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Reclaiming a Greaves Patent 2 Stubby Billiard Pipe

Blog by Paresh Deshpande

This pipe was always being relegated down the line up for restorations because of its uncanny resemblance to a Peterson’s pipe and having worked on quite a few challenging Peterson’s, I just wanted to take a break from another Peterson’s. However, the shape, size and the overall quality of this piece was undeniably attractive.

Thus, this time around when I closely observed the stamping, it turned out to be stamped across the shank on the left side as “GREAVES” over “PATENT” followed by encircled numeral 2. The right side bears the COM stamp “MADE” over “IN” over “FRANCE” in a football shape. The vulcanite stem is stamped as “GREAVES” over “PATENT”. A silver band adorns the shank end and is stamped as “S.S.G” over “E.G” followed by three faux hallmarks. I say faux hallmarks since firstly; all the cartouches differ from other and secondly, the symbols, or those that are discernible, are nothing to match the lion passant or the date code letter or the Assay office. This brand/ manufacturer is unknown to me and thus I visited pipedia.org. The information provided therein is very meagre (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Greaves) and is reproduced below:

Greaves was one of many brands owned by the Oppenheimer Pipe group, apparently made in France, likely by Marechal Ruchon & Cie. as evidenced in the following catalog page from a Circa 1950s Oppenheimer Pipes Catalog. Unfortunately, for the info of readers, this link has expired and does not work.

I have also reproduced a couple of pictures of c.1950s Oppenheimer pipe catalog from this site.I visited pipephil.eu for some additional information on this brand. Here I learned that the Greaves stem differs from the Peterson P-Lip in that the hole is drilled straight in to the bit in Greaves stem and the smoke is not deflected towards the palate as in P-lip. I have included a screen shot of the same along with the link below. http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-g5.html Greaves is a brand of Marechal Ruchon (which became C.G. Verguet Frères). These companies belonged to Oppenheimer Holding.

I further searched the internet for additional information and came up naught. There were a few pictures, some with ferrule and some without. However, those with ferrule all were stamped as GREAVES over PATENT in football shape. Here are a few pictures for your consumption.Thus from the above it is understood that this was one of the French brands, likely from Marechal Ruchon & Cie. in the Oppenheimer holdings and find mention in 1950s catalog. However, the question that still haunts me is the difference in the ferrule stampings and makes me question if the band is original to the pipe or otherwise and for what purpose. It definitely is not a repair band as the shank face shows no signs of cracked shank end and the only plausible reason is decorative purpose! Any clarifications on this issue would be most welcome.

