Tag Archives: The Guildhall London Pipe

Breathing Life into The Guildhall London Pipe 182 Billiard

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table came to us from one of our pipe hunts or a trade I just cannot remember. It is a very nice looking Billiard with great grain around the bowl. The finish is quite nice with a classic English smooth finish. The bowl had a thick cake lining the walls though the rim top was clean and undamaged. There as a little darkening on the beveled inner edge of the bowl. The exterior of the pipe was pretty clean. The pipe is stamped on the sides of the shank and reads The Guildhall [over] London Pipe on the left side of the shank. On the right side the shape number 182 is next to the bowl/shank junction. Next to that is the circular COM stamp that is normal on Comoy’s Made pipes. The stamping is clear and readable on the pipe. The stem was dirty, calcified and lightly oxidized. There were light tooth marks and chatter on the stem near the button on both sides and some on the surface of the button as well. There was also a bite through on the underside next to the button. There was the three metal bars logo on the left side of the saddle stem. I took photos of the pipe before I worked on it. I took photos of the rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the relatively clean rim top and damaged inner edge. The stem was in rough condition with tooth chatter and marks along with a bite through on the underside. The button surface is worn.The stamping on the sides of the shank read as noted above. The photo shows that they are faint but readable. The 3 Bar Logo on the left side of the stem is in good condition.I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show the overall look of stem, tenon and profile of the pipe. It is a great looking pipe.The pipe is a Comoy’s Made The Guildhall London Pipe. I turned first to Pipephil’s site as it is always a quick source of information on any brand (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-g6.html). I have included a screen capture of the section on the brand below.I then turned to Pipedia’s article on Comoy’s pipes and looked specifically at the list of seconds made by Comoys (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Comoy%27s). I have highlighted the line in red in the list below.

Seconds made by Comoy’s

Ace of spades, Ancestor, Astor, Ayres, Britannia, Carlyle, Charles Cross, Claridge, Coronet?, Cromwell, Dorchester, Dunbar, Drury Lane, Emerson, Everyman, Festival of Britain, Golden Arrow, Grand Master, Gresham, Guildhall, Hamilton (according to Who Made That Pipe), Kingsway, Lion’s Head, Lord Clive, Lumberman, Hyde Park, Lloyds, Mc Gahey, Moorgate, Newcastle, Oxford, O’Gorman, Rosebery Extra, Royal Falcon, Royal Guard, Royal Lane, Scotland Yard, St James, Sunrise, Super Sports, Sussex, The Academy Award, The Golden Arrow, The Mansion House, The Exmoor Pipe, Throgmorton, Tinder Box Royal Coachman, Townhall, Trident, Trocadero, Westminster, Wilshire

Now it was time to work on the pipe. I started my work on it by reaming the bowl. I reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer using three of the four cutting heads to take back the cake so I could examine the bowl walls. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and then sanded the inside of the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I cleaned the shank out with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. There was some thick tars on the walls on the walls of the shank. I scraped it with a pen knife before cleaning it with alcohol.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the briar down with a damp cloth after each pad. The briar began to take on a rich glow. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes while I worked on the stem. After the time passed I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The grain came alive with the balm. While I was working on the bowl the stem was soaking in a new product I received from Briarville Pipe Repair – Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover. It is a liquid of about the same consistency as apple juice. The stem sat in the mixture for 2 ½ -3 hours. I wanted it clean so that I could repair the bite through on the underside of the stem.I removed the stem from the bath, scrubbed lightly with a tooth brush and dried if off with a paper towel. I was surprised that it was quite clean. Just some light oxidation on the top of the saddle remaining. The bath was dark with the removed oxidation of the seven stems. I cleaned out the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. The stem was clean and ready for the repair to the bite through. I wiped down the area with alcohol on a cotton pad to prepare it. I greased a pipe cleaner and inserted it in the airway. I generally use a mix of charcoal powder and CA glue to repair these however when I reached for the charcoal I was out. The Loctite 380 I am experimenting with is billed as a toughened product that is suitable for repairs of this nature so I thought I would try it alone on this repair. I filled in the bite through with the glue, sprayed it with an accelerator and refilled it. I removed the pipe cleaner and checked to see if the airway was clear – it was! I filled in a few deep tooth marks on the topside at the same time. I set the stem aside for the repair to cure over night. Once the repairs cured I recut the button edge and flattened out the repaired areas with a needle file to begin to blend them into the surface. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to further blend the repaired areas in and started polishing the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This The Guildhall London Pipe 182 Billiard is a great looking pipe. The smooth finish and contrasting brown stains around the bowl sides and shank make the grain just pop. The finish on the pipe is in excellent condition and the contrasting stains work well to give some contrast to the polished black vulcanite saddle stem. The stem repair worked very well on the bite through on the underside and it is solid and virtually invisible. The pipe is really quite eye-catching. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel, carefully avoiding the stamping on the shank. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Guildhall Billiard is quite nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. I can only tell you that like the other pipes I am working that it is much prettier in person than the photos capture. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another interesting pipe. This Guidhall London Pipe made by Comoy’s will be added to the British Pipe Makers section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you want to add it to your collection send me an email or a message! Thanks for your time.

