there. I worked on the darkening along the top edge of the cap and was able to remove it with micromesh sanding pads. I used 1500-2400 grit pads to remove the damage and then polished it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cotton pad after each pad to check out the progress. I polished the rim top at the same time. The photos tell the story. With the rim darkening removed and the rim and cap polished it was time to touch up the stain to blend it into the rest of the bowl. I used a Mahogany stain pen and stained the cap and the rim top. The match was a little darker than I wanted and not as transparent either. I wetted a cotton pad with alcohol and wiped down the cap to blend the stain and make it more transparent. This did the trick and I was happy with the finished colour. The photos show the process. I slipped the loose brass shank cap/band off the shank and used a tooth pick to put some all-purpose glue around the shank end. I pressed the band in place on the shank and wiped off the excess glue that squeezed out with a damp cotton pad.The briar was clean but dried out and in need of some deep cleaning. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the briar bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I hand rubbed it with my fingers, working it into the exterior of the pipe. I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth to polish it. The pipe really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I used a needle file to clean up the edges of the button on both sides. I also used the file to smooth out the repairs that Paresh had made to the tooth marks on the surface of the stem. He had done a good job and now it was time to blend them into the surface of the stem.I sanded the file marks out of the stem surface with 220 grit sandpaper and blended the repairs into the surface of the stem. I filled in the missing chunk of Bakelite with multiple layers of amber super glue. I could have used clear glue but I had the amber around and it is a thicker product so it used it. I use layers so that the repair does not get to thick. It makes the drying time shorter and I think it gives a better bond.I laid the stem aside and went to bed. I touched up the final layer of glue in the morning and went to work. The stem had the entire day to cure. When I returned in the evening I sanded the repaired area with 220 grit sandpaper and reshaped the entire stem surface to make the flow of the taper correct. I would need to add some more glue to the patch but progress was being made. Slowly but surely I was conquering this repair.I touched up the glue repairs and wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil. I took the next two photos to send on Whatsapp to Paresh and Abha. The stem is looking really good. There is still a lot of polishing to do but it is getting there.I polished the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper to remove the scratches and polish the Bakelite.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. I carefully polished stem and bowl with Blue Diamond (using a soft touch) to polish out the remaining small scratches. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I gave the stem several coats of Conservator’s Wax and hand buffed it with a soft cloth. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The transparent medium brownish red stain worked really well with the golden/amber Bakelite stem. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 4 3/4 inches, Height: 1 3/4 inches, Outer diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ inches. This is the first of three of Paresh’s Grandfather’s pipes that he sent me to finish. I will set it aside and when the others are finished I will pack them up and send them back to India. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of it once he gets to load it with his favourite tobacco and carry on the pipe man’s legacy of his Grandfather. Thanks for walking through this restoration with me as I worked over this beauty.

Refreshing a Lattice Work Meerschaum Bent Billiard

Recommissioning Another L. J. Peretti of Boston: An Oom Paul Sitter

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Blog by Dal Stanton

After restoring my first two Oom Pauls (see: LINK) from the L. J. Peretti Co., Tobacconist of Boston, this is the next Oom Paul that came to Bulgaria in the Peretti Lot of 10 I acquired off the eBay auction block. I posted the picture of the 10 (below) on my favorite Facebook pipe groups (The Gentlemen’s Pipe Smoking Society, Old Codgers Smoking Pipe, Pipe Smokers of America, and Tobacco Pipe Restorers) letting interested pipe men and women know that except for one, the Oom Pauls would be available for personal collections. All the Perettis restored and placed with new stewards benefit the Daughters of Bulgaria, an effort to help women and girls (and their children!) who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. This L. J. Peretti Oom Paul Sitter from the Lot of 10 has been commissioned by a pipe man in neighboring Romania, just to the north of Bulgaria. After restored, he will have first dibs on this Peretti now on my worktable!Along with the large stummel, what makes this Peretti stand out is the fact that it is a Sitter – a very nice feature when one is at the table enjoying friends and board games or a hand of cards! I wish that the L. J. Peretti Co., had put out a shape chart in the past – if they had, I haven’t been able to find it! This pipe, with another Sitter in the Lot of 10, might be just a bit shy of full bent status which is the technical norm for Oom Pauls according to Bill Burney’s description of the Oom Paul in Pipedia, but it is clear that Peretti used the same tall, long, full stummel with the Sitters, but widened the bend a bit, perhaps to allow the better balance as the Sitter is seated. My call is that it is very close and either way, will serve his new steward well! Here are pictures I took of the Peretti Oom Paul Sitter on my worktable here in Bulgaria. The left side of the shank is stamped with L. J. Peretti with no other markings on the stummel or stem. Along with his brothers and cousins in the Peretti Lot of 10, this Oom Paul Sitter shares the thick carbon cake in the chamber and the rim abuse of incessant lighting over the side of the rim. The extent of the erosion to the briar around the rim due to this scorching I’ll know after the reaming and cleaning of the stummel/rim. The bowl shows normal nicks, scratches and grime that has darkened and obscured the briar. I detect no fills on the surface, but the Sitter’s heel has a large, lightened blotch/fill to be addressed along the way. The stem has moderate oxidation, but the bit is chewed up like all his Peretti brothers and cousins. The former steward liked to chew on his Perettis! The upper/lower bit and button lip have sustained compression dents.