Initial Inspection
This Greaves Patent pipe has a classic chubby Billiard shape. It is a small sized pipe, about 5 inches in length, but the stout shank, bowl and stem lends it an overall attractiveness and hand feel. The rim top is covered in lava overflow while the chamber has a medium layer of uneven cake. The chamber appears to be out of round due to the thinning of the inner rim edge in the 12 ‘O’clock direction. The stummel surface is covered in dirt and grime through which beautiful flame grains are seen that radiate from the front of the bowl to the sides. The front of the bowl has a chipped area that will need to be filled. The mortise is clogged and the airflow through it is greatly restricted. The P-lip tapered vulcanite stem is oxidized with minor bite marks/ tooth indentations and traces of calcification in the bite zone. The stem does not fit snugly in to the mortise. The following pictures should give the readers a general idea of the condition of the pipe before I start working on it. Detailed Visual Inspection
The chamber has a decent layer of uneven cake and has a strong residual pungent smell of Latakia forward blend of tobacco. There is thick overflow of tobacco oils, ash and grime over the rim top surface that spills over to the sides of the bowl. The condition of the outer rim edge can be ascertained only after the rim surface is rid of complete lava overflow. However, that the inner rim edge has damage is visible through the grime. The rim surface has thinned out (encircled in yellow) in 12 and 3 o’clock due to removal of charred edge by the erstwhile individual who held the pipe in his/ her trust. Any other issues with the inner rim edge will be known after the rim top surface has been cleaned. The draught hole is at the bottom centre of the chamber and thus should be a decent smoker.The smooth stummel surface has some very beautiful cross grain patterns on the sides with loosely packed bird’s eye grain to the front and back. The stummel has taken on a lovely dark patina from years of usage. The lava overflow from the chamber has spilled over on to the sides of the stummel and has accumulated a lot of grime and dust imparting the stummel a lifeless and bone dry appearance. The front of the stummel has a prominent chip from where a chunk of briar is missing (encircled in pastel blue). There are a few minor scratches and dings over the bowl surface commensurate to the pipe’s journey to date. The stem is very firmly attached in to mortise and would not budge. I shall initiate measures to separate the two subsequently. The P-lip like stubby tapered vulcanite stem is deeply oxidized and covered in dirt and grime. A few deep tooth chatter and tooth indentations are seen on both the upper and lower stem surfaces in the bite zone and the lower button edge has been chewed off. The tenon of the stem is firmly stuck in to the mortise and its condition will be ascertained once the two are separated. The airflow through the airway is laboured and not smooth.The Process
The first issue that I addressed was to separate the stem from the shank. I dribbled a few drops of alcohol through the gap between the stem and shank with an eyedropper with the intent that the alcohol would moisten and loosen the gunk holding the tenon and set it aside for a few minutes. Thereafter, I gently twisted the stem the stem in order to pull the stem out. However the stem did not budge. I repeated the process of moistening the gunk holding the tenon in to the mortise using alcohol. After repeating the process a couple of times, I was finally able to separate the stem from the shank. A close observation of the mortise revealed a completely clogged mortise and an equally gunk and crud encrusted tenon end. It appears that the mortise and stem has never ever been cleaned.With the stem now separated from the shank, I cleaned the stem airway and surface using thin shank brushes and anti oil dish washing soap. I dried the stem airway by blowing out excess water and thereafter running a couple of pipe cleaners through the airway. Once the stem internals had been cleaned, I immersed it in “Before and After Deoxidizer” solution along with the stem of other pipes in line for restoration. This solution has been developed by Mark Hoover and works to draw out all the deep seated oxidation from the surface making its subsequent cleaning and polishing a breeze. I would definitely recommend this product as it saves on to time and efforts. The pipe has been marked with a yellow arrow for easy identification.While the stem was soaking in the deoxidizer solution, I worked on the stummel by reaming the chamber walls with my fabricated knife to remove the carbon deposits. Once the cake was reamed back to the bare briar, I used a 150 grit sand paper followed by 220 grit sand paper to remove all the traces of the remaining cake and also to smooth out the inner walls of the chamber surface. Finally, to remove the residual carbon dust, I wiped the chamber with a cotton pad wetted with 99.9% pure isopropyl alcohol. I gently scraped the rim top surface to remove the lava overflow. This was followed by cleaning the mortise with cue tips, pipe cleaners and a shank brush dipped in isopropyl alcohol. I scraped the walls of the mortise with my fabricated knife to remove the dried oils and tars. The heap of gunk scraped out from the mortise walls tells the sordid saga of the condition of the shank internals. Well, the shank internals are clean and will be further cleaned once the stummel exterior is cleaned using oil soap and shank brushes. However, the odours are still very strong and would need more intrusive methods of cleaning.Continuing with the internal cleaning of the chamber and shank, I subjected it to a salt and alcohol bath. I used cotton balls which is an at par substitute to kosher salt as I have realized over the years. I drew out a wick from the cotton and along with a folded regular pipe cleaner; inserted it into the mortise and through the draught hole and further into the chamber. Thereafter, I packed the chamber with cotton balls to about quarter of an inch below the rim inner edge and soaked the cotton balls with isopropyl alcohol up to the brim. About half an hour later, the level of alcohol had gone down, having being absorbed by the cotton. I topped it up once again and set it aside overnight. By next afternoon, the cotton and alcohol had drawn out all the remaining oils/ tars from the chamber and mortise and loosened out any residual cake and tar build up, fulfilling its intended task. I removed the cotton balls and ran pipe cleaners through the mortise to clean out all the loosened tars and gunk. Using my fabricated tool, I scraped out the entire loosed gunk from the mortise and further cleaned it with alcohol and q-tips. I also scraped the moist cake from the chamber using my knife and sanding it smooth with 180 grit sandpaper. The chamber now smelled clean and fresh and the tiny veins observed in the chamber were eliminated. I set the stummel to dry out naturally.As I was cleaning the shank internals, the metal band came loose from the shank end. Careful inspection of the now exposed shank end confirmed that the surface is sans any cracks or chips. I kept the band aside to be worked upon later.