Refurbishing The Guildhall London Pipe 409 Bulldog for Country Squire Radio Host Beau York

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Blog by Steve Laug

I really like the grain and look of this bulldog. It is made by Comoy’s London and bears the stamping is The Guildhall over London Pipe on the left side of the shank. On the right side is the circular Com stamp Made In London in a circle with the In centered in the circle. Underneath the circle it reads England and to the right of that is the shape stamp 409. The grain on this pipe is a mixed bag but is nonetheless beautiful. There is cross grain, swirls and birdseye that pops on the right side of the bowl. I was listening to the live show when Beau and Jon David talked about this pipe. They showed the condition of it and made some comment about needing to give it some attention as it was looking rough (my recollection). I tweeted them that I would gladly take it on as a project if he sent it my way. Beau packed it up and sent it my way. It arrived early this week after the New Year weekend. When I took it out of the packing envelopes and unwrapped it this is what I found. The stem was badly oxidized but did not have any deep bite marks. There was the normal tooth chatter around the button on the top and bottom sides of the stem. There was a distinct line from the button up ½ inch toward the shank that looked like the stem at one time in its life had sported a rubber softie bit over the vulcanite. The finish was worn and spotty and there were some serious issues with dents and marks in the briar. The rim was very rough with a lot of dings and damage to the top surface. Some of the damage went down the cap on the left side of the bowl. The top of the bowl looked as if it had been dropped on asphalt or concrete. There were parallel marks and dings on the left side low on the bowl and on the point at the bottom of the bowl.

I took the next three close-up photos of the dings on the bowl and rim to show the extent of the damage. Both the inner and outer edge of the rim had damage that made this rim a prime candidate for topping.

Andrew, Anthony and others use a piece of glass for their flat smooth surface for topping a bowl. I use a hard piece of finished oak that is part of my work top. I put a piece of 220 grit sandpaper on the board and anchor it in place. Then I turn the bowl clockwise in a circle across the sandpaper to remove the damaged portions. I check frequently to make sure that I remove just the damage and not too much briar. I also make sure that the rim is flat against the board so that I do not change the angles and profile of the rim top and cap.

Once I had the top flattened with the 220 grit sandpaper I worked it over with a medium and a fine grit sanding block to remove any of the scratches left behind in the topping of the bowl. I wiped the bowl down with acetone on a cotton pad to remove the spotty finish.

I steamed the dents and marks on the bowl using a wet cloth and the blade of a butter knife that I heated on the flame of our gas range. I put the wet cloth over the dents and touched it with the hot knife blade. The stem generated lifts the dents from the briar. Doing this I was able to remove many of the dents on the sides of the bowl and on the back edge of the cap and rim.

