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Repairing and Restoring the last of the Six pipes – a Damaged Plateau Rim Top on a Knute of Denmark Freehand

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by Steve Laug

In November I received an email from Mario about working on some of his Dad’s pipes. Here is what he wrote to me.

I am desperately seeking help restoring and repairing some of my dad’s smoking pipes. I have tried reaching out to the only two known pipe repair establishments I could find in the entire country but one is not currently taking repair orders and the other said she didn’t want to try to repair these pipes without having even seen them. Would you be willing to take on the repairs or can you recommend anyone? Thank you much!!!—Mario

I wrote him back and asked him to send me photos of the pipes. He sent some single photos of the meerschaum bowl and stem, several of the leather clad Canadian and the photo of the rack and six pipes shown below. I looked through the photos and this is what I saw. There were two leather clad pipes a Canadian and a Pot. Both of them were cracked on the shanks and had been self-repaired with wire to hold the cracked shank together. The leather cladding was torn and the stitching was rotten and broken around the bowl. To me they were both unrepairable. There was a lovely older Meerschaum figural with a horn stem that needed a good cleaning and repairs to the horn stem. There were two Knute Freehand pipes with original stems that were dirty but fixable. The plateau on the smooth one had a large chunk of briar missing. There was a Wilshire Dublin with a chewed and misfit stem. Finally, there was a billiard that had been restemmed with a fancy GBD saddle stem on it. They were a messy lot but I told him to send them on to me. They arrived yesterday and the condition of the pipes in the photos was confirmed. They were a mess and needed much work. I have included Mario’s group photo below to show the lot. This afternoon I decided to start working on the final of the six pipes from Mario – a Knute of Denmark smooth freehand. It had a plateau rim top and shank end. The bowl had a thick cake on the walls and a heavy lava coat in the plateau rim top. There was a missing chunk of briar or perhaps a fill that had come loose in the plateau finish on the right side running from the inner edge almost to the outer edge. The finish was dirty and had grime ground into the sides of the bowl. The stamping on the underside read Knute [over] of Denmark. There was a hairline crack on the underside of the shank extending from the shank end over the K in the Knute stamp. It had a fancy turned, vulcanite saddle stem that had lots of tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. There was a split on the top side of the stem and on the button. I took photos of the pipe when I unpacked it to examine it. I have included those below. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of both. You can see the debris in the bowl and lava in the plateau surface of the rim top. The missing chunk on the right topside of the bowl is also very visible with debris and lava in the hole. I also took photos of the heavily oxidized and calcified stem showing the heavy tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There was also a hairline crack in the topside of the stem from the button edge forward.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I took a photo of the bowl with the stem removed to give a sense of the proportion and appearance of the pipe without the stem.Before I started my work on the pipe I wanted to remind myself of the provenance of the pipe. I remembered that it was linked to Karl Erik as I have worked on quite a few Knute Freehands. I wanted to know where this pipe fit into the Karl Erik lines so I turned to the first of two sites that I always check to gather information on a brand.  I turned to the first source of information site – Pipephil’s (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-k3.html) got a quick overview on the brand once again connecting it to Karl Erik. I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Erik). Pipedia had this great picture of Karl Erik Ottendahl and I decided to include it here as a reminder of the artisan who first carved and released this pipe. Reminded of the tie to Karl Erik, I knew a bit about the pipe at hand. I turned to address the pipe itself. There it is clearly identified and linked to Karl Erik Ottendahl. It is designated as a second and frequently having rustication. The interesting thing is that his pipe does not look like a second at all and I wonder if the Knute is a line of Karl Erik’s rather than a second. Who knows? This one is a beautifully grained smooth Freehand pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe and bring it back to life. The large pit in the plateau rim top and the crack in the shank needed to be repaired and the bowl brought back to life.

I started my work on the pipe by starting the process of cleaning the pipe. I carefully reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe Reamer remove from the bowl leaving bare briar. I cleaned up the remnants of cake with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed the remaining debris. I sanded the bowl walls smooth with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I scraped the lava coat off the rim top – both the rusticated portion and the smooth ring of the meerschaum bowl top with the Savinelli Pipe Knife and removed all of it. I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed the rim top with a brass bristle wire brush to clean off the lava and debris in the plateau. I rinsed it off with warm running water and dried it with a soft towel. It looked much better and the rim top looked clean. The grain stood out clearly. I cleaned out the deep pit in the rim top. It appeared that the hole was original a fill that had fallen out. I used qtips and alcohol to clean out the grime in the hole in the plateau.I rebuilt the missing fill with clear CA glue and briar dust. Once it was in place I used a brass bristle wire brush to give it patterns like the rest of the rim top.I sanded out the inner edge of the bowl with a dowel and 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repair on the edge and round out the edge. I went over it again with the brass bristle brush and blew off the dust. It was looking quite good.I used a black stain pen to fill in the valleys in the plateau on the rim top and on the shank end. The black will give depth to the finish once it is sanded and polished.I repaired the hairline crack in the shank underside with clear CA glue and held it closed until the repair cured. Once it hardened it was ready to be sanded. I carefully sanded it around the stamping so as not to damage it.I sanded the smooth briar and the high spots on the plateau with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the briar down between each sanding pad. The briar took on a rich shine and the grain stood out in all its glory. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped it down the bowl after each sanding pad. Some of the photos of the sanding are a bit out of focus but overall the bowl took on a shine.
 I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the nooks and crannies in the plateau on the rim top and the shank end with a horsehair shoe brush. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain stood out. I mixed a bowl coating with activated charcoal powder and sour cream. I put a pipe cleaner in the shank and applied the mixture to the walls of the bowl with a folded pipe cleaner. I wanted to protect the bowl repair while Mario enjoyed smoking it again. I set it aside to cure overnight. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I scrubbed it down with Soft Scrub to deal with the oxidation and calcification on the stem surface. It looked much better once scrubbed and on the centre of the stem it had a Crown K logo that was often on Knute of Denmark pipes.I filled in the deep bite marks on the top and underside of the stem with black CA glue. It is strengthened with charcoal powder and rubber. I let the glue cure and flattened the repairs with a small needle file. I reshaped the button and it began to take shape and look much better. I paused the process and touched up the Crown K on the stem top with Rub’n Buff Antique Gold. I worked it into the stamp on the stem and then rubbed it off with a soft cloth. I followed that by wiping the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth. The stem looked better and the stamping was clear and readable.I sanded the repairs with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the stem surface and also remove more of the oxidation in the stem surface.I sanded the stem to smooth it out with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth. It was beginning to look very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I gave it another rub down with Obsidian Oil and let it dry. I put the stem back on the Knute of Denmark Smooth Freehand Sitter pipe and took the pipe to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the vulcanite. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up really nicely with a great contrasting stain look to the briar. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a beautiful Karl Eric Made Knute of Denmark Freehand – the fancy turned stem and plateau rim top and shank end give the pipe a great look. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches wide x 1 7/8 inches long, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.22 ounces /63 grams. This is the final pipe of 6 pipes that am restoring for Mario from his Dad’s collection. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of this newly restored pipe. Later this week I will pack them up and send them home to him. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it!

Restoring and Repairing a Cracked Bowl on a Knute of Denmark Sandblast Freehand

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by Steve Laug

In November I received an email from Mario about working on some of his Dad’s pipes. Here is what he wrote to me.

I am desperately seeking help restoring and repairing some of my dad’s smoking pipes. I have tried reaching out to the only two known pipe repair establishments I could find in the entire country but one is not currently taking repair orders and the other said she didn’t want to try to repair these pipes without having even seen them. Would you be willing to take on the repairs or can you recommend anyone? Thank you much!!!—Mario