The next morning, I removed the stems that had been soaking in the deoxidizer solution overnight. I cleaned the stem surface and airway under running warm water and scrubbed the raised oxidation from the stem surface using a Scotch Brite pad and the airway with thin shank brush. I further removed the oxidation by scrubbing the stem with 0000 grade steel wool and applied a little olive oil to rehydrate the stem.While the stem was set aside to rehydrate and absorb the EVO, I cleaned the external surface of the stummel with Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed the stummel surface with anti oil dish washing detergent using a Scotch Brite pad and a hard bristle toothbrush under warm running water, always being mindful of the stamping on the shank surface. I paid particular attention to the rim top surface to rid the rim of all the residual crud and lighten the darkening around the rim surface. Thereafter, I dried the stummel using paper towels and a soft cotton cloth and set it aside to dry out naturally. The extent of the gouge is now easily discernible and is encircled in blue. This will need to be addressed. I followed up the external cleaning of the stummel with internal cleaning of the mortise and shank using anti oil soap and shank brushes. The shank internals are now clean and fresh.Continuing with the stem refurbishing, I heated the bite zone with the flame of a lighter to raise the tooth indentations to the surface. Though the results were not what were expected, the vulcanite was raised a little leaving behind two visible tooth compressions on either surfaces. The button edges and deeper tooth indentations on either surfaces of the stem were filled with a mix of CA Gorilla superglue and activated charcoal powder and set aside for the fill to cure.With the stem repairs set aside, I addressed the rim top darkening and unevenness by topping the surface on a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I frequently checked the progress being made as I hate to lose briar more than what is absolutely necessary. The chamber now appears more out of round than before and would be addressed by creating a bevel over the inner rim edge. With a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper pinched between my forefinger and thumb, I imparted a nice bevel to the inner rim edge. This masked the out of round appearance of the chamber and also eliminated the minor charring over the edges. I evened out the outer rim edge n the same way. The rim top surface now has a nice rounded appearance with even rim edges.Next, I filled the deep gouge to the front of the stummel with a mix of briar dust and superglue. This mix hardens very rapidly and invariably reveals air pockets when sanded. To mitigate this, one has to re-patch the fill and this is exactly what I followed. Using a flat needle file, I sanded the patch to achieve a rough match of the fill with the rest of the stummel surface. I further evened out the patch with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I am quite satisfied with the appearance of the stummel surface at this point in restoration. Thereafter, I completed the polishing of the stummel by wet sanding the surface with 1500 to 12000 grit micromesh pads. I wiped the stummel with a moist cloth in between the pads to gauge the progress being made and massaged a small quantity of Before & After Restoration balm and set it aside for 10 minutes for the briar to rehydrate. Thereafter, I gave a rigorous hand rub using a microfiber cloth. The stummel now has a nice vibrant shine to it with the beautiful cross grains and bird’s eye grains resplendent in all their glory. I completed the mundane but equally important task of polishing the Sterling Silver filigree band. I used Colgate toothpowder to polish the band. The ultra fine powder was rubbed over the band and wiped it out. The polish completely removed the oxidation and gave a nice shine to the band which was further improved by polishing it with a jeweller’s cloth. Using CA superglue, I reattached the band at the shank end.Stummel repairs and refurbishing is now complete, save for the final polishing, I moved on to stem repairs. The stem had cured completely and began the stem refurbishing by first sanding the stem fills using a flat needle file to roughly match the rest of the stem surface. I masked the stem markings with a tape to preserve them as it was already worn out and avoid further wearing down during the polishing process. Thereafter I sand the fill with a piece of 320 grit sandpaper to blend in the repairs. I also lightly sand the entire stem surface to remove the raised oxidation from the surface.I followed it up by wet sanding the entire stem surface using 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500 and finally with a piece of 2000 grit sand paper. This serves to reduce the sanding marks of the more abrasive sand papers. I also sharpened the button edges while sanding. I wiped the stem with a moist cotton swab to remove all the oxidation and sanding dust from the surface. I applied a little Extra Virgin Olive oil over the stem and set it aside to be absorbed by the vulcanite.I went through the 1500 to 12000 grit micromesh pads to wet and dry sand the stem. The stem now has a nice deep shine with no traces of oxidation around the entire stem surface. To apply the finishing touches, I mounted a cotton cloth buffing wheel on to my hand held rotary tool and applied a coat of Blue Diamond to the stummel and the stem to polish out the minor scratches. With a cotton buffing wheel that I use for carnauba wax, I applied a coat of carnauba wax and continued to work on it till the complete coat of wax had been polished out. I mounted a clean cotton cloth buffing wheel and gave the entire pipe a once over buff. I finished the restoration by giving the entire pipe a rigorous hand buffing using a microfiber cloth to raise the shine further. The finished pipe looks beautiful and is ready to be added to my collection of inherited pipes. I thoroughly enjoyed working on this project and seeing the pipe transforming itself in to a beautiful piece. However, the research on this particular pipe has highlighted more questions than answers. I would appreciate if the knowledgeable readers could clear the cobwebs of questions surrounding the provenance of this beauty. Thank you for reading through this write up and also in anticipation for the input on this particular piece.