Some of the dents were going to take more drastic measures to try to raise and some of them would need to be filled with a mix of briar and clear superglue to smooth out the surface of the briar. I decided to work on the stem for a break in the process. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to break up the oxidation and remove what appeared to be ripples in the vulcanite stem. The more oxidation I removed the more these ripples became apparent. I sanded it with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge made by 3M. I pick it up in 8×10 sheets and cut it into working squares to sand stems and bowls. I used a plastic washer that I made to sit between the shank and stem to protect the shoulders of the stem from being rounded in the sanding process.

The next photo shows the remaining dents in the bottom of the bowl. It was almost like a road rash left behind by a drop on concrete. Many of the lighter more shallow dents were raised with the steam but these were more stubborn. I decided to soak the dented portion of the bowl in water. I was careful to not get water in the shank or the bowl. I used a small shallow dish filled with about an inch of water and angled the dented bottom and side of the bowl in to the water. I have found in other refinishing work that water will swell dents in the wood and lift them to the surface. While I knew that some of these dents would not move much, I was certain I could raise them all significantly using this method.

While the bowl soaked in the water I turned my attention to the stem. I find these old Comoy’s stems with the three silver bars inset in them a pain to deal with. Sanding or polishing around them causes the metal to ghost on the surface of the vulcanite. It has to be quickly wiped down with a soft towel to remove it before it penetrates the vulcanite surface. I sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and rubbing it down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded with 3200-12,000 grit pads again rubbing down the stem with the oil between each group of three pads. I have found that sanding a freshly oiled stem gives teeth to the micromesh and it gives a deeper shine in the process.

The bowl sat in the water for the entire time I worked on the stem (probably 1 ½ hours). Once I finished the stem with the micromesh I heated the knife and used it and the wet cloth to once again steam the dents. I was able to significantly lift the majority of them this way. The photos below show the pipe after the steaming. The rim dents are all gone. The majority of the ones on the side and bottom are either gone or significantly shallower. The steam on the briar brought out some nice reds in the grain of the briar. I used a soft cloth with a few drops of olive oil to wipe down the bowl and shank after the steaming.

I decided to address the remaining dents with briar dust and clear super glue fills. I sanded the surface of the bowl around the dents. I wiped it down with alcohol on a cotton pad to clean the surface of dust. I packed briar dust into the dents and put a drop of super glue on each repaired area.

I sanded the patches with 220 grit sandpaper, medium and fine grit sanding sponges to blend the repairs into the briar and to remove the excess glue and briar dust. The next two photos show the bowl after I had sanded the repairs smooth. They appear as dark spots on the bowl but they are smooth to touch. The dents are all gone at this point in the process.

I sanded the bowl with 2400-3600 grit micromesh sanding pads to remove the scratches and prepare the bowl for staining. I wiped it down a final time with alcohol on a cotton pad. I decided to stain it with an aniline based walnut stain. Before staining it I used a dark brown stain pen to go over the areas that were repaired. Once they were covered I applied a coat of the aniline stain and flamed it. Once it was dry to touch I buffed the bowl with White Diamond to polish and even out the stain. The next series of four photos show the bowl before polishing. It is smooth in the hand. All dents have been removed or repaired.

I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed it with White Diamond to raise the shine. I then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax to protect it. I buffed it with a soft flannel buffing pad as the final touch. The finished pipe is shown below. There is still some remaining oxidation around the three bars on the left side of the stem but it has been minimized.

Reworked Comoy’s The Guildhall London Pipe Stack – Shape 345

3 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

The pipe is stamped The in script over Guildhall over London Pipe on the left side of the shank and number 345 near the bowl on the right side of the shank and Made in London in a circle over England. This is the third of the pipes from the box my daughters found for me. The first two were the Orlik’s that I wrote about earlier. This one was in better condition than the other two. The top was beat up with outer and inner rim damage and also the same varnish coat over the uncleaned rim and the bowl and shank. The stem was original and has the three silver bars on the left side as expected in the Guildhall series. There were tooth dents that had been buffed out and left the stem with waves around the remaining marks. The grain was quite nice on this one – lots of cross grain and birdseye but it was obscured by the finish coat. The interior was filthy as were the others. In the side photos below the finish looks pretty good but the grain could stand out more clearly.