I wrote him back and asked him to send me photos of the pipes. He sent some single photos of the meerschaum bowl and stem, several of the leather clad Canadian and the photo of the rack and six pipes shown below. I looked through the photos and this is what I saw. There were two leather clad pipes a Canadian and a Pot. Both of them were cracked on the shanks and had been self-repaired with wire to hold the cracked shank together. The leather cladding was torn and the stitching was rotten and broken around the bowl. To me they were both irreparable. There was a lovely older Meerschaum with a horn stem that needed a good cleaning and repairs to the horn stem. There were two Knute Freehand pipes with original stems that were dirty but fixable. The plateau on the smooth one had a large chunk of briar missing. There was a Wilshire Dublin with a chewed and misfit stem. Finally, there was a billiard that had been restemmed with a fancy GBD saddle stem on it. They were a messy lot but I told him to send them on to me. They arrived yesterday and the condition of the pipes in the photos was confirmed. They were a mess and needed much work. I have included Mario’s group photo below to show the lot.This afternoon I decided to start working on the fourth of the pipes – a sandblast freehand. It was the one on the left top held in the hand in the photo above. It was a Freehand Shape with a plateau rim top and a smooth shank end. It had a fancy turned saddle stem that was oxidized, calcified and had lots of tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The bowl had a thick cake on the walls and a heavy lava coat in the plateau on the rim top. It was internally a mess. The finish was dirty and had grime ground into the sides of the bowl. There a crack running from the heel of the bowl half way up the bowl on both sides mid bowl. The shank was in good shape with no nicks or cracks. The pipe was stamped on the underside of the shank and read Knute [over] Of Denmark. There was no other stamping on the shank sides. I took photos of the pipe when I unpacked it to examine it. I have included those below. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of both. You can see the debris in the bowl and lava in the plateau surface of the rim top. I also took photos of the heavily oxidized and calcified stem showing the tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I took a photo of the bowl with the stem removed to give a sense of the proportion and appearance of the pipe without the stem. I took photos of the crack in the bowl sides before I started my clean up and repairs. It looks like the kind of crack that come from a bowl being dropped on a hard surface.Before I started my work on the pipe I wanted to remind myself of the provenance of the pipe. I remembered that it was linked to Karl Erik as I have worked on quite a few Knute Freehands. I wanted to know where this pipe fit into the Karl Erik lines so I turned to the first of two sites that I always check to gather information on a brand. I turned to the first source of information site – Pipephil’s (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-k3.html) got a quick overview on the brand once again connecting it to Karl Erik. I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Erik). Pipedia had this great picture of Karl Erik Ottendahl and I decided to include it here as a reminder of the artisan who first carved and released this pipe. Reminded of the tie to Karl Erik, I knew a bit about the pipe at hand. I turned to address the pipe itself. There it is clearly identified and linked to Karl Erik Ottendahl. It is designated as a second and frequently having rustication. The interesting thing is that his pipe does not look like a second at all and I wonder if the Knute is a line of Karl Erik’s rather than a second. Who knows? This one is a very well done sandblast pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe and bring it back to life. The crack needed to be repaired and the bowl brought back to life.

I started my work on the pipe by starting the process of cleaning the pipe. I carefully reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe Reamer remove from the bowl leaving bare briar. I cleaned up the remnants of cake with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed the remaining debris. I sanded the bowl walls smooth with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I scraped the lava coat off the rim top – both the rusticated portion and the plateau rim top with the Savinelli Pipe Knife and removed all of it. I cleaned out the internals of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, shank brushes and 99% isopropyl alcohol. It was very clean and it looked and smelled far better. I also cleaned out the internals in the stem with the same tools and alcohol.I scrubbed the externals of the bowl and shank with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. I worked over the bowl, shank and rim top with the soap and then rinsed it off warm water. The bowl looked extremely good. The cracks around the bowl heel and sides were clean. The plateau top had some darkening and burn marks. I worked over the rim top with a brass bristle wire brush to clean up the rim top. I sanded the rim top high spots in the plateau with a 320 grit sanding pad. The clean high spots would provide a great contrast.Now it was time to address the crack in the bowl running up both sides from the heel. The inside of the bowl is clean and no cracks run through from the outside of the bowl. I am pretty confident that the cracks came when the pipe was dropped on the ground. I used a micro drill bit and drilled small pilot holes at the end of the crack on each side of the bowl. I have circled the drill holes on both sides of the pipe in red for quick reference. I filled in the cracks with clear CA glue and briar dust and used a dental spatula to press the material into the crack.I worked over the repaired areas with a brass bristle wire brush. I followed the flow of the sandblast finish with the brush and was able to clean up the debris from the repairs in the grain of the crack. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the sandblast finish and the plateau rim top. I worked it in with my finger tips on the smooth portions of the finish and with a shoebrush on the plateau and the sandblast. I let the Balm do its magic for 15 minutes then buffed it off with a cotton cloth. The rich colours of the finish on this Knute looked amazing. I painted the walls of the bowl with a mixture of sour cream and activated charcoal powder. The mixture works to provide a bowl coating. I applied it with a folded pipe cleaner. I put a pipe cleaner in the airway to close the entry into the bowl. The bowl coating would give the bowl some initial protection as it is broken in through smoking. The natural buildup of carbon will further protect the bowl. I set the bowl in a pipe rest to let the mixture harden and cure. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the badly oxidized stem. I scrubbed the stem surface with Soft Scrub cleanser to break through the oxidization and calcification. It took a lot of scrubbing and scraping of the grime from the surface but it finally began to show black. There were deep tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem ahead of the button. I filled them in with black CA glue strengthened with rubber and carbon. It dries hard but it still is a bit flexible. I flattened the repairs with small flat file. I sanded the repaired areas and the rest of stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to smooth it out and remove remaining oxidation. I wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth. It was beginning to look very good.       I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I put the stem back on the Knute of Denmark Sandblast Freehand pipe and took the pipe to the buffer. I carefully buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the vulcanite. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in the vulcanite. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up really nicely with a great contrasting stain look to the briar. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a beautiful Karl Eric Made Knute of Denmark Freehand – the fancy turned stem and plateau rim top give the pipe a great look. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches wide x 2 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.26 ounces/64 grams. This is the fourth of six pipes that am restoring for Mario from his Dad’s collection. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of this newly restored pipe. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it!

Restemming and Restoring a Citation 614 Rusticated Meerschaum Lined Oom Paul

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by Steve Laug

In November I received an email from Mario about working on some of his Dad’s pipes. Here is what he wrote to me.

I am desperately seeking help restoring and repairing some of my dad’s smoking pipes. I have tried reaching out to the only two known pipe repair establishments I could find in the entire country but one is not currently taking repair orders and the other said she didn’t want to try to repair these pipes without having even seen them. Would you be willing to take on the repairs or can you recommend anyone? Thank you much!!!—Mario

I wrote him back and asked him to send me photos of the pipes. He sent some single photos of the meerschaum bowl and stem, several of the leather clad Canadian and the photo of the rack and six pipes shown below. I looked through the photos and this is what I saw. There were two leather clad pipes a Canadian and a Pot. Both of them were cracked on the shanks and had been self-repaired with wire to hold the cracked shank together. The leather cladding was torn and the stitching was rotten and broken around the bowl. To me they were both irreparable. There was a lovely older Meerschaum with a horn stem that needed a good cleaning and repairs to the horn stem. There were two Knute Freehand pipes with original stems that were dirty but fixable. The plateau on the smooth one had a large chunk of briar missing. There was a Wilshire Dublin with a chewed and misfit stem. Finally, there was a billiard that had been restemmed with a fancy GBD saddle stem on it. They were a messy lot but I told him to send them on to me. They arrived yesterday and the condition of the pipes in the photos was confirmed. They were a mess and needed much work. I have included Mario’s group photo below to show the lot.This afternoon I decided to start working on the Oom Paul next. It was the one on the left centre on the bottom of the rack in the photo above. It was an Oom Paul shape with a bent round shank and the saddle stem had a huge bite through on the topside of it. The bowl had a thick cake on the walls and a heavy lava coat in the rustication on the rim top. It was internally a mess. The finish was dirty and had grime ground into the sides of the bowl. There seemed to be line around the bowl top that hinted at the bowl being lined with meerschaum. The shank was in good shape with no nicks or cracks. The pipe was stamped on the underside of the shank and read Citation in script (followed by) the shape number 614 [over] Italy. The shape number and Italy stamp tell me the pipe was made by Savinelli. There was no other stamping on the shank sides. The stem was correct but chewed beyond repair and would need to be replaced. I took photos of the pipe when I unpacked it to examine it. I have included those below. I took a photo of the rim top to show the condition and the interesting ring on the rim top. I also took photos of the heavily damaged stem. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I took a photo of the bowl with the stem removed to give a sense of the proportion and appearance of the pipe without the stem. You can see the damage on the stem top so it is no question that it needs to be removed.I remember having worked on a Citation before but could not put my finger on what I knew about it. I did a quick search on rebornpipes and found a blog I had restored and restemmed a Citation that had been meerschaum lined (https://rebornpipes.com/2015/12/24/a-surprise-when-working-on-the-citation-812-canadian/). Fortunately, I could see what looks like a smooth ring around the inside of the bowl. As I examined it I found that ring around the inside edge of the bowl was a meerschaum lining. I knew that I was working on a Meerschaum lined Oom Paul.