Transforming an Old, Battered and Abused Brigham #417 Four Dot

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Blog by Paresh Deshpande

This pipe has been in my possession for so long that details of how, when and where of this pipe have faded away from my memory. However, years after procrastinating on the restoration of this pipe, it’s finally on my work table.

This is a partially rusticated straight Rhodesian with smooth side panels and a smooth shank bottom that bears the stampings of this pipe. The rustications are worn down and at some places the rustications have completely smoothed out, signifying that it had been in regular use of the previous pipe man/ woman and has been extensively used. Though the stampings are quite worn, they are easily discernible under bright light and magnification. It is stamped towards the shank end as “BRIGHAM” in script at an upwards angle moving from left to right over “CANADA” in straight capital letters. Towards the bowl end, faint shape code # “417” can be seen. The left of the stem towards the tenon end and shrouded beneath all the oxidation and grime, four dots arranged in a diamond shape are visible. I have a post-patent era (1956- 1969) Brigham that I had got from Steve and had read through the entire write up. It provided a deep insight in to the genesis, history and the dating of Brigham pipes. Here is the link to the write up and is highly recommended read.

https://rebornpipes.com/2019/01/13/restoring-pipe-16-from-bob-kerrs-estate-a-brigham-3-dot-canadian-691/

Next to ascertain the date and significance of the dots, I visited pipedia.org and went through the complete article written by well known to me pipe restorer, researcher and author of an authoritative book on Brigham pipes, Charles Lemon of Dad’s Pipe. I have reproduced an extract of relevant information related to the pipe that I am working on.

“I have dubbed the decades between 1980 and 2000 the Late Canadian Era, a period that saw several changes at Brigham that are of note to the collector. First, the traditional 8-grade pinning system (the famous Brigham “Dots” which denoted the quality of the pipe) was changed to a 7-grade system to simplify pinning (more on this below), and the Norsemen and Valhalla series were merged to form the President Series, which represented the very finest pipes coming out of the Toronto factory. Early pipes from this era (left, below) are stamped with a shape number and “Brigham” over “Canada”; later pipes (late 1980s+, on right below) are stamped simply with a shape number and the Brigham logo.”

The Original Brigham Dot System 1938 – 1980
Brigham pipes are reknown in the pipe world for their famous “Brigham Dots”, a system of brass pins inset in the stem to denote the grade of each pipe. The original 8-grade pinning system, used for 42 years between 1938 and 1978 (spanning the Patent, Post-Patent and Canadian Eras) looked like this:The pipe on my work table, thus, is from the early 1980s and a “Director” grade Brigham.

With the provenance of the pipe now established, it was time to move ahead with the initial/ detailed inspection and restoration.