I start the restoration process by addressing the oxidation of the stem. Previously, along with several other stems of pipes in the queue, the Sitter’s stem went into a soak using ‘Before and After Deoxidizer’ to remove the oxidation from the vulcanite stem. I first had cleaned the internals of the stem with isopropyl 95% and pipe cleaners. The stem stayed in the soak for several hours and after removing it from the Deoxidizer, I wiped it down with cotton pads and mineral spirits (in Bulgaria, light paraffin oil). The oxidation wipes off as a nasty brown on the cotton pads. I continue to wipe with cotton pads and paraffin oil until it cleans and is buffing up. The Before and After Deoxidizer does a good job. To continue the Before and After process, I now apply first the Fine Polish by putting some on my finger tips and working it into the vulcanite. The polish starts off thick and gritty, but liquifies as I work it around and absorbs into the vulcanite. After a while, I buff off the polish with a cotton pad and then, in the same manner, apply the Extra Fine Polish. I take a picture of the stem after I worked this polish in but before buffing it off. You can make out the texture of the polish on the surface. I then buff it off with a cotton pad. The stem looks clear of oxidation and has a deep black hue.I look now to the stummel. I begin by reaming the heavily caked Oom Paul chamber. I also work on the rim surface with very thick, crusted lava flow. There is no way to determine the condition of the chamber wall or the rim until the cake is removed. This is a consistent characteristic of all the L. J. Peretti Lot of 10. I use the Pipnet Reaming kit to begin the job starting with the smallest blade over a paper towel to minimize clean up! I use 3 of the 4 blades available. I then use the Savinelli Fitsall Tool to continue to remove carbon from the chamber walls by scraping the chamber wall and reaching the difficult areas. When I detect the walls are scraped smoothly – no more crunching of carbon, I sand the chamber using 240 grit paper wrapped around a Sharpie Pen. Finally, after sanding I wipe the chamber with cotton pads wetted with isopropyl 95% to remove the carbon dust. Looking into the chamber, I see no cracks or crevices. It looks good! I take pictures along the way. Now, to attack the thick gunk on the rim, I use undiluted Murphy’s Oil also to clean the entire stummel which is darkened by the grime. I use a cotton pad and Murphy’s and the grime is coming off. I’m pleasantly surprised to see what I thought was a fill on the heel of the stummel disappear! It too was simply gunk on the briar surface. The rim put up some resistance! I first use the cotton pad but quickly utilized a brass brush to scrub the lava over the rim. I also used my pen knife to scrape gently the rim surface. To complete the cleanup, I rinse the stummel and rim with cool tap water. The stummel surface looks good – it cleaned up well and I can see some impressive grain patterns lurking underneath. As with the other Peretti Oom Pauls I’ve restored, the plane of the rim is dropping a bit to the left of perpendicular with the shank, but I’ll leave it as is. I also note that the left side of the rim has eroded somewhat because of the practice of lighting the tobacco over the edge. The result is that there is an inconsistent rim width around the circumference. I’ll seek to correct this, or at least help it along by creating an internal rim bevel. Since I like working on clean pipes, I turn to the internal cleaning of the stummel using a shank brush, pipe cleaners and cotton buds dipped in isopropyl 95%. I also utilize a dental spatula to scrape the sides of the mortise to remove old tars and oils. After the frontal assault on the gunk, I decide to employ the stealthier approach – a kosher salt and alcohol soak. This approach helps to freshen the internals as well as remove more latent tars and oils. I fill the stummel with kosher salt, cup the chamber with my palm and give the stummel a shake to displace the salt. I then create a wick with a cotton ball by pulling and twisting it. I stuff the wick down the mortise and through the draft way. Then I place the stummel in an egg carton to stabilize it and fill the bowl with isopropyl 95% until it surfaces over the salt. I wait a few minutes and top it off again. The day is late, and I set the stummel aside to let it soak through the night.The next morning, I discover that the salt had not discolored much but the wick had been successful drawing out the oils. I clean out the stummel getting rid of the expended salt and wiping the chamber with a paper towel. I run a long shank brush through the mortise and draft hole to clear the remnants of salt. Now, a clean stummel!Now, to the rim. I take a closer look and take a couple close ups to mark the starting point. The damage is not as extensive as I’ve seen on some of his Peretti brothers. Cleaning the scorched briar on the rim and creating an internal bevel in order to remove the damaged wood is the goal – fresh, healthier briar to form the rim. Starting, I gently top the stummel with 240 sanding paper on a chopping board only removing what is necessary. Rotating the inverted stummel on the board I discover that I don’t need to take off much. I then switch to 600 grade paper and smooth the rim – lightly topping it more. The pictures show the progress. The topping went well. Now, to cut the internal bevel, I roll a piece of 120 grade paper tightly around a hard wood disk to provide a flat, firm backing to help with a crisper b. I then work the paper around the internal rim circumference edge to cut the initial bevel. In the same way, I sand with 240 grade paper and finish it off with 320 and 600 grade papers. I think the rim looks great. I’m enjoying how this Peretti in cooperating. The stummel surface has normal nicks and minor dents which this Peretti has received over the years. To remove these, using sanding sponges on the surface is my usual approach. I start by employing a rougher grade sponge, middle grade and then finish going over the surface with a light grade sanding sponge. I am careful to protect the L. J. Peretti nomenclature on the shank as I sand. After the sanding sponges I transition to using micromesh pads to sand out the briar surface more using finer sanding surfaces. I begin by wet sanding with pads 1500 to 2400 then dry sanding from 32000 to 4000 and then 6000 to 12000. I enjoy watching the grain start to show through the micromesh pad cycles. The L. J. Peretti is looking good as I look at it now. The pictures show the progress. Turning now to the stem, I take another look at the bit showing tooth chatter and dents. I first use a flame from a Bic lighter to paint the area expanding the vulcanite. As the vulcanite expands as the natural result of heating it, I’m hopeful that the dents and chatter might rise and make for less sanding. I believe the process helped but did not fully remove the dents. I took before and after pictures first with the upper bit comparison, then the lower bit. To address the dents, after wiping the area with alcohol to clean the surface, I apply drops of Black Medium KE-150 CA glue to the dents. I start on the upper bit. I put CA glue on the 2 main dents and run more glue along the button to fill in the chatter there. I then wait for an hour or so for the CA glue to set, so that I can flip the stem and apply glue on the lower bit. After the Black CA glue has cured, I start the process of filing and sanding the patch down to the vulcanite surface and sanding out the chatter. Starting with the flat needle file and 240 sanding paper I do the initial sanding and refreshing the buttons of both the upper and lower bit with the file. I follow by sanding with finer grades, 470 then 600. I finish this phase by buffing the entire stem with 0000 grade steel wool. The pictures show the progress finishing out the bit repairs. With this initial stem repair and sanding completed, I now use micromesh pads to continue sanding the stem with even finer sanding grades. I begin wet sanding with pads 1500 to 2400, then dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000 followed by pads 6000 to 12000. After each set of 3 pads I apply Obsidian oil to revitalize the vulcanite. I love to see the vulcanite’s glassy pop! The pictures show the progression. Now, I take another look at the Peretti Oom Paul Sitter seated on my worktable! I like that characteristic of this large stummel. I study the attractive grain patterns that have started to emerge through the sanding process. To enhance the grain further, I mount a felt buffing wheel on the Dremel and I apply the coarser Tripoli compound with the lowest speed setting. Before I start the sanding process, I purge the wheel with the Dremel’s metal tightening wrench. I apply the compounds by rotating the wheel over the surface of the briar. I don’t apply too much lateral pressure on the buffing wheel, but I allow the speed, wheel and compound to do the work. After asking nicely, my wife takes a picture of me applying the Tripoli compound with the Dremel. After the Tripoli compound, I apply the less coarse compound Blue Diamond. I apply it in the same manner as Tripoli but with a cotton cloth buffing wheel instead of a felt wheel. When completed, I wipe the stummel with a cotton cloth to remove residue compound dust. The next step is to apply Before and After Restoration Balm to the Peretti’s briar surface. With the other restorations I’ve done with the Peretti Lot of 10, I have been very pleased with the results of applying the Restoration Balm. I very much like the natural briar look and the original Peretti motif has the lighter, natural patina. The Balm seems to take the natural briar grain and deepen and enrich it. I take a before and after picture of the stummel to show the difference. I’m afraid the lighting of the pictures does not show the subtle deepening that I perceive with the naked eye. To apply the Balm, I squeeze a little Balm on my fingers and work it into the briar surface. As I do this, the Balm progressively thickens to almost a wax-like consistency. I take a picture of the Balm on the stummel as I allow it to sit for a few minutes to give an idea of its consistency. I then use a cotton cloth rag to wiping it off at first, and then buffing it as the surface is exposed. I then use a micromesh cloth to give the stummel a hand buffing. The pictures show to process comparing each side in succession. I remember that I forgot to apply Blue Diamond compound to the stem. So, I attach the stem to the stummel and apply Blue Diamond compound to the stem and then wipe the entire pipe with a felt cloth to remove excess compound dust. Now, applying the carnauba wax, I mount a cotton cloth wheel to the Dremel, increase the speed to about 40% full power and apply the carnauba to the stem and stummel. After applying a few coats, I use a micromesh cloth to give the pipe a rigorous hand buffing to raise the shine even more.