I carefully reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe Reamer remove from the bowl leaving bare meerschaum. I cleaned up the remnants of cake with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed the remaining debris. I sanded the bowl walls smooth with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I scraped the lava coat off the rim top – both the rusticated portion and the smooth ring of the meerschaum bowl top with the Savinelli Pipe Knife and removed all of it. I cleaned out the internals of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, shank brushes and 99% isopropyl alcohol. It was very clean and it looked and smelled far better.I scrubbed the externals of the bowl and shank with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. I worked over the bowl, shank and rim top with the soap and then rinsed it off warm water. The bowl looked extremely good. There were some significant burn marks on the rim top and inner edge but the bowl itself was very clean. Once the bowl had dried I touched up the stain on the rim top to match bowl colour. I used a Walnut Stain Pen to colour the briar and leave the meerschaum rim clear for polishing.I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and a shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain stood out. I went through my can of stems and found one that was the right taper for the pipe bowl I was working on. It had the right look and would need shaping. The stem is very similar to the original that came on the pipe and should look very good.I cleaned out the internals of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. There was some tars and oils in the airway and it took some work but it was clean. One of the odd things on this pipe was that the inside of the shank had a piece of black electrical tape stuck in it that had come off the tenon sometime along the way.I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to reduce the overage in diameter on the top and the left side of the saddle (forgot to take photos). I smoothed out the sanded portions and the sanded tooth marks with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth. It was beginning to look very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This restored and restemmed Savinelli Made Citation 614 Rusticated Oom Paul with a new vulcanite saddle stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The beautiful rusticated finish stands out and gives depth to the bowl and shank sides. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The rim top shows Meerschaum Lining and other than darkening it was in great shape. The finished Savinelli Citation 614 Meerlined Oom Paul is a beautiful pipe, but it fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 58 grams /2.01 ounces. This is the third of six pipes that I am restemming and restoring for Mario from his Dad’s collection. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of this newly restemmed pipe. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Restoring a Well Loved GBD Prestige London England 508 Bent Billiard

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by Steve Laug

I picked some older pipes to work on next. The next of these is a GBD Bent Billiard. We purchased this one on 03/21/2024 from a seller in Oregon City, Oregon, USA. Jeff regularly visits shops along the coast hunting for pipes and though there are less of them there are still a lot available. The is a Bent Billiard that is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads GBD in an oval [over] Prestige and on the right side it is stamped London, England over the shape number 508. The pipe was well used. The finish was dirty with dust and debris ground into the finish. There were some dark marks on the sides of the bowl that looked to be on the surface. The bowl had a thick cake in it and some lava on the inwardly bevelled rim top and the inner edge. There was also some roughening to the inner edge and darkening on the top of the bowl. The vulcanite stem was oxidized, calcified and had some tooth marks on the surface ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. He took some closer photos of the rim top and bowl to show the condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top and inner edge. It is hard to know for certain but it looks like there is some roughening on the back inner edge. He also took photos of the stem to show its condition. You can see the oxidation, calcification and tooth marks and chatter on the stem at the button. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the smooth finish and the grain around the bowl and shank. He captured the stamping on the left and right sides of the shank. It is clear and faint in spots and reads a noted above. The brass inset GBD oval logo on the left side of the saddle stem is clear and undamaged. I looked on the Pipephil logos site for information on the Prestige line and found nothing there. I turned to Pipedia’s general article on the GBD brand looking for any information on the Prestige line and once again found nothing. The history article is a great read. Be sure to have a look at it.

The article included link to other articles on Pipedia and one of those was to an article on the GBD Model Information (https://pipedia.org/wiki/GBD_Model_Information). I turned there and found what I was looking for. There was a short description of the line and I have included it below:

Prestige — England, unknown if also made in France: Matt natural finish, Perspex mouthpiece.

That was helpful in terms of the finish which matches the pipe in my hand other than it has a vulcanite mouthpiece. I read further and in a short note from GL Pease I found the information below. I quote:

…In a circa 1973 chart which I have, here are the descriptions of the higher grades:

  • Virgin — “Only the finest of closely grained briar is utilized for this exceptional pipe. Natural finish”
  • Century — “A golden finish created to celebrate over a century of manufacturing the finest briar pipes.”
  • New Era — “The beauty of this pipe’s perfect briar is accentuated by the richness of the ‘take-off’ dual finish.”
  • Prestige — “This pipe features a black handcut perspex mouthpiece which precludes discoloration and ‘bad taste’ after continual smoking. Only the finest of the fine-grained bowls are selected for this handsome matt virgin finished briar.”
  • Prehistoric Perspex — “The deep sandblasting silhouettes the grain in bold relief. The crystal clear mouthpiece creates an attractive contrast to the deep dark finish.”

From that I now knew that the pipe was a higher grade GBD that is described as having a black handcut Perspex mouthpiece and a matte finished, fine grained virgin briar. The pipe I have on the table has a bent vulcanite stem rather than the Perspex otherwise the description is perfect.

I turned to another link on the site to look at shape numbers and see if I could identify further information regarding the shape (https://pipedia.org/wiki/GBD_Shapes/Numbers). I quote what I found below:Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe and it looked very good. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer and removed the rest of it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. While it does nothing for the finish on the stem as it is Perspex it is worth the effort in that it removes the grime on the stem. I took photos of the pipe before I started my part of the restoration work. The inwardly bevelled rim top cleaned up really well. The rim top and outer edge of the bowl look very good. The inner edge and spots on the top have some darkening and light damage. The stem surface was still lightly oxidized and there were tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.The stamping on sides of the shank is faint but readable. It is stamped as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The thin taper stem is nice and the photo shows the step down tenon. I cleaned up the top and the inner edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage to the edge and the darkening on the rim top. I sanded the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to smooth out the nicks and marks in the briar around the sides of the bowl. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. It was looking pretty good once I finished. I polished the bowl and the rim top with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. By the final pad it was starting to real take on a great shine. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips. It works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The grain came alive. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks with the flame of a lighter to lift them. The heat did a great job lifting most of them. The marks and chatter that remained I filled in with black CA glue strengthened with carbon and rubber. Once cured I flattened them and redefined the button edge with a file and blended them into the surface by sanding with 220 grit sandpaper. I polished the sanding and scratch marks and smoothed the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth. It removes the dust and also gives the sanding pads some bite. By the final pad it was looking quite good.I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I rubbed it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and let it dry. This GBD Prestige 508 Bent Billiard is a real beauty. I buffed the bowl and the Perspex saddle stem with Blue Diamond on the wheel and was amazed at how the grain popped and the stem began to shine. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed them with a clean buffing pad. I finished by hand buffing the pipe with a microfibre cloth. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. While there are some small brown stains in the button area it is clean. I think you will agree that it is a stunning example of a GBD Prestige. The grain and the stem work really well together. The finished GBD Prestige 508 Bent Billiard fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 3/4 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 3/4 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 39 grams/1.38 ounces. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Section shortly. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. I appreciate your support and time!

Restoring a Conway Aristocrat Made in England Bulldog

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by Steve Laug

I picked some older pipes to work on next. The next of these is a Classic, Smooth Straight Bulldog with a Saddle Stem. We purchased this one on 09/20/2023 from a seller in Portland, Oregon, USA. The is a large straight Bulldog that is stamped on the top left side of the shank and reads Conway [over] Aristocrat. On the left side it is stamped Made in England. On the top left side of the saddle stem the Circle C logo of Conway was stamped. The pipe was well used. The finish was dirty with dust and debris in the smooth briar and in the twin rings around the rim cap. The bowl had a thick cake in it and heavy lava on the rim top and the inner edge. There was some damage on the left back of the rim top and om the bevelled inner edge of the bowl. The vulcanite stem was oxidized, calcified and had some tooth marks on the surface ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. He took some closer photos of the rim top and bowl to show the condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top and inner edge. You can see the chip on the outer edge at the back of the rim top. It is hard to know for certain but it looks like there is some roughening on the back inner edge. He also took photos of the stem to show its condition. You can see the oxidation, calcification and tooth marks and chatter. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the bowl. The twin rings and bowl cap are quite well done and you can see the nicks and damage in the briar. He captured the stamping on the left top and right top side of the diamond shank. It is faint in spots but reads as noted above. It is interesting to note the nicks on the shank. The circle C logo stamped on the left side of the saddle stem is faded but the stamp is quite deep. I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c6.html) to see what I could find out on the brand. I did a screen capture of the section on the site on the Conway label. It is a pipe that bears the same stamping as the one in hand here other than the shape number. I also copied the sidebar information below the screen capture.Conway pipes were most probably made by Singleton & Cole. If the pipe is stamped with a shape number this probability almost becomes a certitude. According to Wilczak & Colwell (op. cit.) Loewe had a line named Conway.