Initial Inspection
The pipe, as it sits on my work table, does not present a very promising picture. However, having worked on a couple of hundred pipes, some in much worse condition that this one, I am sure with some TLC and repairs, the beauty of this pipe can be restored to its former glory. The smooth rim top shows damages consistent with having been knocked against hard edges and is covered with overflowing lava. The partially rusticated stummel surface is covered in dirt and grime giving the surface a dull and lacklustre appearance. The rustications are worn down at places to nearly a smooth surface. The vulcanite stem is deeply oxidized and is missing a chunk of vulcanite from the bite zone on the lower surface. The seating of the stem in to the mortise is loose. The following pictures will give you a clear idea to the condition of the pipe as I start the restoration work. Detailed Inspection
The stummel is smooth towards the tapered upper ½ inch and extends over the rim top surface. The rim top surface is uneven, a result of being knocked against a hard edge of a table. I suspect that this damage is more severe on the left side between 6 and 9 o’ clock direction (encircled in green). The cake is thick and hard and overflowing over the rim top surface. It is also observed that the cake is thicker towards the upper half of the chamber and has a strong sweet molasses like smell permeating from the pipe. The condition of the chamber walls is hidden beneath the thick cake and will be ascertained only after the cake has been taken down to the bare briar. However, after careful external examination of the surface, I am confident that there is no damage to the chamber walls as the stummel surface is hard and solid all around.The partially rusticated stummel surface is covered in dirt, dust and grime giving the surface a dull, dirty and lifeless appearance. The nooks and crannies of the rustications shows accumulated oils, tars and dust that have darkened over time. There are flecks of white paint embedded within these crevices of the rustications. These rustications have worn down significantly and have smoothed out at many places. The stummel surface is solid to the touch signifying less likelihood of any chamber damage. The stummel has taken on a nice dark patina from 40 years of heavy usage and I would like to preserve it through all the cleaning and polishing. The mortise is relatively clean as expected since the long metallic tenon housing the trademark maple wood filter sits close to the mortise face. The vulcanite stem is deeply oxidized and appears dirty green. The lower surface of the stem has a large chunk of vulcanite missing from the bite zone, including the button. The four brass dots are covered in oxidation and would need to be cleaned and polished. Once the stem has been cleaned and polished, these brass dots will add an element of dazzle to the entire pipe. The long aluminum tenon which houses the Brigham trademarked Maple wood filter is covered in dried oils and tars. The filter is completely stuck in to the tenon and wouldn’t budge and the sweet smell too is very strong.The Process
The first issue that I tackled was that to separate the maple filter from the aluminum tube tenon. I chucked the stem in to the freezer for a couple of hours. Thereafter, I gently and lightly heated the tenon with a Bic lighter. This loosened the oils and tars and gunk that held the filter in to the tenon. Using a pair of nose pliers, I gently pulled out the maple wood filter. The following pictures will give you an idea as to how filthy and dirty the filter was and made me ask myself whether the filter was ever replaced/ cleaned.In preparation for immersing the stem in to the oxidation remover solution, I cleaned out the aluminum tenon and stem airway using dish washing soap and shank brushes. I further cleaned the stem airway using hard and regular pipe cleaners and alcohol. The stem internals are now clean and ready for further processes.I immersed it in “Before and After Deoxidizer” solution along with the stems of other pipes in line for restoration. This solution works to draw out all the deep seated oxidation from the surface making its subsequent cleaning and polishing a breeze. I would definitely recommend this product as it saves on to time and efforts. The pipe has been marked with a blue arrow for easy identification. At this stage, I called it a day as it was well past midnight.The next afternoon, I removed the stems that had been soaking in the deoxidizer solution overnight. I cleaned the stem and the stem airway under running warm water and scrubbed the raised oxidation from the stem surface using a Scotch Brite pad and the airway with thin shank brush. I further removed the oxidation by scrubbing the stem with 0000 grade steel wool and applied a little olive oil to rehydrate the stem. I used the steel wool to clean the aluminum tenon and it did make a world of difference to the appearance of the tenon.Continuing with the stem repair, I inserted a triangulated index card covered in transparent tape in to the slot. The tape prevents the mix of superglue and charcoal from sticking to the index card. I mixed superglue and activated charcoal powder and generously applied it over the bite zone, including over the buttons and set it aside for the fill to cure.Once the repairs had hardened, I shaped the button and the bite zone using a flat needle file. I roughly matched the freshly shaped surface with the rest of the stem by sanding the patch with a folded piece of 220 grit sand paper. At this stage, I noticed air pockets in the patch on the upper surface of the stem (encircled in red) and also the horizontal slot needed a rebuild. I mixed a fresh batch of activated charcoal and superglue and rebuilt the entire bite zone on the upper surface and also the horizontal slot. I set the stem aside for the fills to cure. While the stem repairs were set aside to cure, I moved on to reaming the chamber with my PipNet pipe reamer. I started the reaming process with head size 1 of the PipNet reamer blade and progressed through to head size 2. I used my fabricated knife to remove cake from areas inaccessible to the reamer blades and completed the process of removing the cake by sanding the walls smooth with a folded piece of 180 grit sandpaper. I wiped the chamber with a cotton swab wetted with alcohol to clean the residual carbon dust. The chamber walls are solid and the hard layer of cake had worked well to protect the chamber walls.Next, I cleaned the mortise by scraping out all the dried oils