This Peretti Oom Paul Sitter cleaned up very well – I’m pleased with the results. After restoring several Peretti pipes and I’ve concluded that not only have I found them to be good smokers, but the briar used for the production of these pipes seems to be of a higher quality and very pleasing to the eye on the whole. The grain on this Peretti has not disappointed. The large stummel showcases well the lateral grain on the lower regions and then bird’s eye grain dominates the opposite side of the bowl. Codruț, a pipe man in neighboring Romania, saw this Peretti when I posted several Peretti Oom Pauls that were to be restored and made available. He commissioned this Peretti and he will have first dibs on it when it goes into The Pipe Steward Pipe Store. This Peretti Oom Paul Sitter benefits the Daughters of Bulgaria, our work here in Bulgaria helping women and girls (and their children) who have been trafficked and sexually exploited to find a new life. Thanks Codruț(!), and thank you for joining me in this restoration!

An Unexpected Find in Athens – A Savinelli Oscar Aged Briar 614

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Blog by Dal Stanton

When I first laid my eyes on this Savinelli, I didn’t realize it was a Savinelli. I was in Athens, Greece, tooling through the Monastiraki market area at the foot of the Acropolis, next door to the Forum. As I explored I found one shop nestled on a tree-covered side street with a table set on the front sidewalk with all kinds of paraphernalia. It drew me like a bee to pollen! Two congenial men were sitting behind the table conversing in Greek. I assumed they chatted about all manner of life, family, politics…, and what is usually the case, as I drew near, their conversation stopped, and the English began. As I perused the table with strategic disinterest, I saw one pipe on the table that did not grab me too much. The shop owner asked me if I was interested in pipes? I said yes, and he said that he had many more that he didn’t know what to do with…. “Oh, my…” – my heart skipped a beat! In his wonderfully, friendly, thick Greek accent and manner of hospitality, he said, ‘Come with me.” As he pulled a chain out of this pocket a full ring of keys followed. He led me down a narrow, alley walkway along the side of the shop. We stopped and he unlocked a side door that led immediately up the stairs to an ‘upper room’ where, as he explained with a subdued, secretive flourish, he seldom brought customers. When we entered the room, I saw why. It was his special place – family pictures were arrayed everywhere, icons of the Greek Orthodox Church were given special deference as they hung from places of honor. Many shelves full of his collections. He pulled my attention away from the array to a slew of pipes displayed in a case hanging on the wall and arranged beneath on a cluttered table. I took it all in. He explained that his good friend, from Armenia, asked him to sell off his collection of pipes and he gave me a price for everything, including the wall-hanging display case. With gratitude to him for his generous offer, I had to decline as I was flying back to Sofia and would have no room in my luggage for all of it. I suggested to him that his friend could possibly make more money if he sold the pipes and case separately and he confided that he knew little about pricing pipes individually. As we talked, I discovered that he was a board member of a foundation that assisted orphaned children Armenia – the home of his friend. That opened the door for me to share that I too, was a board member of the Daughters of Bulgaria Foundation and I shared with him why I collected pipes – to restore and sell them to benefit the Daughters and their children. He encouraged me to go through the collection and pull out pipes that interested me and make him an offer. In Mediterranean culture, very much like Bulgarian culture – relationship is supreme, and we had talked of things near and dear to our hearts. Pipes became the doorway to a deeper fellowship that we both understood and appreciated. I left the shop owner with a firm handshake, a parting picture, and an appreciation for him and his journey. I also left his shop with some special pipes and friendly prices 😊: Lorenzo Carnevale Sanremo of Italy (on top in picture below), a Savinelli Roley Pocket Pipe (bottom, below), and a sorry looking ¾ Bent Billiard (center below) that appeared to have no name – at least in the dim light of the upper room, I could not see any. It appeared the pipe had been left out in a sun-drenched field through a few seasons – showcasing a terribly oxidized stem and a bleached-out bowl, but the old boy had nice form and I liked him. It struck me that this pipe reminded me of a Southern US epithet, ‘Bless his heart, he can’t help how ugly he is!’ The ‘Bless his/her heart’ is the softener or honey before the hard news! The pipes were unwrapped when I returned home to Sofia. I was anxious to look at them, take some pictures, and to do my normal ‘information intake’ for each pipe I collect so that I can remember later when they emerge from the ‘Help Me! Basket’ heading to The Pipe Steward worktable. With a magnifying glass in hand, I discovered that the ‘Bless his heart’ charity pipe was a hidden prince with great potential – a Savinelli Oscar Aged Briar 614 of Italy. The Oscar is a popular line of the well-known Italian pipe family, Savinelli. I was surprised and happy to see what I could do to help him out! On the left side of the shank was stamped in cursive script, ‘Oscar’ over ‘AGED BRIAR’. The right side of the shank was stamped the Savinelli ‘S’ logo on the left, and to its right was shape number ‘614’ over ‘ITALY’. I took some other pictures of the Savinelli Oscar on my worktable to catalog his condition when he arrived from Athens. Fast forward now nearly a year. Many of my restoration projects start because a pipe is commissioned, and it is plucked from the ‘Help Me!’ Basket. This often happens when a pipe listed in the “For Pipe Dreamers Only!” on The Pipe Steward site attracts someone. Or, here in Bulgaria, when folks are in our home and know about my pipe restoration work, they often will pour through the many pipes in the ‘Help Me!’ Basket (and boxes 😊) in search of just the right one! That was the case with the Savinelli Oscar. Taylor, a colleague and blooming pipe man, wanted a couple of pipes for himself and one for a friend in the US. The favorite he chose, or did the pipe choose him 😊(?), was the Savinelli Oscar which is now on my worktable.

To learn more about the Savinelli Oscar Aged Briar, I look at the Savinelli Pipe Shape guide to identify shape 614. I locate it in the chart and it looks to be a 3/4 Bent Billiard. I circle the 314 in the chart and it’s interesting to see the other Bent Billiards nearby to compare. I’m thinking that the Oscar is a 3/4 Bent but I am surprised to see, that comparing it to all the other Savinelli bent shapes, it seems to be the most fully bent shape that Savinelli offers – at least from this chart.Then, with a simple search on Google using the name and the shape number, 614, I’m hoping for an Oscar 614 in pristine condition to guide the restoration of this sad boy. I find this example of an Oscar Aged Briar 614 formerly on the AntiqueAuctionsNow website – a nice looking classic bent stem Billiard.Ah ha! As I look closely at the picture above, it cues me into the possibility of the Savinelli Shooting Star stem stamp on the Oscar – impossible now to see with the heavy oxidation. I look to another regular place, PipePhil.eu, which gives me more information and understanding. The Savinelli Oscar line, along with three others, is marked with the Shooting Star stamp.Looking at the overall condition of the pipe, I have already noted the oxidation and a hope that the Shooting Star stamping can be salvaged. The bit also has very minor tooth chatter with a single dent on the upper button. The bowl almost appears like it has been bleached by the sun and the nomenclature stampings on the sides of the shank are thin and will take some care not to diminish more. The rim has some scorching over the left quadrant and has minor cake build up in the chamber. The internal rim has a smart bevel that I will refresh. I’ll ream the chamber to get down to the briar for a fresh start. A few small fills are detected on the lower shank and a significant divot is evident on the shank end, just below to the left of the Savinelli ‘S’ logo.