I turned to a link on Pipedia hoping for more information (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Conway). Sadly the only information was a mention of the information on Pipephil’s site. There were some amazing photos of the brand on the site. There was one that included an unsmoked Apple with a box and pipe sock as well as a brochure. The interesting point is that it was also an Aristocrat.Armed with that information that pipe was probably made by Singleton & Cole in London, England. I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had cleaned up the pipe and it looked very good. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer and removed the rest of it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe before I started my part of the restoration work. The rim top cleaned up really well. The rim top had some damage on the back left side of the top. The outer edge of the bowl look very good. The inner bevelled edge was clean but had some darkening all around the bowl. The stem surface was clean but the oxidation was still visible and calcification was gone. Overall it looked very good with a few tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.The stamping on top left side of the shank and the top right side is clear and readable. It is stamped as noted above. It is faint in spots but still clear. The logo on the left topside of the saddle is also clear. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The wide taper stem is nice and the photo shows the proportions of the pipe. I used a wooden half sphere and a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the rim top and the bevel on the bowl. Once finished the inner edge looked better. I then topped the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the damage to the left side of the rim top. I took a photo of the top after this part of the work as well.I washed the bowl with cotton pads and acetone to remove some of the opaqueness of the stain. Once I washed it down it looked much better. The grain really stood out and I was able to add a bit of colour to the sanded rim top. I touched up the stain on the rim top with a Walnut stain pen to match the rest of the bowl colour. It matched well and once it was polished and buffed it would be perfect.I sanded the bowl and shank with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad to remove the debris. The pipe was beginning to look much better. I polished the smooth briar around outside of the bowl and the rim top with micromesh sanding pads. I sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to get it into the rings and rustication. It works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The grain and the rustication came alive. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks with the flame of a lighter to lift them (forgot to take photos). The heat did a great job lifting all of them. The marks and chatter that remained I filled in with black CA glue strengthened with carbon and rubber. Once cured I flattened them with a file and blended them into the surface by sanding with 220 grit sandpaper. I touched up the Circle C logo on the left side of the stem with white acrylic nail polish. Once it cured I scraped off the excess and polished the stem.I polished the roughness, scratch marks and smoothed the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth. It removes the dust and also gives the sanding pads some bite. By the final pad it was looking quite good.I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I rubbed it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and let it dry. This Conway Aristocrat Straight Bulldog is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The style of rustication that is used around the bowl is quite beautiful and works well with both the shape and the polished vulcanite taper stem. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the wheel and followed by buffing the pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Conway Aristocrat Bulldog fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 47 grams/1.66 ounces. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Section shortly. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. I appreciate your support and time!

An Unusual and Beautiful Peterson 221 Sterling Silver Prince

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by Kenneth Lieblich

This pipe came to me in a collection of pipes that gave new meaning to the phrase, ‘trash and treasure’. Everything from the sublime to the ridiculous was in here, but when I saw this Pete, I was immediately enchanted. It is a Peterson 221 prince. This is a stunning pipe. It’s an older one and it’s a real veteran, with a few mild battle scars which are part of its history. I can’t help but think that this pipe should be in someone’s Peterson collection – it’s lightweight and breathtaking. This was one of the more difficult restorations I’ve ever undertaken. You might read through this blog post and think that it doesn’t seem particularly unusual. And, superficially, you’re right. Most of the steps in this restoration are run-of-the-mill, but, in many cases, these steps had to be done and redone so many times that I nearly launched the pipe across the room. So, settle in for a wild ride. The pipe is marked as follows: on the left side of the shank, it says K&P [over] Dublin. On the left side, it says Made in Ireland in the form of a circle and, next to that, the shape number 221. The circular Made in Ireland suggests that this is an older pipe, possibly (but not definitely) pre-republic. On the sterling silver band is displayed three shields each containing the three marks K&P [over] Sterling [over] Silver. The stem is the traditional Peterson P-lip, but it has no logo.This is an unusual Peterson, by shape and number. There are Pete princes and there are Pete 221s (bent billiards), but I hadn’t seen a 221 prince. I searched extensively for this very pipe and came up empty. I looked at Pipedia and Pipephil – nothing. Many more searches also came up with nothing. Steve kindly referred me to a couple of his articles (from 2016 and 2020) that gave a good clue:

https://rebornpipes.com/2016/09/13/petersons-pipes-brochure-from-genin-trudeau-co-montreal-quebec/

and

https://rebornpipes.com/2020/03/13/final-pipe-from-the-19-pipe-eastern-canada-lot-a-republic-era-peterson-1312-system/

The key information is on the old Peterson brochure shown in the blog post. In previous times, Petersons were imported into Canada through a company called Genin Trudeau & Co. (nowadays just Trudeau – the kitchen wares company). Genin Trudeau had the Peterson firm stamp their own shape numbers on the pipes they imported. This brochure supposedly dates from around 1974 and includes a silhouette of a 221, as you can see here in a cropped photo:However, there’s a problem: the 221 in the brochure is close – but not identical – to the 221 I’ve got here. Mine has a gentle bend; the one in the brochure does not. Clearly, my 221 was from a different time. Steve suggested that I contact Mark Irwin at Peterson Pipe Notes, as he is a great repository of Peterson knowledge. Mark was his usual obliging self and directed me to a page from his blog:

https://petersonpipenotes.org/280-canadian-shape-numbers-from-a-gtc-pipe-box-brochure/

In this post, he shows an older brochure, also from Genin Trudeau & Co. and dated to approximately 1955, which also shows a 221 prince. This time, however, it is the correct pipe!Although the brochure shows a rusticated pipe and mine is smooth, it is clear that the shape is identical. I suspect that this pipes dates from well before 1955, but I cannot prove this. Nonetheless, it is an exciting tidbit of information – thank you to Steve and Mark for their help.

The photos show that this pipe’s former owner must have loved this pipe – it was smoked to the Nth degree. Although it must be a fantastic smoker, it has clearly never seen a pipe cleaner or reamer! The stem is filthy beyond words and it has scratches, bites, oxidation, and calcification. Most unfortunately, the stem also has a significant bite-through on the underside.The stummel is also quite rough. There are a few minor nicks in the wood, but nothing serious. The main issue here is the cake in the bowl. Wow. The bowl is literally completely blocked. The cake is rock hard and its lava has erupted all over the rim. This is going to take some work!I used a disposable lighter and ‘painted’ the stem with its flame. The gentle heat of the flame can often cause the dents in vulcanite of the stem to expand back into shape. In this case, the dents were alleviated somewhat, but not enough. Better than nothing.The calcification was quite substantial. I used an old butter knife and gently scraped some of the thicker accretion off. Taking the opportunity to do this now helps later in removing the oxidation.I used oil soap on a few cotton rounds and wiped the stem down. This provides a preliminary cleaning of filth off the stem before moving on to the next steps.The primary cleaning comes next. I cleaned the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in 99% lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly and made sure the interior was clean. I used a lot of pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. This was a very dirty pipe.The goal of the next step is the removal (or minimization) of oxidation. Going to my sink, I used cream cleanser, cotton rounds, and a toothbrush, and scoured the stem to remove as much surface oxidation as possible. As the photos show, the result is a hideous brownish mess – but better off the stem than on it. This particular stem was so dirty that I also applied the cleanser to the inside with some tube brushes.Once the stem was reasonably clean, I soaked it overnight in some de-oxidation fluid. This solution works to draw oxidation in the stem to the surface. This is a major aid and an important step in ensuring a clean stem. The following day, I drew out the stem from its bath and scrubbed the lingering de-oxidation fluid with a toothbrush. Once clean and dry, I set about fixing the bite marks in the vulcanite. This is done by filling those divots with black cyanoacrylate adhesive, impregnated with carbon and rubber. I left this to cure and moved on.My next task was repairing the large hole on the underside of the stem. There are several methods of doing this and individual circumstances will dictate how to proceed. In this case, I used a straightforward method of employing the same black cyanoacrylate adhesive mentioned above. Before applying the adhesive, some preparatory work is required. With such a large gap in the vulcanite, any applied adhesive will simply run through the aperture and fill the airway. To prevent this, I coated the end of a pipe cleaner with petroleum jelly and lodged it in the airway. This provides a platform for the adhesive to sit on while curing and prevent it from entering the airway. The petroleum jelly is used to prohibit the adhesive from attaching to the pipe cleaner. This repair was much more labour intensive than normal. The adhesive patch I created failed three times before I finally made it work. The precarious nature of the repair impelled me to lay the patch much thicker than I might otherwise have. I am pleased with the final result, but I am not utterly convinced of the patch’s long-term structural integrity.The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. I first used my set of needle files to reduce the bulk of the cyanoacrylate repairs. I do not want to cut into the vulcanite, but I want to lower the height of the adhesive to as close as possible above the surface. Following that, I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the vulcanite, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also apply pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There is a wonderful, deep-black shine to the stem when I am done.Now that the stem is (nearly) complete, I can move on to the stummel. The first step for me is to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplishes a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleans the bowl and provides a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake is removed, it allows me to inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there is damage or not. More about that later. In the meantime, I used a reamer, a pipe knife, and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensure that all the debris is removed. However, this pipe needed a jackhammer to deal with the rock-hard cake in the bowl. Since I don’t have a jackhammer, I used a ½” rotary burr on my Dremel. This is a tricky procedure and I would not normally use this burr except as a last resort. The cake was so hard, that I had no other option at my disposal. Working with great care, I managed to clean out the bulk of the material and then returned to my normal tools to finish the work. As you can imagine, there was an extraordinary amount of debris in the bowl.My next step was to remove the lava on the rim. For this, I took a piece of machine steel and gently scraped the lava away. The metal provides an edge that is sharp enough to remove what I need, but not so sharp that it damages the rim. This work revealed a lot of damage underneath: burning, scratches, gouges, etc. This would have to be addressed later.The inside of the stummel needs to be cleaned thoroughly. However, this pipe’s shank was so clogged, that I first needed to open the horribly occluded airway. So, I took a long drill bit, held in a drill chuck, and hand-cranked it to dislodge the dreadful detritus inside. Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in 99% lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. With a pipe this dirty, it took quite a while and much cotton to get clean.I then decided to ‘de-ghost’ the pipe – that is to say, exorcize the remaining filth from the briar. I filled the bowl and the shank with cotton balls, then saturated them with plain 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused any remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton.To tidy up the briar, I also wiped down the outside with some oil soap on cotton rounds (and a toothbrush). This does a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar.The last step of the cleaning process is to wash the inside of the stummel with some liquid cleanser and tube brushes. This is the culmination to a lot of hard work in getting the pipe clean. As you can see, this pipe still has some visible wounds. The damage to the rim is significant. In order to minimize the burns and nicks on the rim, I ‘topped’ the pipe – that is to say, I gently, slightly, and evenly sanded the rim on a piece of 220-grit sandpaper. This effectively takes down the damage, without altering the look of the pipe.A notable burn remained on the rim, so I took some crystalized oxalic acid and dissolved it in warm water. I then took some cotton swaps, dipped in the solution, and rubbed the burned spot vigorously. The acid works well to alleviate superficial burns (burns where the integrity of the wood is still good).All the cleaning I did revealed an important problem. The photos do not show it well, but the previous owner reamed this pipe overzealously. The heel of the bowl was gouged out through reaming and is now very thin. I had to fill this. To fill a gap like this, I use an epoxy adhesive that is extremely hard, resistant to high temperatures, and completely inert when cured. It works superbly. I filled the affected area with the epoxy and let it cure for a full 24 hours. The next day, I roughened up the epoxy’s surface for the next step. I thinly coated the inside of the bowl with a mixture of my wife’s homemade yogurt and activated charcoal. Once hardened, this provided a good, slightly rough surface for a new cake to build.I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) on the outside of the stummel to finish it off. This sanding minimizes flaws in the briar and provides a beautiful smoothness to the wood surface. I rubbed some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and left it to sit for 20 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed it with a microfibre cloth. The final step is buffing. I took the pipe to my bench buffer and carefully polished it – first with a white diamond compound, then with three coats of carnauba wax. Naturally, these finishing touches make the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.