and tars from the walls with a dental tool. I further cleaned the mortise using bristled and regular pipe cleaners dipped in alcohol. Continuing with the internal cleaning of the chamber and mortise, I subjected it to a salt and alcohol bath. I used cotton balls which is an at par substitute as I have realized over the years. I drew out a wick from the cotton and along with a folded regular pipe cleaner; inserted it into the mortise and through the draught hole and further into the chamber. Thereafter, I packed the chamber with cotton balls to about quarter of an inch below the rim inner edge and soaked the cotton balls with isopropyl alcohol up to the brim. About half an hour later, the level of alcohol had gone down, having being absorbed by the cotton. I topped it up once again and set it aside overnight. By next afternoon, the cotton and alcohol had drawn out all the remaining oils/ tars from the chamber and mortise and loosened out any residual cake and tar build up, fulfilling it’s intended task. I removed the cotton balls and ran pipe cleaners through the mortise to clean out all the loosened tars and gunk. Using my fabricated tool, I scraped out the entire loosed gunk from the mortise and further cleaned it with alcohol and q-tips. The large blobs of now moistened gunk that was removed from the mortise should give the readers an idea of how filthy the mortise was when I started the process of cleaning. The chamber now smells clean and fresh. I cleaned the external surface of the stummel with undiluted Murphy’s oil soap and a hard bristled toothbrush. I cleaned the smooth rim top surface with the soap and Scotch Brite pad. I scrubbed the rim top surface with a wire brush to remove the lava overflow and followed it up with a scrub using Scotch Brite pad. The stummel was dried using paper towels and soft cotton cloth. The clean rim top presents charred surface between 6 and 9 o’clock and in 12 o’clock direction (encircled in yellow) and also a couple of dents with thinning of the rim (encircled in red). I simultaneously cleaned the mortise with dish washing soap and shank brushes till all the loosened oils, tars and gunk, a result of the salt and alcohol bath, were completely removed. I dried the shank internals using paper towels and pipe cleaners.The external cleaning had revealed all the issues to the stummel surface that needed to be addressed and I decided to tackle the darkening and dents/ dings to the rim top surface. To address the rim top damage, I topped the rim top on 220 grit sandpaper till the surface was nice and even. I hate losing any briar and restrict it to the barest minimum that is required. The damage to the inner rim edge, though greatly eliminated, can still be seen to the back and left side of the rim edge (encircled in green) and the chamber too appeared to be out of round. These issues would be addressed next. To get the chamber back to round and address the still visible chipped surfaces over the inner rim edge, I created a bevel over the inner and outer edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sand paper. I am pretty pleased with the progress being made thus far. Next, I subjected the smooth surfaces over the stummel to a complete cycle of micromesh polish, wet sanding with 1500 to 12000 grit pads. I wiped the stummel with a moist cloth after every grit pad to remove the sanding dust left behind by the pads. This also helps in monitoring the progress being made and ensures early corrective action. I am happy with the progress being made until now. I massaged a small quantity of “Before and After Restoration Balm” into the briar surface with my finger tips and worked it deep into the surface and let it rest for a few minutes. The balm almost immediately works it’s magic and the briar now has a nice vibrant appearance with the beautiful bird’s eyes and cross grain patterns on full display. Now that the stummel repairs are completed, I turned my attention back to the stem repairs. The second attempt fills were well cured and I moved ahead with the process of filing and shaping the button end with a flat head needle file. With a flat needle file, I reshaped the horizontal slot end. For a better blending, I further sanded the entire stem with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. The few minor air pockets that are visible will be completely eliminated as I progress with the sanding and polishing process. I continued to work on the stem and progressed to wet sanding the entire stem with a folded piece of 320 followed by 600, 800, 1000, 1500 and 2000 grit sand papers. Thereafter, I polished the stem by dry sanding the stem with 3200 to 12000 grit micromesh pads. I strictly avoided running the lower grit sand papers over the four brass dots, polishing them with 6000 to 12000 grit micromesh pads. I rubbed a small quantity of EVO into the stem surface and set it aside for the vulcanite to absorb and hydrate. Before moving on to final polishing of the entire pipe using polishing compounds, there was one aspect, though not critical, but important and that was to clean the gaps between the two rings separating the cap from the rest of the stummel. I used a sharp dental tool to clear out all the debris that had lodged between the rings.To complete the restoration, I mounted a cotton cloth buffing wheel on to my hand held rotary tool and polished the stummel and stem with Blue Diamond compound. This compound helps to remove the minor scratch marks that remain from the sanding. I wiped/ buffed the pipe with a soft cotton cloth to clear it of any leftover compound dust. With a cotton buffing wheel that I use for carnauba wax, I apply a coat of carnauba wax and continue to work on it till the complete coat of wax had been polished out. I mount a clean cotton cloth buffing wheel and give the entire pipe a once over buff. I finished the restoration by giving the entire pipe a rigorous hand buffing using a microfiber cloth to raise the shine further. The finished pipe looks beautiful and is ready to join my other Brigham that I had received from Steve. Looking forward to enjoying my leisure time with this beautiful and gorgeous looking pipe, smoking my favorite tobacco!! P.S.: No Brigham pipe is complete without it’s trademark Maple wood filter. I replaced the old and clogged filter with a fresh filter and now it’s truly ready to deliver it’s unique smoking experience that I have come to appreciate after smoking the one in my collection. I storngly recommend that every pipe smoker must experience the pleasures of smoking a Brigham pipe at least once.