The first thing to address is the stem’s oxidation. I add the Oscar’s deeply oxidized stem with a batch of other stems into a bath of Before and After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the stem. Aligned with each stummel, the stems are put into the solution for a few hours. The Savinelli Oscar is on the left. I’m hopeful that the Before and After Deoxidizer might uncover the Shooting Star stem stamp – hopeful, but doubtful.After a few hours, using a toothpick, I fish out the Oscar’s stem and allow it to drip-drain the Before and After Deoxidizer. I then wipe the stem with cotton pads and mineral spirits (light paraffin oil here in Bulgaria) which removes layers of raised oxidation off the surface. Miraculously, the Savinelli shooting star stamp appears out from underneath the oxidation! It is very thin and I’m not sure there’s enough depth left of the stamp for acrylic paint to find purchase. Continuing with the stem, I use Before and After Fine Polish then Extra Fine Polish to further condition the stem. With both, I place some polish on my finger and work it in on the vulcanite surface until it is absorbed. After each, I buff it further with cotton pads. The stem looks great – though the Shooting Star stamp doesn’t look like there’s much I can do with it but save what’s left of it!Turning to the stummel, I use undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to scrub the surface and rim with a cotton pad. Whoops! Usually, I do the reaming before this – I’ll need to back track. I rinse the stummel with cool tap water and it cleaned up very well – the rim gunk is gone. I decide to apply a coat of light paraffin oil (mineral oil) to the surface to rehydrate the briar. I set it aside for a while for the paraffin oil to absorb fully. The grain looks good. Now, back to the chamber cleaning that I missed. I use the Pipnet Reaming Kit to ream the light cake out of the chamber. I use only the two smaller blades. I then fine tune the reaming with the Savinelli Fitsall Tool. Finally, I wrap 240 grade paper around a Sharpie Pen and sand the chamber down to the fresh briar. I finish the chamber cleaning by wiping it with a cotton pad wetted with isopropyl 95%. The pictures show the progress. To the internal cleaning – using cotton buds, pipe cleaners and a shank brush I clean the mortise. I also use a dental spatula to scrape the mortise walls to remove gunk. With my day ending, to give a more thorough cleaning, I use a kosher salt and alcohol soak to penetrate the tars and oils left in the bowl and mortise overnight. I fill the bowl with kosher salt – not iodized that leaves a taste. I give the bowl a shake with my hand covering the top to disperse the salt. I then form a wick to stuff down the mortise to draw out the oils and tars. I stretch and twist a cotton ball to do this. With the cotton wick in place, I place the stummel in an egg crate to keep it steady. I then use a large eyedropper to fill the chamber with isopropyl 95%. I wait a few minutes and top it again. Time to call it a day. The next morning, the soak has done the job of pulling even more oils and tar out of the internals. I dump the used salt in the waste and use a paper towel and shank brush to wipe out the expended salt left in the bowl and mortise. I also blow through the stummel to make sure there’s no old salt left.While I’m inspecting the stummel after removing the salt, looking at the scratch by the nomenclature and small chip on the shank end, I notice what I didn’t see before. A stamp on the lower side of the shank that is nearly invisible. I can make out only some of the stamping with a magnifying glass – Sav… over Produ…. I look again at the examples of the Oscar from Pipephil.eu (above) and sure enough, it shows a lower stamp as well – Savinelli over Product. I take a picture to show what I found.I take a few shots of some problem areas – a cut or possibly a hairline crack, just above the shape number, the internal bevel of the rim is worn from lighting practices. I want to refresh the bevel and rim, which is already in good shape. I begin with the divot on the shank. I decide to apply a drop of regular, clear super at the divot to build it out. I’ll let it cure a few hours before sanding and blending it. After a couple of hours, the shank end divot has set up enough for me to work on the cut/crack. I’m not convinced it is a crack – a cut is more likely I think. I decide to lay a very small line of regular super glue over the cut using a toothpick to guide the glue. It will be close quarters with the shape number when I sand it down, but I think it will look better.After the glue cures, I first use 240 grit paper to sand both the divot and the cut down to the briar. I stay on top of the glue mound as much as possible to not impact the briar surface. I then use 600 grit paper to smooth and blend. These were small issues, but I feel better for addressing them – the Savinelli Oscar will look good. Now, I turn to the rim. It’s in good condition but there are some nicks and dents on the edge of the rim. There is also a darkened area from minor scorching from lighting the tobacco. (11 o’clock in the first picture). In this area, the internal bevel has also eroded. I decide to give the stummel a very light topping using 600 grade paper to reestablish the lines of the rim and bevel. After this, I wrap first a 120 grade paper around a tapered wooden disk to provide a hard surface behind the paper to cut a more distinct bevel. I work the 120 paper around the damaged bevel area to shape the bevel. I then follow in the same manner with the wooden disk, 240 then 600 paper to finish the