All done! This Peterson 221 sterling silver prince was a lot of work, but it looks fantastic and is ready to be enjoyed again by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘Irish’ section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 6⅛ in. (155 mm); height 1⅛ in. (30 mm); bowl diameter 1½ in. (36 mm); chamber diameter ⅔ in. (17 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1 oz. (29 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I did restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring a Republic Era Peterson’s “Shannon” 6 Billiard

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by Steve Laug

A couple of weeks ago I received a message on Facebook from Shannon about cleaning up a pipe for him. It was one of his favourite pipes so he wanted it spiffed up. I have included several of his messages below along with photos of the pipe in question.

Hello! I saw the beautiful work you did on a Peterson Shannon 80S recently and not only would I like to purchase that but I would also like to see if you could give my Shannon Billiard a glow-up. I purchased it with some minor wear and teeth marks but it has been faithful for a good while. would like to get it a sibling and pair them together as fresh if possible. Please let me know…

…I’ve only been smoking for a little over a year so when I saw that Peterson had a whole line in my own name, I’ve kinda been drawn to it. They’re just not that common and usually in a sad state when I see them.

…Here’s the pipe in question. I covered the teeth marks with a pipe bit but as you can see, it’s still in pretty good shape overall.Probably THE best smoking pipe I own, especially for when I don’t feel like fully rubbing out flakes. It handles folded tobacco better than the rest of the ones I have. Here’s a couple more photos I just took of the minor issues… We chatted back and forth a bit about his pipe and I agreed to work on it for him. He boxed it up and sent it to me to work on. It arrived this week thanks to UPS and I opened the box and took the pipe out. I examined it and took photos of the pipe. It was well smoked and well cared for. The bowl has a light cake on the top 2/3rds and the bottom 1/3 is raw briar – not darkened by smoking. The rim top had some darkening in spots and the inner edge also had some darkening. The finish was shiny like it had a light varnish coat. There were some oils and grime in the finish. The stem was in good condition other than the tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The brass spacer on the stem was lightly oxidized. The Peterson’s P logo stamped on the left side of the stem was faint but had remnants of gold in it. The pipe was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] Shannon. On the right side it bore the number 6 next to the bowl/shank junction which is the shape number for a Peterson’s Billiard. That is followed by Made in The [over] Republic [over] of Ireland in three lines. This tells me that the pipe was a Republic Era pipe which dates it between 1948 and present date. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. It really is a beautiful piece of briar. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the condition. You can see that my assessment in the above photos is correct. The rim top shows some darkening toward the back and around the inner edge of the rim. The cake is the bowl is quite light. The photos of the stem show the tooth chatter and marks (which are light but still present) from the previous owner Shannon bought the pipe from. Otherwise the stem looks very good.I took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. It is clear and readable as noted above. The P logo on the stem side is deep but the colour in it is faint. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to show the proportions of the stem to the bowl. The stem is a classic Peterson style taper stem.Before I started working on the pipe I turned to “The Peterson’s Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to see what it had to say on the “Kildare” line. On page 313 it says:

Shannon (19695-c.1987) First offered as entry-grade walnut or black sandblast, P-lip mouthpiece and a nickel band. In 1969-c.1970 offered through Iwan Ries as Shannon Meerschaum lined, middle grade black sandblast and higher-grade brown sandblast finish, P-lip mouthpiece. From 2005 as polished tan and black stain, unmounted, P-lip or fishtail mouthpiece with stamped gold P on the vulcanite mouthpiece.

I believe that the pipe I am working on is from the 2005 line. It has a polished tan and black stain and a fishtail mouthpiece. It has a classic shape and the information would make the pipe one issued after 2005. It has a bit of age on it and it is in excellent condition. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

I started my work on the pipe by dealing with the shiny top coat on the bowl. I wanted to remove that and clean up the finish. I wiped down the bowl with acetone on a cotton pad to remove the varnish (possibly shellac). It worked very well to get rid of the top coat without harming the stain coat on the bowl. It also looked much better after the wash with the acetone. I used a dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the thin cake in the bowl. It was a bit rough and uneven before I sanded it. Once finished it was smooth to touch from the top to the bottom of the bowl. I cleaned out the internals of the pipe with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol. It was quite clean which is a tribute to Shannon’s care of his pipes. I cleaned out the remnants of tars and oils in the shank and the pipe is clean. There is a smoky smell of tobacco but it is clean.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust. The rim top, edges and bowl were really shining by the final pad. I paused the polishing to clean up the top of the rim a bit. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the darkening on the rim top. It looked better at this point. Afterwards, I repeated the 1500-2400 grit pads and then continued to work through the rest of the pads. It looked much better. I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the vulcanite surface with the flame of a lighter – constantly moving the flame over the tooth marks and was able to lift many of them. I was able to lift them significantly enough that sanding them with 320-3500 grit sanding pads.I sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads and easily removed the tooth marks and chatter. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished out the scratch marks left behind by the sandpaper. The stem looked very good.The stem was in such good condition that I decided to just do some preliminary work on it before polishing it. I touched up the “P” logo on the left side of the stem with Rub’n Buff Antique Gold. I let it dry then polished off the excess with a worn 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad. Once the excess was removed the stamp looked much better. There were some weak spots on the curve of the “P” stamp but overall it looked very good. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine, I rubbed it on with my finger and buffed it off with a cloth. I gave the stem a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to let the oil be absorbed. Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Peterson’s “Shannon” 6 Billiard with a fishtail stem is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely and the beautiful grain really popped with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This Republic Era Peterson’s “Shannon” 6 Straight Billiard was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.48 ounces/42 grams. I will be sending it back to Shannon shortly. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Cleaning Up a Ben Wade Burnsbury Made in London England 283 Zulu Stack

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By Steve Laug

I thought it was time in this write up, to take you through my process of working on each pipe that we purchase. Jeff has set up a spread sheet to track where the pipe came from, the date of purchase and what we paid for it so that we know what we have invested in the pipe before we even work on it. This takes a lot of the guess work out of the process. This particular pipe was purchased on 06/24/2023 from an online auction in Garland, Texas, USA. I also want you to understand why we take the photos we do. If you have followed for a while then you will see the familiar pattern of the photos we include both in the before and midstream process of working on a pipe. It is not accidental or chance as the photos have been taken to help me assess the pipe Jeff sees before he starts his clean up work. We do this to record the condition that the pipe was in when received it and to make decisions about what kind of work will need to be done on. When I look at these photos this is what I see.

