Tag Archives: Thompson Cigar Company Pipes

Restoring a Thompson Freehand 529 with Cumberland Stem

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the worktable is a freehand with a plateau rim. It has a contrast black and red stain – red on the high spots of the rustication and black in the nooks and crannies. The rim shows the same pattern or reds and black. The shank has a band on it that is briar with brass on either side of it. The pipe was very dirty on the rim and the inside when my brother picked it up at an estate sale in Idaho. The rim had an overflow of the thick cake that filled the bowl. It had a Cumberland style acrylic saddle stem. The stem was in pretty rough shape with deep tooth marks on both the top and underside near the button and tooth marks on the button itself. There was also a bite through on the top side of the stem – mid stem just ahead of the button. It was not a large hole but it was a hole nonetheless. My brother took the following photos before he cleaned up the pipe for me.From a previous blog I wrote and one that Robert Boughton wrote I remembered that Thompson pipes were made for Thompson Cigar Company. This particular pipe was stamped on the left side of the shank with the words Thompson in script over the shape number 529 and Italy. I know that Thompson Cigar Company had pipes made in Italy, the Netherlands (Big Ben), and Turkey (the Meerschaum). Many of their Italian pipes were made by Savinelli. In checking the shape numbers of Savinelli pipes I did not find a listing for a 529 but there were others around that shape number.The photo Jeff took of the rim top and bowl shows the thick cake in the bowl and the lava overflow on the rim top. The insides of the pipe looked as if they had never been cleaned before. The beauty of the mess was that it probably protected the plateau top from damage.The underside of the bowl shows the rustication pattern on the briar and the cleanness of the exterior of the pipe.The next photo, though a little out of focus shows the stamping on the shank. It is very readable and clear.The Cumberland acrylic stem looks very good with the red and black of the stain on the rusticated bowl. The shank band or twin brass bands separated by a briar insert makes a stunning separator for the shank and the stem.The stem was in rough condition as mentioned above. The top of the stem had a lot of tooth chatter and the button was chewed down. There was a small hole in the middle of the stem just below the button. The underside of the stem also showed a lot of tooth chatter and bite marks.The rim top looked really good once he had removed all the built up tar and lava. The high spots and the valleys in contrasts of red and black.The stem was clean but the topside showed a lot of damage. There were tooth marks and the hole to deal with and the large dent in the top of the button edge on the stem top. The underside had some deep tooth marks and some chatter.I sanded the damaged areas on the top and underside of the stem to prepare for the repairs to the tooth marks and dents. I was able to remove much of the chatter and only left behind the deep marks in the surface of the stem.I coated a pipe cleaner with Vaseline and inserted it in the stem below the hole in the stem surface. The greased pipe cleaner would prevent the super glue repair from sticking to the pipe cleaner or clogging the airway. I filled in the hole and the deep tooth marks on both sides of the stem with clear super glue. I used my drilled block to hold the stem so both sides of the stem would dry without interference from my work surface. While the repair cured I buffed the bowl with a soft cotton buffing pad to bring up a shine. Once the repair had cured I used a needle file on both sides of the stem to bring the repair even with the surface of the stem. I sanded the repaired areas with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth them out and blend them into the surface of the stem. The photos below tell the story. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed it with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I buffed lightly to keep the polish from getting in the grooves of the rustication. I buffed the stem to polish out the remaining scratches. I gave the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I gave the rusticated bowl several coats of Conservator’s Wax and buffed it with a shoe brush. I buffed the entire pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Diameter of the chamber: ¾ inches. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding this one to your collection email me at slaug@uniserve.com or send me a message on Facebook. Thanks for looking.

An Italian Thompson Briar Cherry Wood

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Blog by Robert M. Boughton

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Photos © the Author except as noted

Sittin’ in the mornin’ sun
I’ll be sittin’ when the evenin’ comes
Watchin’ the ships roll in
Then I watch ’em roll away again, yeah
I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Watchin’ the tide roll away, ooo
I’m just sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Wastin’ time.

— Otis Redding (1941-1967), U.S. singer, songwriter, arranger, record producer, talent scout, in “Dock of the Bay.” 1968

In the late great soul singer’s relaxed, heartfelt poetry, I have ventured upon a quintessential pipe quote. To me the words evoke certain clear and happy memories of my childhood and the highest objective of all pipe enthusiasts: to sit in peaceful, easy contemplation of life and enjoy its passage with thoughts that may or may not be as eloquent as those of the lyric and stylistic artist, but nevertheless belong to us. Only fitting, therefore, is the fact that this refurbish concerns a lovely sitter, made of briar but fashioned in the cherry wood shape.

Having the Dutch pipe maker E. Gubbels B.V. of the Netherlands on the brain in recent days, I thought I had an unusual shape of one of its brands, another Thompson. My first clue that this might be incorrect came upon my initial inspection of the fine specimen, whereupon I discovered a made in Italy stamp under the brand. Turning to Pipephil, I noted the slight but nevertheless clear difference in the cursive style of the name. Unless anyone comes up with a better answer, I conclude this beautiful briar pipe with almost seamless birds-eye grain was made for the Thompson Cigar Co., established in 1915, of Tampa, Florida.

I have owned several cherry wood style pipes, and only one that I recall was, to me at least, a dud. That’s why I let it go to a collector of the brand, which shall remain unnamed despite the fine reputation it enjoys for good reason. The gentleman snagged the little beauty, with its excellent dark red and orange vertical grain, from my first online business site the day after I blogged and posted it, and wrote to let me know how happy he was in every respect with his purchase. This anecdote illustrates how the pleasures derived from these diminutive wonders for partaking of the sundry blends of tobaccos are of an intense and personal nature, and every functional pipe is destined, in a way, for a loving keeper.

Here are three of the many examples I have owned and come to know on an intimate basis. The first and last are briars.And here is the Thompson I have had the pleasure of cleaning up and savoring on a frequent basis ever since.The sitter had few signs of wear and tear other than chatter and general abrasions on the bit, and so I commenced the refurbish there with an OxiClean bath. I followed that step by sanding with 320-grit paper and wet micro meshing from 1500-12000.

The superfluous system tenon, which was of a variety so popular back in the day when every pipe maker and his brother was in the mad competitive habit of patenting such idiotic devices, was stuck so tight inside the push section that I had to heat and remove it first. Then I reamed the chamber and sanded it smooth with 150-, 220- and 320-grit paper before running some preliminary Everclear-soaked cleaners through the shank. As I was keeping the pipe for my own use, I tucked away the unnecessary system nuisance.

The full micro mesh treatment of the stummel was enough to clear away the insignificant blemishes on the wood. Still, more light work was needed on the rim with 320-grit paper, then another round of micro mesh on that narrow area.Retorting the pipe necessitated several more cleaners through the shank.This is where a phenomenon I never before saw occurred. Thinking the stummel ready for waxing, I couldn’t help noticing the inexplicable appearance of a dark red patch that appeared to be an old stain, seeming to have no logical origin, on the top front of the bowl, under the rim. Blast me for not snapping a shot of the spooky manifestation before I corrected it with spot sanding, again using 320 paper! I had already applied Halcyon II to the surface and had to spot wax the narrow spot again.Following the 15-minute soak-in stage and vigorous buffing with a soft thick cotton cloth, all that was left was a quick spin on the clean electric buffer wheel. SOURCES
https://www.thompsoncigar.com/section/PIPES/8394.uts
https://wordpress.com/post/roadrunnerpipes.wordpress.com/219