rim and bevel repair. The rim now looks fresher – I like it. I put the stummel aside for a time to address the stem. After deoxidizing the stem, discovering the Shooting Star stamp hanging on by threads, I look closely at the stem and the bit is in good shape. There are only shadows of tooth chatter and one small dent on the upper button lip. To bring up the button dent, I try painting it with a flame from a Bic lighter to expand the vulcanite enabling me to sand out the dent. After several attempts, I was still left with a dent. I decide to apply a drop of Black Medium KE-150 CA glue to the dent. I put the stem aside to let the patch cure. While I wait for the stem patch to cure, I pick up the stummel and start the external finishing process by first using a light grade sanding sponge to work the surface – addressing minor nicks. I then wet sand the stummel using micromesh pads 1500 to 2400. I follow this by dry sanding using pads 3200 to 4000, then 6000 to 12000. I take pictures after each set of 3 to show the progress. I enjoy this part of the restoration process! With each cycle of micromesh pads, the beauty of the grain emerges. This Oscar has attractive grain. I am drawn to the knot pattern on the heel as it gravitates outwardly and up the stummel with lateral grain having a feathered texture – bird’s eye grain as well on the upper bowl. Very nice! With the black CA glue cured, I now return to the stem. Using a flat, needle file, I remove the patch area above the vulcanite and redefine the button. I follow with 240 grade paper to erase the tracks left by the file. I then use 320 grade paper followed by 600 grade to smooth the area further. I flip the stem and sand the lower bit with 600 grade paper to remove the light tooth chatter. Finally, I buff the entire stem, watchful of the Shooting Star stamp, using 0000 steel wool. The pictures show the progress. Following the steel wool buff, I now wet sand the stem with micromesh pads 1500 to 2400. After finishing with this first wet sand cycle, I was bushwhacked by oxidation resurfacing on the Oscar’s stem! Ugh!! After all the sanding and roughing up the surface, sometimes it’s difficult to see the oxidation left behind until the fine tuning with the micromesh pads. The first picture below doesn’t show what I can see with the eye – a deep shadow of oxidation. I take another picture adjusting the aperture, so you can see the source of my frustrations! I send a note to Steve with questions and his response was good news and bad. The good news was that it wasn’t my process but that Savinelli stems are notoriously difficult to exorcise oxidation. The bad news is that I simply will go back to work, sanding with 240 grit, 320, 600, then again steel wool buff and application of Before and After polishes…. I did all these, including a few times going through the first set of 1500 to 2400 micromesh pads, so that I am finally satisfied with the Savinelli Oscar’s stem. Yet, I haven’t rid the oxidation 100%, but time to move on!Again, at the end of the first cycle of 3, wet sanding with micromesh pads, 1500 to 2400, I then dry sand with pads 3200 to 4000, then 6000 to 12000. After each cycle I apply Obsidian Oil to the (almost!) exorcised vulcanite. When I look at the stem now, it looks pretty good! With the Savinelli Oscar’s bowl back in front of me, I begin the final sanding and waxing process. I first mount the felt buffing wheel on the Dremel and apply Tripoli compound to the briar’s surface. I first set the speed at the slowest speed, purge the wheel with the Dremel’s tightening wrench’s sharp edge, and I apply the compound. I apply compounds, which are abrasives, not waxes, in a methodical, circular motion, not applying too much downward pressure on the wheel but allowing the compound, speed and the wheel to do the work. Following the Tripoli, I apply Blue Diamond compound in the same manner, with a cotton cloth buffing wheel mounted on the Dremel, set at about 40% speed. During the application of the compounds, I love to watch the natural shine of the briar start reflecting like glass. The beauty of this Savinelli’s grain is popping. With the help of my wife, the picture below shows the application of Tripoli compound. You can see how I use the sheen of the lamp to ‘steer’ the compound around the briar surface allowing the action to buff out the microscopic lines and nicks. With the compounds finished, I buff the stummel with a clean felt cloth to remove the compound dust left behind. The last restoration I did of the L. J. Peretti Oom Paul (see LINK) which I added to my own collection, I utilized for the first time the Before and After Restoration Balm. I liked the results a lot. The Restoration Balm maintains the lighter hues of the natural grain but enriches the patina. I use the Balm with the Savinelli Oscar as well. I reunite the stem and stummel and I put some Balm on my fingertips and I work it into the briar surface as well as the stem. As I rub, the Balm thickens until it has almost a stickiness. After application, I lay it aside for a while to allow the Balm to do its thing – while it’s doing its thing, I take a picture. I then wipe it down and buff it with a cotton cloth pad. I like the rich luster that the balm brings up from the briar. The vulcanite stem also responds very well.I follow the Restoration Balm by applying carnauba wax to the stem and stubble. I mount the Dremel with a cotton cloth buffing wheel dedicated to applying wax. With the Dremel speed still at 40% I apply several coats to the pipe and follow the wax with a hearty hand buffing using a micromesh cloth that bring up the shine even more.