  1. The first thing I see is the graceful tall bowl and an oval shank with some interesting grain around the sides. It is well proportioned and well made with a classic English shape.
  2. The finish is dirty and there are oils from the smoker’s hands on both side of the bowl. There is grime ground into the finish as well but even so there is also some great grain peeking through.
  3. The rim top had a thick lava overflow from the cake in the bowl. It is hard to know if there is darkening or damage under the lava. Sometimes the lava protects the rim top and edges and sometime it hides issues. Its is very dirty looking.
  4. The bowl has a thick cake in it that hides the walls and the inner edge of the bowl but once it is clean we will know what the edges look like. The outer edges look good and there does not appear to be any obvious burn damage to the top or bowl edges.
  5. The vulcanite taper stem is in rough condition – dirty, oxidized, calcified and has tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button and on the button surface itself.

Overall my impressions of this pipe is that it is a beauty that once cleaned up will look pretty amazing. The exterior of the bowl does not show any hot spots or darkening. The pipe is very English looking and is a classic tall bowled ¼ bent oval shank Stack that has the distinctive cut of other Ben Wade pipes that I have worked on. The photos below confirm the assessment above.Jeff took close up photos so that I could have a clearer picture of the condition of the bowl, rim edges and top. The rim top photos confirm my assessment above. The cake in the bowl is quite thick and the rim top has lava and debris on it. You can also see the condition of the outer edge but the inner edge is a bit of a mystery at this point. This is what I look for when assessing a pipe. While there is lava and darkening there is no visible burn damage at this point. The bowl looks to be fairly round. The next photos show the grain around the heel and the sides of the bowl. Tell me what you see? Are there any visible problems that stand out to you? Are the cracks or scratches? Are there visible flaws or fissures in the briar? What kind of grain stands out around the bowl and heel? Any visible issues on the heel of the bowl? Even the questions should help you to see what I am looking for when I see these photos. You have read it a few times now in the previous blogs. What am I looking for when I look at the shank stamp? In this case it is stamped on the top and underside of the shank. On the top side it reads Ben Wade in script [over] Burnsbury. On the underside it reads Made in [over] London England in 2 lines. That is followed by the shape number 283 next to the bowl/shank union. How does the stamping look to you? Is it clear and readable? Is it faint in spots or is it uniform? I know you are looking at photos but so do I at this point in the process. The topside of the stem is also stamped though it is faint and worn. It reads BEN [over] WADE. The same questions apply here as well. An added part of pipe restoration for me is to try to gather as much background on a brand and maker as I can find. With Ben Wade it is an enjoyable web to untangle. There is a lot of information and it can lead to understanding what era a pipe was made in. To try to figure out the era of the Ben Wade pipe I was working on I turned to the Pipephil website, Logos and Stampings (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-benwade.html). There is some really helpful information on the brand. There is an alphabetical listing of the lines but there was none listed that matched the one on the table. The site did give a short history of the brand. I quote the portion that is most pertinent. Brand founded in the 1860’s at Leeds (GB). Lane Ltd. (NYC) bought the brand in 1962 and closed the factory in Leeds in 1965. The pipes were then manufactured in London at Charatan’s. During the period 1972 (about) – 1989 Ben Wade pipes were mass produced for Lane Ltd. by Preben Holm‘s workshop in his very personal style. Peter Wilson owner of Duncan Pipes bought the rights of the brand in 1998.

Next, I turned to Pipedia to see if I could find more information on the Ben Wade brand there (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Wade). The article gives a great sense of the history of the brand from its inception until the time Preben Holm made pipes for them. I quote a few sections from the article below.

In the second World War the factory was destroyed by German air raids on Leeds. But the Ben Wade family decided to re-build it immediately after the war and pipe production was re-started soon and successfully linked to the fame from the pre-war years.

Before the second war Ben Wade clustered their offerings into three price points: “Ben Wade” included the higher end pipes (eg the Larnix, Super Grain, Selected Grain, etc), “BW” included the mid-level pipes (eg Statesman, Natural Grain, County, etc), and “BWL” were the least expensive (eg Hurlingham, Adelphi, Tense Grain). Champion was in the last group, and in the 1930s at least retailed for 2/6.

The Champion disappeared during the War when the Ben Wade line was materially slimmed down, presumably to reflect difficulties of supply. The name continued to appear in brand directories at least through the early sixties, however it’s unclear whether production was actually resumed.

Even though the owner family decided to leave pipe business and sell off the firm. The family went into negotiations with Herman G. Lane, president of Lane Ltd. in New York at about the same time as the Charatan family. Lane Ltd. bought both firms in 1962.

Herman G. Lane had been Charatan’s US sole distributor since 1955 and Charatan always remained his pet child. But Ben Wade was treated in another way by it’s new owner. The fabrication of pipes was reduced and the factory in Leeds was closed in 1965 finally.

So, this was the end of Ben Wade pipes stamped “Made in Leeds, England”.

Lane had the pipe making machines brought from Leeds to London and used the well esteemed name Ben Wade to start the fabrication of entirely machine-made pipes at Charatan’s Prescott Street factory. (Some sources say “not earlier than 1973” but proven by catalogues this isn’t true.) Alas the “new” Ben Wades were quite usual series pipes, copies of well known standard shapes. The pipes often showed hardly masqued fillings and were processed quite coarsely with hardly polished pre-moulded Ebonite stems. Therewith Ben Wade degenerated definitively to a second brand. The stamping now read “Made in London England” or just “London”. Nothing was left from the quality of the pipes once made in Leeds!

Quotation of an American pipe dabster: “It’s a shame to see how a famous old family name can be dragged into the mud by people who want to capitalize on a good reputation earned by men who are long dead. This sad little story was not one of Charatan’s or Lane’s proudest moments!”

Herman G. Lane’s heirs had no special interest in either Charatan or in Ben Wade and sold it to Dunhill Pipes Limited in 1978. Now, Dunhill had no need of machine-made series pipes like the Ben Wade as performed by Charatan / Lane since their own Parker–Hardcastle factory in Walthamstow had abounding capacities to turn out secondary pipes. Thus this was Ben Wade’s second end. Charatan’s Prescott Street factory was closed by no later than March of 1982 and Charatan was allowed to languish and discontinued in 1988.

Now I had some parameters regarding the time frame of the pipe. It was made after the closing of the Leeds factory in 1965 and made in London as early as 1973. It was definitely made before Lane sold the factory to Dunhill in 1978. That is helpful to know the time frame as well as the connection to Charatan during that time period. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

I am sure many of you will shake your head and ask maybe even out loud, “Why is he including this again?” However, please remember that the point of these blogs is not to wow your with the work or make you shake your heads but I want you to know the details of the work we do so you can do your own. Back in 2020 Jeff wrote a blog about his cleaning process. I am including a link to that now so you can see what I mean about his process. Do not skip it! Give it a read (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/01/20/got-a-filthy-estate-pipe-that-you-need-to-clean/). Here is the introduction to that blog and it is very true even to this day.

Several have asked about Jeff’s cleaning regimen as I generally summarize it in the blogs that I post rather than give a detailed procedure. I have had the question asked enough that I asked Jeff to put together this blog so that you can get a clear picture of the process he uses. Like everything else in our hobby, people have different methods they swear by. Some may question the method and that is fine. But it works very well for us and has for many years. Some of his steps may surprise you but I know that when I get the pipes from him for my part of the restoration they are impeccably clean and sanitized. I have come to appreciate the thoroughness of the process he has developed because I really like working on clean pipe!

For the benefit of some of you who may be unfamiliar with some of the products he uses I have included photos of three of the items that Jeff mentions in his list. This will make it easier for recognition. These three are definitely North American Products so you will need to find suitable replacements or order these directly on Amazon. The makeup pads are fairly universal as we were able to pick some up in India when we were with Paresh and his family.

In the blog itself he breaks his process down into two parts – cleaning the stem and cleaning the bowl. Each one has a large number of steps that he methodically does every time. I know because I have watched him do the work and I have seen the pipes after his work on them. He followed this process step by step and when the pipe got to me it was spotlessly clean and ready for my work. The inside of the stem, shank and bowl were clean and to me that is an amazing gift as it means that my work on this end is with a clean pipe! I cannot tell you how much difference that makes for my work.

  1. The thin oval shank and the tall bowl look very good and are well proportioned and have a classic English Bent Stack and almost a modified Zulu shape.
  2. The finish is clean and the oils have been removed from both sides of the bowl. The grime ground into the finish is gone and there is some great grain around the bowl sides. There also appear to be some sandpits showing up on the shank.
  3. The thick lava coat on the rim top has been removed and there are some nicks and damage on the top and inner edges of the bowl.
  4. The walls of the bowl are clean and I do not see any checking or burn damage. The inner edge of the bowl had some nicks and burn damage on the edges. The outer edges look good and there does not appear to be any obvious burn damage there.
  5. The vulcanite taper stem is clean and has tooth chatter and marks on both sides. Ben Wade stamped logo on the top of the stem – it is barely visible.