I love working on John Calich Hand Made Pipes and this one is a beauty

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Blog by Steve Laug

About a week ago I got an email from Bob in Maryland asking if I would be willing to repair and restore a John Calich 10 pipe for him. I knew as soon as he said it was a Calich that I wanted to work on it. I have quite a few of John’s pipes in my own collection and enjoy smoking them! He made some new stems for me for a some Calich bowls I purchased. I had the privilege of talking with John quite a few times before he died. He was an amazing man and truly a Canadian pipe carving legend. When Bob contacted me, I was glad to work on this pipe. We chatted via email then I called him. He sent the pipe to me last Friday. It arrived today so I called to let him know it was safely here. In the course of our conversation I asked him where he had picked up this Calich pipe. He told me the story of a good friend of his who had passed away a few years ago. He said that his friend’s wife had given it to him to continue the story and enjoyment of this pipe. He had tried to clean up the stem by soaking it in Oxyclean and it had turned the yellow/white colour it was when it arrived here. Oxyclean had done what it always does – it had brought the oxidation to the surface. John had done an interesting combination of finishes on this pipe. The front of the bowl is plateau briar, the sides and rim top are smooth briar highlighting the interesting horizontal straight grain and the shank was rusticated to look like tree bark. It was a beauty and Bob wanted me to bring to life again. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it.I used a 320 grit sanding pad to check the depth of the oxidation on the stem. I passed it over the stem surface and with very little effort the vulcanite shone through.I took a photo of the rim top and the stem to show the condition of both. The bowl had a thick cake in the bowl with some lava overflow on the inner edge of the rim. There were also many nicks and dings in the rim top and on the inner edge of the rim. It had been hammered against a hard surface to cause the nicks and marks. The oxidized stem had some deep tooth marks on both the top and underside of the stem near the button edge. It would need some work to bring it back.The stamping on the underside of the shank read CALICH over Hand Made. After that stamping there was the number 10 stamped which was the grade number. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts of the pipe. It is a large pipe and a unique beauty.I decided to include a bit about John Calich the pipemaker as I have loved John’s pipes for over 25 years now and have collected a few of them. I have restored quite a few of them and written blogs about them that can be read if you are interested in seeing the kind of pipes that John made. They are unique and beautiful. Each one of them is a work of art to me. I am including the links to the previous blogs that have written about his pipes.

https://rebornpipes.com/2015/03/03/one-of-my-john-calich-pipes-a-calich-ee-billiard/

https://rebornpipes.com/2019/01/23/i-am-the-happy-owner-of-an-unsmoked-pipe-by-the-late-john-calich/

https://rebornpipes.com/2015/03/03/one-of-my-john-calich-pipes-a-calich-ee-billiard/

https://rebornpipes.com/2014/03/21/reflecting-on-my-collection-of-john-calich-pipes/

Each of the blogs reflects on John’s pipes if you want to get a feel for them take a few minutes and read them.

John Calich – photo courtesy of Doug Valitchka

When John was living I spoke with him several times via phone and had him make some new stems for some of his pipes that I picked up off eBay. He was a very kind gentleman and was always helpful when I spoke with him. He was always ready with encouragement and when I needed to know how to do something when I was first learning to repair pipes he was willing to help. He was one of the old guard of Canadian Pipe makers. I miss him. I am including a short piece from Pipedia on John to give details on his work and the grading of his pipes. The second paragraph below is highlighted in blue as it gives some information on the Grade 12 Apple that I am working on with the single silver dot now.

John Calich was one of Canada’s finest carvers. He died in July 2008. John was a full-time pipe maker for the last 40 years. Calich pipes were mostly traditional shapes. His signature style is rustication and smooth on the same pipe along with his unique skill to stain a pipe in contrasting colors. He used only top quality Grecian and Calabrian briar. The mouthpieces are hand finished Vulcanite “A”. Each pipe was entirely made by hand. John Calich was featured in the summer 2005 issue of Pipes & Tobacco.

His pipes are graded 3E – 7E. Retail prices range from$ 145.00 to $ 500.00 Each pipe is stamped “CALICH” 3-8E, his earlier pipes were graded from 3-14, and a single, tiny silver dot is applied to the top of the stem (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Calich).