This surprising Savinelli Oscar find in Athens turned out better than I expected. The grain is eye-catching, with plentiful bird’s eye captured around the bowl. The knot on the heel though, grabs my attention. The deep briar that I see now is a far cry from the sun-bleached conditioned that I found it in. This Savinelli Oscar will go into the Pipe Steward Store and since Taylor commissioned this pipe as his first pipe, he will have first dibs. The restoration of this Italian Savinelli Oscar Aged Grain 614 will benefit the Daughters of Bulgaria – helping women, girls, and their children, who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. The first picture is a reminder of before and after. Thanks for joining me!

Paresh’s Grandfather’s Pipe #7 – Charatan’s Make De Luxe 140 Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

I have repaired 6 of the 7 older pipes (1937-1950s) left to Paresh by his Grandfather. I have enjoyed working on and researching them. His Grandfather was a pipeman who worked for the Indian Railroad. Paresh recently learned that his Grandfather smoked a pipe. This 7th pipe is a Charatan’s Make De Luxe 140 Billiard with a taper stem. I took photos of the pipe before I stated to work on it. The bowl was in rough shape with a series of cracks running down two spots on the bowl – one on the left side at the centre of the top and running down the bowl and connecting with another crack just right of the centre of the bowl at the back. It was a U shaped crack that went all the way through the bowl. The finish was dirty and the rim top had damage and lava on the rim top. The bowl was out of round. The outer edge of the bowl was damaged from knocking out against hard surfaces. The stem had tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. The stem had the CP stamped on the left side. The rim top had been cleaned and the bowl reamed. There was still some cake in the bowl. Abha (Paresh’s wife) had once again done a great job cleaning the finish. She had scrubbed it with Murphy’s Oil Soap and removed all of the debris and dust from the smooth finish. The cracks showed up on the outside of the bowl and also on the inside of the bowl. The inner edge of the bowl was damaged and slightly out of round. I also took a close up photos of both sides of the stem. You can see the tooth marks on both the top and underside of the stem just in front of the button. The surface of the stem is lightly oxidized.The stamping is readable. On the left side of the shank reads Charatan’ Make over London, England over De Luxe. Next to that is the shape number 140 next to the stem shank junction. There was no stamping on the right side of the shank. I looked up an article on determining dates of manufacture of Charatan Make pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dating_of_Charatans). That article helped me date this pipe with some level of certainty to the Rueben Era Charatan made between the years 1910-1960. I quote from the portion of the article that gave the identifying characteristics of that era. I quote in full.

Identification of a second era pipe (Rueben’s era, 1910-1960)

Pipes belonging to this period are rare, however is it possible to come across one. They can be distinguished from a pipe of the first era mainly because their larger size. Their characteristics are similar to the ones of the previous era.

1) Pipes can be larger, up to the dimension of a Dunhill group 5

2) The mouthpiece is tapered or saddle.

3) No double comfort

4) the CP logo is engraved so that the C enters the P

5) Absence of £ on the pipe shank (note that from 1955 all the pipe imported in the USA by Lane has it, however that stamping is not synonymous of the Lane era).

6) Absence of the letter X on the shape code engraved on the shank (for ex. 2502 and not 2502X)

7) Absence of letters DC after the shape number (for ex. 2502 and not 2505DC)

8) Absence of the engraving “MADE BY HAND” on the shank (introduced for the first time in 1958)

9) Presence of the writing “CHARATAN’S MAKE LONDON ENGLAND” on 2 lines

10) The CP logo is finer than in following eras

All ten of the items in the above list apply to the pipe in hand. From the stamping on the stem where the C enters the P to the missing L which places it as pre-1955 to the lack of a double comfort bit all help to place this pipe in this time period.

With that I reread Paresh’s biographical write up on his Grandfather once again. There Paresh stated that his Grandfather had visited England in 1946 and that later after 1947 the British left India for good. Many of the Superior Officers gave his Grandfather pipes as parting gifts. I am fairly confident that this was one of those gift pipes given to him around 1947. I am including his bio now as part of the background information on this pipe. Here is Paresh’s tribute.