Hopefully the steps above show you both what I look for when I go over the pipe when I bring it to the work table and what I see when I look at the pipe in my hands. They also clearly spell out a restoration plan in short form. My work is clear and addressing it will be the next steps. I took photos of the whole pipe to give you a picture of what I see when I have it on the table. This is important to me in that it also shows that there was no damage done during the clean up work or the transit of the pipe from Idaho to here in Vancouver.  I carefully went over the bowl and rim top to get a sense of what is happening there. In this case once the lava was removed light damage and darkening to the edge and top was revealed. I think there is some light burn damage to the edge that extends around the inner edge and some darkening on the rim top. It is clean but will need to be worked on to bring it back to normal. I also go over the stem carefully. There were light tooth marks or dents in the stem. I could see faint marks on the top of the stem that I could see with a lens – BEN WADE. The trouble was it was so light that it was not redeemable. I took photos of the rim top and stem sides to show as best as I can what I see when I look at them.I always check to make sure that the clean up work did not damage the stamping on the shank in any way. It looks good and is very readable. I love just looking at the beauty of the lay of the pipe with the grain and the proportion of the pipe. I like to remove the stem from the shank to get a sense of what was in the mind of the pipe maker when he crafted the pipe. It is a beauty in flow and shape. By this time, you should know that I almost always start with the bowl in my restoration because I truly do not like the tedious work of stem repairs and polishing. I always leave that until last even though I know that it needs to be done. For me the encouragement of seeing a rejuvenated bowl is the impetus I need to attack the stem work.

Today I started working on this pipe by turning to the bowl. I chose to deal with the nicks, darkening and burn damage on the rim edges and top. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage on the edges and the rim top. It took a little work but I was able to remove most of the darkening. I stained the rim top with a Cherry and a Maple stain pen to match the rest of the bowl colours. It is a beautiful piece of briar with some great grain.I used some briar dust and clear CA glue to fill in the sandpit on the left side of the oval shank. I put the glue in the hole and pressed briar dust into the glue. I wiped off the excess and once it cured sanded that area with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads (1500-12000 grit pads). I choose to dry sand the briar rather than wet sand it. Again, it is a matter of personal preference. I prefer to use the pads dry and find they work very well on the briar. I sand with each pad (9 in total) and group them by threes for ease of reference. I also work over the rim top at the same time. I wipe the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris and check the briar. I love seeing the developing shine on the briar as I move through the pads which is why I include so many photos of this step. For the past few years now I have been using Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that is rubbed into the surface of the briar. The product works to deep clean the nooks and crannies of finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and let it sit for 10 minutes to do its work. I wiped it off with a soft cloth then buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine in the briar and the grain shone through. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. It is a gorgeous pipe. Now it was time to address the part of the restoration I leave until last. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I started with the tooth marks. I “painted” the surface dents with a Bic lighter flame and was able to lift them significantly. I filled in the deep marks that remained with black CA glue. Once it cured I used a small file to flatten the repairs, recut the button edge and start the process of blending them into the stem surface. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to further blend them into the vulcanite. I dry sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further smooth out the finish and also remove any remaining oxidation and scratches on the surface. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil afterwards.I touched up the light stamping on the top of the stem with Rub’n Buff Antique Gold. I worked it into the stamp with a folded pipe cleaner. I buffed it off with a soft cloth and then gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil. It is faint but readable Ben [over] Wade.I use micromesh sanding pads and water to wet sand the stem with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil on a cotton rag after each sanding pad as I find it does two things – first it protects the vulcanite and second it give the sanding pads bite in the polishing process. After finishing with the micromesh pads I rub the stem down with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine stem polish as it seems to really remove the fine scratches in the vulcanite. I rub the Fine Polish on the stem and wipe it off with a paper towel and then repeat the process with the extra fine polish. I finish the polishing of the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set the stem aside to let the oil absorb. This process gives the stem a shine and also a bit of protection from oxidizing quickly.The final steps in my process involve using the buffer. I first buff the stem and the briar with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. Blue Diamond is a plastic polish but I find that it works very well to polish out the light scratches in the vulcanite and the briar. I work the pipe over on the wheel with my finger or thumb in the bowl to keep it from becoming airborne. It works well and I am able to carefully move forward with the buffing. The briar and stem just shone!I finished with the Blue Diamond and moved on to buffing with carnauba wax. Once I have a good shine in the briar and vulcanite I always give the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I have found that I can get a deeper shine if I following up the wax buff with a clean buffing pad. It works to raise the shine and then I follow that up with a hand buff with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is always fun for me to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished vulcanite stem. It really is a beautiful pipe. The smooth finish around the bowl sides and shank show the grain shining through the rich brown stains of this Lane Era Ben Wade, Made in London England 283 Zulu Stack. The finished pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.59 ounces/45 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that I will be putting on the rebornpipes store in the British Pipe Makers section.

Hopefully the shape the writing of this blog is helpful to you in some way. In it I wanted to show both what I am looking for and how I move forward in addressing what I see when work on a pipe. Let me know if it is helpful to you. It is probably the most straightforward detailed description of my work process that I have done. As always I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

A Gold Star Diplomat 9486 from my Grandfather

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by Kenneth Lieblich

This pipe has a bit of a story to it. Every once in a while, I pull out a pipe from my late grandfather and clean it up. The pipe today is a charming hexagonal panelled billiard, with a square shank, and a straight square stem. I do not know where my grandfather acquired it (or under what circumstances), so I asked my father but he didn’t know either. It doesn’t really seem like the sort of pipe he would have selected, so I wonder if it was given to him. After my grandfather died, his pipes ended up wrapped in newspaper, in a cardboard box, in a basement – as so many grandfather’s pipes do. In this case, it was the basement of my parents’ home. About fifteen years ago, my parents had a small flood and this box (along with several others) got wet and stayed wet for a long time. This had ramifications… The pipe’s markings on the left side of the shank read Gold Star [over] Diplomat. On the right side, they read London England [over] 9486. Also, on the stem, there is a star enclosing the letters GS.Very little information turned up about the brand, Gold Star. Nothing from Pipedia. Over at Pipephil, they had the following:This suggested to me that the pipe was a Sasieni sub-brand. Crucially, however, Pipephil also included this line:

The pipes temporarily gathered under the “Gold Star” label obviously aren’t from the same maker.

This was important to me, because the shape number, 9486, didn’t seem to correspond to anything that Sasieni made. So, I did some sleuthing and figured out that, in fact, the name Gold Star was also produced by GBD. This did fit, and I found some examples of GBD 9486 online, including this one (among others) from Iwan Ries’ website:Clearly, my grandfather’s pipe was one of these and I can confirm that both Sasieni and GBD (at least) made the Gold Star name. I am pleased to say that this post has added that small tidbit to the collective knowledge of pipe making in the twentieth century.

Anyway, on to the pipe – and this poor pipe had some issues. Sitting in moist newspaper for as long as it did had some very negative effects. I don’t remember the crack on the shank being there in the past and I wonder if the water induced stresses in the wood that caused the crack. There were other small fissures in the bowl, I don’t think they were flood-related. Another problem related to the water was the colour of the wood – any staining this pipe had was long gone. Finally, as I was examining the pipe, I didn’t realize it in the moment, but the yellow stem would prove to be the biggest problem of them all. The effect of water on vulcanite stems is well known, but stems don’t normally sit in water for an extended period of time. Aside from the above, the stummel had the following problems: lava on the rim, charring to the rim, some cake in the bowl, and a few substantial fills. Meanwhile, the stem had its own set of problems (besides its colour): tooth marks and scratches, and a filthy stinger. The stinger was first on my list. It went for a soak in some lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. I let it set for several hours and then cleaned it off and it looked much improved. I then finished it with some 0000-grit steel wool and moved on.I wiped down the outside of the stem with oil soap on some cotton pads. That did next to nothing. I took my BIC lighter and painted the stem with its flame. This helped a bit, but not much. Then, I cleaned out the insides with pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol.Now it was time to remove the horrific yellow on the stem. I used some cream cleanser on the outside to remove the oxidation. I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed. Then, the stem went for an overnight soak in the Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover. The following day, I cleaned the de-oxidizing mess off with alcohol, pipe cleaners, et cetera. I scrubbed again with cream cleanser on some cotton pads to remove the leftover oxidation. This worked only so well. I put the stem down, thought about it for a while, and decided to repeat that entire procedure: scrub with cream cleanser, soak overnight, and scrub with cream cleanser. This made the stem so much better than before, but still not great. Steve reminded me of an additional technique to try: soaking in Oxyclean. Again, this helped a bit, but it was just not going to be enough. This stem was definitely improved, but would always show the signs of its time in the water.I then used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) on the stem to make it look as good as possible. I also used Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil in between each pad scrubbing.On to the stummel. I used the KleenReem to remove the built-up cake, and followed that with 220-grit sandpaper to remove as much as I could. I wanted to take the bowl down to bare briar to ensure there were no hidden flaws in the walls of the bowl. Fortunately, there were none. I then proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners, and isopropyl alcohol. There was quite a bit of filth inside this stummel – it took many pipe cleaners et cetera to clean it out.I decided that a de-ghosting session would be a good idea. I thrust cotton balls into the bowl and the shank and saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused the oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton. I followed that up by cleaning the insides with some Castile soap and tube brushes. I then moved on to cleaning the outside of the stummel with oil soap and some cotton pads. That removed any remaining dirt. The bowl was nice and clean after this. Having completed that, I was able to address the crack on the shank and the nicks on the bowl. This took some careful work. I filled the crack and the tiny divots with cyanoacrylate adhesive then let them cure. Now, with the nicks and crack filled, it was time to sand down the stummel. I used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand everything smooth. Much improved. I felt that this pipe really needed a bit of colour – it had lost it during the flood. However, I only wanted a light stain. So I made a very dilute mixture of leather dye and alcohol. This didn’t really work well, so, instead, I simply put a drop (literally) at a time on my dauber and gently coated the wood with theat. I flamed it with my Bic lighter and let it sit overnight. Upon the morrow, I used isopropyl alcohol to wipe down the pipe and remove excess stain. I am very happy with the results.After that, a light application of Before & After Restoration Balm brought out the best in the stummel’s grain. What a difference that made! Then it was off for a trip to the buffer. A dose of White Diamond and a few coats of carnauba wax were just what this pipe needed. The lovely shine made the wood look great. This Gold Star Diplomat 9486 panelled billiard has an elegant feel to it. It took a lot of work – and the results were not exactly what I had hoped for – but I am proud of it and the final product is (hopefully) worthy of my beloved grandfather’s memory. Obviously, this is one pipe that I am keeping for myself and adding to my collection. I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe as much I as I did restoring it. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5⅛ in. (130 mm); height 1½ in. (39 mm); bowl diameter 1¼ in. (32 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1 oz. (31 g). If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring a Rare Preben Holm Private Collection Circle B Hand Made in Denmark Freehand