I took the next photo to show the damage on the rim. The inner edge was rough and the outer edge was also rough. There was tar build up under the varnish coat that had not been cleaned off before varnishing. The bowl was also coated with a black bowl coating.

I sanded the top and bottom side of the stem with 20 grit sandpaper to smooth out the ripples in the vulcanite and remove the remainder of the tooth marks. Once I had them removed I worked on the bowl.

I topped the bowl on the sandpaper and flat board as is my usual method. I took off enough briar to make the top smooth and the outer edge sharp as well. I sanded the inner edge with a folded piece of sandpaper to smooth out the damage there as well. The next two photos show the topping process and the sanding of the inner edge.

The interior of the shank and stem were filthy and needed a lot of work with Everclear, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. The photo below shows the first lot that was used but by the time I was finished cleaning the shank I had used about twice that number.

I wiped down the surface of the bowl with acetone on cotton pads to remove the varnish coat and the finish. I wanted to remove as much of it as possible so that when I restained the rim it would be easier to match.

I sanded the stem with a medium grit sanding sponge and then with my usual array of micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanded with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I buffed the stem in between the wet sanding and the dry sanding with red Tripoli because I wanted to see what I had to work with and if I had removed the rippling on the vulcanite. I had so I went on to the dry sanding. When I had finished I buffed the stem with White Diamond and then rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil and put it aside to dry.

I stained the bowl with MinWax Medium Walnut stain. I applied it with a cotton pad and rubbed it off with a cotton cloth. I repeated the process until I had the coverage that I wanted and the rim and bowl matched.

I reinserted the stem in the shank and took the pipe to the buffing wheel for a buff with White Diamond. I gave both the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and polished it with a soft flannel buff. The reworked Comoy’s Guildhall Stack is shown in the photos below ready and clean for its inaugural smoke.

A Comoy’s The Guildhall London Pipe

1 Reply

Blog by Steve Laug

This refurbishment was probably the easiest I have done in a long time. The pipe is unsmoked as far as I can tell. The shank is pristine, the stinger apparatus is unsoiled and clean, the stem inside is clean and the bowl is carbonized but unsmoked. The stem had some tooth chatter that makes me wonder if someone used it for a prop or something. The finish was in excellent shape with no nicks or dings. The bowl is flawless in terms of fills, I can find one pinhole sandpit but otherwise perfect. It is stamped on the left side of the shank The over Guildhall over London Pipe. On the right side it is stamped Made In London in a circle with the In central in the circle. Underneath the circle is stamped England. Toward the front of the shank on the right side is the shape number 159. The first series of five pictures shows the state of the pipe when I got it.

I sanded out the tooth chatter with a medium grit sanding sponge. I find that these give me a lot of flex and fit well against the button and follow the curve of the stem nicely. The medium grit works well to remove tooth chatter from the stem without removing too much of the material. The next series of three photos show the stem after sanding it with the sanding sponge.

After sanding with the medium grit sponge I used the Maguiar’s Scratch X2.0 polish on the stem. As usual I applied it with a finger to rub it into the stem and then removed it with a cotton pad, polishing as I removed it. The next three photos show the stem after polishing with the plastic polish.

I then used the micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit to finish the polishing of the stem. The next series of eight photos show the progressive shine that is achieved by the micromesh pads. The last of the eight photos is the 8000 grit pad. I continued sanding with the 12,000 grit pad to finish and then buffed the stem and pipe with White Diamond.

The pipe is finished – that did not take too long – a very easy refurbishment that is for sure. The next series of four photos show the finished pipe. After buffing with White Diamond I gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax to bring it to a shine. Now it is ready to smoke and looking pristine.