Respected Sir,

Now that the first batch of my Grandfather’s pipes has reached you, I would like to share my memories of him with you, the aim being to provide you with an insight to his personality, the era in which he lived, and a brief history associated with the pipes that I have inherited from him.

My Grandfather, Ananta (named after an exotic seasonal white flower having lovely fragrance), was born in a small coastal town of Konkan region of Maharashtra, India, in 1918. These were very turbulent times when India’s freedom struggle against British rule was gathering momentum and the atmosphere was charged with “Quit India Movement”. Having completed his graduation from Bombay, he joined Railways in 1937. This also marked the beginning of his journey into the world of pipe smoking!!!!!

Having seen his potential, in 1945, he was sponsored by the Government to visit England, for gaining further experience and expertise in his profession. This was a period when India’s Independence was round the corner and efforts were being made to train Indians for various administrative appointments in future Independent India. He returned back to India after a year, in 1946 and with him came some pipes that he had purchased in England. I believe a few of his Petes, Barlings, Charatans and GBDs are from this visit.

In 1947, when the British finally left India for good, my Grandfather was gifted pipes by his British peers, subordinates and Superior Officers as a parting gift. He stayed in touch with a few of them over all these years, even visiting them in 1959-60. Some of his later era Charatans and Barlings and Petes are from this trip. He quit smoking in early 1970s (before I was even born!!!!) and his pipes were packed up. There were a number of pipes which were used as TINDER for lighting fires (CAN’T BELIEVE IT…… I have not overcome my grief of this loss till date!!!!!) due to ignorance!!!!!!

My Grandfather was a very strict disciplinarian and temperamental (I did not know this as he was neither when dealing with me as I am the youngest of all his grandchildren!!!!!! He was always the most understanding and loving person in my life). I later learned that in his office, he was not to be disturbed when his pipe was lit, as he would be in his thinking/ contemplating mode while it was just the opposite as he lit his pipe in the evening while at home, when he would be at his relaxed best!!!!.

The interesting part is that neither of us knew that we each smoked a pipe until after his demise in Jan 2018!!!! In our culture, to this day, smoking or alcohol consumption is socially never talked about (mute acceptance!!!). It was during his last rites that absent mindedly I lighted my pipe and looking into the flickering flames of his funeral pyre, remembered and recollected all the wonderful memories and talks that we had shared. No one said a word to me about my lighting up a pipe!!!!!! Immediately thereafter, I rejoined my duty station. A few days later, my wife, Abha, received a box from my Uncle with a note that said “Grandfather would have loved Paresh to have these”. This box contained a collection of his fountain pens and 8-10 of his pipes (since then as my folks are winding up his belongings, I have received 2-3 packets and a large number of pipes, some in decent condition and some in unspeakable state). Abha immediately messaged me with pictures of these pipes and pens. I had been collecting and restoring (no major repairs, though) fountain pens since long and immediately recognized some of them as highly collectibles, however, pipes were a totally different ball game! I was inexperienced with no knowledge/ information regarding various brands/ pipe makers, shapes and materials. I knew nothing about the value of these pipes, nothing about pipe restorations, nothing about caring for them; I mean zero knowledge about collecting pipes. I smoked some real cheap Chinese pipes which were readily and unfortunately, the only ones, available in India and some inexpensive pipes from eBay India!!!!! Also regular pipe cleaning, pipe rotation, pipe cleaners and such things were unknown to me.

Thus, to know more about the REAL pipes, I embarked upon the journey of exploring finer nuances of pipe brands/ makers, their history and watching “How to videos” on packing a pipe, cleaning, repairing and caring for ones pipes. I found it extremely interesting and satisfying. It was while meandering through this confusing quagmire of pipe world that I came across rebornpipes.com website and eventually established contact with you, Mr Steve, who has since been my mentor, guide and GURU, making this journey a wonderful and satisfying experience.

Sir, there is one more thing that I need to thank you for and that is when you asked me to write a brief about my grandfather and his pipes, I realized how little I knew about him, in fact, knew nothing, as I was not even aware that he was a “pipeman” as no one in my family ever spoke about it being taboo subject and since he had quit a long time before I was even born!!!! This led me to ask the elders in my family, questions on the subject and came to know the above details. I cannot thank you enough for prodding me to get to know my grandfather and his pipes a lot better. Sir, these pipes of his, with your help and guidance, will remain with me forever in mint condition…