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by Steve Laug

This particular Freehand pipe was purchased from an auction seller in Sylacauga, Alabama, USA on 04/08/2024. It really is a very Preben Holm style Freehand pipe that is almost flower like in its shape. It has a twisted shank and a twisted vulcanite shank extension. It is stamped on a heel of the bowl and the lower backside of the bowl and reads Preben Holm on the bottom edge at the back of the bowl. On the heel it is stamped Private [over] Collection [over] B enclosed in a circle [over] Hand Made [over]In [over] Denmark. The smooth floral shaped pipe is dirty but the grime does not hide the beautiful looking combination around the bowl and shank. The stain is a black understain that brings out the grain highlighted by a top coat of walnut stain. The pipe had a moderate cake in the bowl and a thick lava overflow on the backside of the smooth rim top and inner edge of the bowl. There was grime ground into the smooth and sandblast finish and dust and debris in the valleys and turns on the flower petal shaped carving around the bowl and the shank end. The top edge of the petal on the left front of the bowl had a chip. There was also a darkened spot mid bowl on the right mid bowl toward the back of the bowl. The fancy vulcanite saddle stem and the vulcanite shank extension were oxidized. Added to that the stem surface was also calcified and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The pipe must have been a great smoker judging from the condition it came it. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. Jeff took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe when we received it. You can see the moderate cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. The turned and twisted vulcanite shank extension and stem were dirty and had light chatter and tooth marks on both sides near the button. He took photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel to give an idea of the shape and the condition of the briar around the bowl. You can see the chip on the top of the front flower petal in the first photo. You can also see the darkened spots on the right side of the bowl in the second photo. It really is a nicely shaped pipe that has the classic look of a Freehand carved by Preben Holm.The next photos Jeff took shows the stamping on the back side of the bowl and the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I took the stem off the shank and took a photo to give a sense of the proportion of the pipe.
I had vague memories about the Private Collection line being a unique and special line of pipes made by Preben Holm but I had no idea what it meant and how it came to be so designated. It would take a bit of digging to ferret our that information on the web. I turned first to Pipephil’s site and there was an additional page on the Private Collection line that gave me a lot of detailed information on the line (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/infos/prebenholm-pc1.html). I quote the extra page in full below with the inserted graphics.

The “Private Collection” pipes are Preben Holm’s most coveted pieces. They were crafted by the artisan himself from the late 1970’s to the end of his career in 1986.

The stampings on the shanks are always displayed in the same order (see right). Information in white is systematically stamped, the one in grey is optional.

“Additional stampings” may sometimes occur under the carver’s name (ie: “Traditional”, “Fancy”, “9m/m”, …)

The “C5” stamping appears on pipes distributed in the USA by CAO who took over distribution from Lane Ltd. in 1985. This distinguishing stamping was to avoid warranty issues with pipes that were not of CAO’s distribution.

Gradings: The early Private Collection series were graded with 4 letters (ascending): A, B, C and D. Those letters may be encircled (older markings) or not.

Later, a “x0x” 5 tiers grading system was introduced (ascending): 101, 202, 404, 606 and 808. Letter and x0x systems may coexist on the same pipe.

Signature stem logo

Nearly all pipes of Preben Holm’s Private Collection sport the carver’s signature on their stem. It may sometimes be worn and in a very few cases it may be missing (replacement stem?). But Preben Holm’s logos with the PH initials do not originally occur on Private Collection pipes.

So now I knew that the pipe was a part of the unique Private Collection that were crafted by Preben Holm himself. I learned that the pipe was made between the late 1970s and the end of his career in 1986. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe following his normal cleaning process. In short, he cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the lava and debris on the plateau rim top and shank end and was able to remove it. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and cotton pads to remove the debris and oils on the stem. He rinsed it with warm water and dried it off. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. You can see the burn marks on the right side of the bowl. It is very visible in the second photo below at midbowl. The one toward the back of the bowl had a very fine micro crack in the bowl. The second one was just darkened not damaged. The stem was still oxidized in the grooves after Jeff’s work but it was definitely better. The pipe really looked good. I took close up photos of the stem and the rim top to show both how clean they were and what needed to be addressed with both. The rim top and bowl still had some darkening and what looked like some hard lava in the plateau inner edge. The stem looked better and the tooth marks and chatter though light were still present. I would need to remove those to bring the stem back.I took photos of the stamping on the back bottom of the bowl and the heel of the bowl. You can see from the photos that it is clear and readable. I removed the stem from the bowl and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the beauty of the pipe.I started my work on the pipe by using clear CA glue to fill in the burn areas on the bowl. The one toward the back of the bowl had a tiny micro crack in it. The one toward to front of the bowl was merely darkened. I shined a light in the inside of the bowl and checked it out for burn damage or cracks in the bowl sides. That would help explain if there were flaws on the inside or potential burn out or pointed to that potential in the bowl. Thankfully there was not any burn damage on the inside of the bowl. There were no burned areas behind the damage on the outside of the bowl. Once the glue cured on the bowl side I sanded it smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper.I scrubbed the oxidized vulcanite shank extension with Soft Scrub on cotton pads. I was able to remove a lot of the oxidation with the product but there was still work to do on it.I sanded the bowl sides, reshaped the chipped petal edge on the left front outer edge and sanded the vulcanite extension with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. It worked very well. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad to get a sense of the progress in the process. To minimize the burn marks on the side I decided to stain the bowl with a Cordovan stain. I applied it with a wool dauber, flamed it with a lighter and repeated until I was happy with the coverage around the bowl and rim. Once the stain had cured I wiped the bowl down with cotton pads and acetone to make the stain on the bowl more transparent. It looked better but sanding and buffing would take off the remainder and leave it like I was aiming for. I set aside for the evening. In the morning I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond to work toward more transparency in the stain coat. I wanted to see grain showing through but still disguise the burn marks a bit. It worked. I then sanded it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth. I finished by another trip to the buffer and finally I had it where I wanted it! Note: the stamping is untouched. I carefully avoided both buffing and sanding it. The stamp is on a curve so it is out of focus. I rubbed down the briar Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 15 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention stem. I scrubbed the surface of the stem with Soft Scrub cleanser to begin to break through the remaining oxidation on the stem.I sanded out the scratches in the horn with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil. It started to take on a deep shine.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads to remove them. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I rubbed it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and let it dry. I am really happy with the way that this Preben Holm Private Collection Circle B Hand Made in Denmark Freehand turned out. It really is a beautiful looking pipe with a great shape and smooth finished bowl and rim and vulcanite shank end. The fancy original acrylic saddle stem is really nice. The black vulcanite colour of the stem works well with the briar. The briar really came alive with the buffing. The rich cordovan and brown stains of the finish gave the pipe a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Preben Holm Private Collection B Grade really is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 7 inches, Height: 3 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches long x 2 inches wide, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 48 grams/1.76 ounces. In all my years of working on pipes I have never seen a Preben Holm Private Collection pipe and this one is a beauty. I intend to hold onto it for my own enjoyment. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. It was a fun one to work on!