I began work on the pipe by cleaning up the reaming of the bowl first with a PipNet pipe reamer. I began with the smallest cutting head and worked on cleaning up the inside of the bowl. While I cleaned it up the cracked section of the bowl came loose. I cleaned up the unbroken portion of the bowl and the broken chunk with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to remove the remnants of cake left behind. I cleaned off the edges of the broken chunk of bowl and the remaining bowl with alcohol on cotton swabs. I used a slow curing clear super glue to repair the cracked chunk of briar. I painted the edges of the bowl and the chunk with the super glue and pressed the chunk in place in the bowl side. I held it in place until the glue had set and the chunk was firmly in place. I wiped the bowl down with alcohol on a cotton pad to wipe off the excess glue. I sanded the repaired cracks with 220 grit sandpaper and smoothed out the finish to blend in the repairs with the rest of the bowl. Once I had cleaned up the repairs I touched them up with clear super glue to fill in the divots in the repair. I sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repair further after the touch ups. I took pictures of the repair at this point to show the progress.I topped the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper and a topping board to smooth out the finish on the top. I removed the damaged areas, removed the glue that had squeezed out from the repairs and cleaned up the rough areas on the outer edge of the rim.I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads to blend the repairs into the finish of the bowl. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanded it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cotton pad after each grit sanding pad. I mixed up a batch of JB Weld and applied it to the inside of the bowl with a paper clip and a folded pipe cleaner. I worked it into the inside of the cracks and lined the bowl walls all around the cracks until it was smooth. I set it aside to let it cure.Abha had done a great job cleaning out the internals of the mortise and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. I ran a pipe cleaner through the shank to remove any of the debris that I had loosened when reaming the bowl. It was pretty clean so it did not take much as the interior was clean.I worked Before & After Restoration Balm deep into the briar of the bowl and shank to clean, enliven and protect it. I worked it in with my fingertips and set it aside for a few minutes to let the balm work. I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth to polish it. The briar really began to have a deep shine and the grain began to shine through. I took photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. I worked on the inside edge of the rim with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage to the edge of the bowl.I stained the briar with a Dark Brown aniline stain and flamed it with a Bic lighter to set the stain. I repeated the process until I had even coverage on the bowl. I wanted to leave the stain pretty opaque to blend the repaired crack into the rest of the briar. I let the Dark Brown stain dry. Once it was dried I gave the bowl a coat of Conservator’s Wax, let it dry and then buffed the bowl by hand. I repeated the wax until the pipe looked good to my eye. I set the bowl aside and began the work on the stem. There were some deep tooth marks in the surface of the stem near button. I cleaned the areas with alcohol and filled in the marks with black super glue. When the super glue cured I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the surface of the stem. I used a needle file to sharpen the inside edge of the button.I sanded the repaired areas with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repairs and blend them into the surface of the surrounding vulcanite.I cleaned out the airway on the stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol to clean out the tar and oils. It did not take much work to remove all of the remaining tars because Abha had done a really good job cleaning out the stem.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit sanding pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad and set it aside to dry. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine polishes. I wiped it down with some Obsidian Oil to fine the polishing process. With the stem polished I put it back on the pipe and lightly buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond. 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 microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. I left a little oxidation around the CP stamp on the stem so as not to damage it. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It is the final pipe from Paresh’s Grandfather’s pipes that I finished and I will get them packed up and sent across the sea to India where he can carry on the legacy. I know that he is looking forward to having them in hand and enjoying a bowl of his favourite tobacco in memory of his Grandfather. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked this pipe over.

Restoring a Square Shank BBB Two Star Apple Shaped Pipe

Restemming and Restoring a Tired Medico Husky Rhodesian

Restoring a Beautifully Carved OaK Leaf Briar Canadian

2 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

My brother Jeff sent me photos of a pipe that a fellow he knows was selling. The fellow had picked it up on one of his pipe hunting expeditions. It was an intricately carved briar pipe with a horn stem. The bowl was encircled in oak leaves with acorns both fully developed and partially developed. The shank was made up of the stem of the leaves and it was held in a hand. The underside of the shank had fingers and thumb wrapped around the stem on the leaves. There was also bark of a branch. The striations of the bark ran the length of the shank to the oak leaves and stems. The top of the rim had some darkening and a thick overflow of lava on the rim top. The inside of the bowl had a thin coat of cake and some debris in the bottom of the bowl. The horn stem had tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem and some tooth chatter. On the underside there were some worm holes next to the shank/stem junction. One was fairly shallow next to the stem and the other going across the stem was quite a bit deeper. I took photos of the rim top and the stem surfaces both top and underside to show the condition of the pipe when it came to me. You can see the damage on the rim top though the bowl is still in round. There was no damage to the inner or outer edge of the rim. The buildup of lava would need to be scraped away. The stem photos show the tooth chatter on the top and underside near the button and the worm holes near the shank/stem junction.I cleaned the surface of the stem with alcohol on cotton swabs and pads to remove the grime in the holes. I dried them out and then filed them in holes with clear super glue. The small hole was quite simple to fill while the larger one across the stem was deeper and more complicated to repair. It took multiple layers of glue to fill it in until it was even with the surface of the stem. The second photo below shows the filled in holes. The glue dried and turned darker than the rest of the stem. However the surface of the stem was smooth to the touch. I sanded the repairs with 220 grit sandpaper after they had hardened to blend them into the surface of the stem. I wiped the stem down with a cotton pad to remove the sanding dust left behind on the stem surface.I lightly topped the bowl on a piece of 220 grit sandpaper on a topping board to remove the damage and the lava overflow.I rubbed Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar to enliven, clean and protect it. I used cotton swabs and folded pipe cleaners to work the Balm into all of the carved grooves. I buffed it with a soft cotton cloth. I buffed it with a shoe brush to further work the Balm into the grooves and polish it. I polished the rim top with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads to remove the scratching in the briar left behind by the sandpaper. Once it was polished I touch it up with a Cherry stain touch up pen to match the colour of the rest of the bowl. I buffed the rim top with a soft cotton cloth to bring a shine.I cleaned out the interior of the mortise, shank and airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. It was dirty but not overly so – the pipe appeared to have been lightly smoked.I polished the horn stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1200-2400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads. Each pad brought a deeper shine to the surface of the horn. The tenon appears to be horn and it was pretty clean. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I buffed the stem with a clean cotton pad. While I was in Idaho I found a cast Elk head pipe rack made by Comoy’s of London. It is a unique one and it works very well to hold this large pipe. I screwed the stem back into the shank and buffed the bowl and shank with a cotton cloth to raise a shine. I put the pipe in the Elk pipe rack and took photos of the pipe. This large, ornately carved oak leaf briar bowl and shank is quite stunning. There a places on the underside of the shank where you could see air through the space between the base of the bowl and shank and the curve of the stems held in the hand. The rim top is smooth and clean and looks much better. The horn stem is of nice quality and after the repairs it shined up well. I hand buffed the bowl and the stem with a shoe brush to raise the shine on the briar and the polished horn stem. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax. I buffed the entire pipe with a shoe brush and a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The rich brown stain allows the grain to really stand out on this little pipe and it works well with the rich colour of the horn stem. The dimensions of the pipe are: Length: 9 inches, Height: 3 inches, Outside Diameter: 1 7/16 inches, Diameter of the chamber: 7/8 inches. This intricately carved knife will fit really nicely into my collection of antique pipes. I think that this will be a great pipe to smoke and should deliver a clean dry smoke. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me.