From my other blogs I was able to garner quite a bit of information on John’s grading system. As noted above the newer ones carried a 3E-7E stamp but the earlier ones were graded 3-14. The retail prices for them ranged from $145.00 to $500.00. Each of the earlier pipes was stamped “CALICH” and pipes were graded from 3-14 and had a single, tiny silver dot applied to the top of the stem. More information can be found at the Pipedia article above. All of this information told me as expected that the pipe I was working on was an earlier one.

Armed with the facts that I am dealing with a 1988 pipe made by one of my favourite Canadian pipe makers it was time to get back to work on the pipe. I started my work on the pipe by reaming the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer to take the cake back to bare walls. I followed that by using a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to scrape back the remnants of the cake back to briar. I finished my cleanup of the walls by sanding it with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I scrubbed the grime and oils off the briar on the smooth, plateau and rusticated portions of the briar with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. The briar looked much cleaner. I worked over the grime and tars on the rim top at the same time and was able to remove much of the build up. The bowl is beginning to take on a fresh look. To remove the scratches in the smooth briar sides and the rim top I sanded them with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I was able to remove the damaged areas and scratches. I used micromesh sanding pads 1500-12000 grit pads to polish the briar. I wiped down the bowl with a damp cloth after every pad. With each sanding pad the briar began to take on a rich shine. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the smooth briar with my fingertips and into the rustication and the plateau surface with a shoe brush. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. Mark Hoover’s Balm is a product that I have come to appreciate and one I use on every pipe I have been working on. I tried to fit a pipe cleaner through the slot in the button and found that it did no fit well and took a lot of work to get it into the airway. I used a round file and an oval file to open the airway to take a pipe cleaner. Once I had it open I could easily slide the pipe cleaner into the airway.Once I had it open I turned to work on the outside of the stem and remove remaining oxidation on the stem surface. I used some Soft Scrub cleanser to scrub of the oxidation on the stem surface. Once finished it looked much better. I sanded out the deeper oxidation in the curves and in the sharp edges of the button with 220 grit sandpaper. I wiped the stem down with a damp alcohol cotton pad to remove the sanding debris. I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks. Most of them lifted significantly. I filled in the deep tooth marks that remained with clear CA glue and set it aside to cure. I paused to clean out the interior of the pipe. I used pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol to clean out the tars and oils in the airway in the shank and the stem. With the newly opened stem it was easy to clean out the airway in the stem.I used a small file to flatten out the repairs on the stem and to sharpen the edge of the button on both sides of the stem. I sanded the repairs with 220 grit sandpaper to further smooth out the repaired areas. I started polishing the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. It was great to see the shine really deepen on the vulcanite. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. Bob’s beautifully grained Hand Made Freehand Calich is unique and lovely. It has the kind of beauty I have come to expect from John’s pipes with plateau on the bowl front and rustication on the shank showcasing the straight grain on the bowl sides and rim top. I am excited to be on the homestretch with this pipe. This is the part I look forward to when each pipe comes back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I 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. The straight grain on the sides of the bowl and the plateau on the front of the bowl is really quite stunning. The plateau on the bowl front and rustication on the shank showed some contrast with dark brown in the grooves that give it depth. This Calich Hand Made Freehand was another fun pipe to bring back to life because the story Bob shared adds another dimension to the pipe. It is a large pipe but it is a comfortable pipe to hold in the hand. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 7 inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches x 2 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 11 grams/3.92 ounces. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. This was interesting to bring back to life. I will be sending it back to him in Maryland early this week. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of it.

Refurbishing a C.G.F Majestic Bruyere

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Blog by Paresh Deshpande

The next pipe that I chose to work on is a pipe from the lot of 50 odd pipes that Abha, my wife, had cleaned up for me way back in early 2018.

It’s a beautiful Dublin shaped pipe with an oval shank and a short saddle stem. The pipe has rustications that are somewhat similar to the micro rustications seen on BRAKNER pipes, but not as fine, much more widely spaced and uneven in orientation. It is stamped on the upper flat surface of the oval shank as “MAJESTIC” over “BRUYERE”. The oval upper stem surface bears the letters “C.G.F” in a rhombus.I had never worked on this and of pipe before and was keen to understand more of this brand. My first visit to unearth the mystery of this pipe to pipephil.eu and pipedia.org did not yield the answers that I was looking for except on pipedia.org which had few pictures under the name MAJESTIC; one picture was that of C.G.F PARIS and another one was that of A. Pandevant & Roy. Given below is the link to the webpage.

https://pipedia.org/wiki/File:2070-01.jpg

The name A. Pandevant & Roy immediately brought back recollection of the research that my friend Dal Stanton aka The Pipe Steward had done on this pipe maker way back in 2019. It makes for a very informed read and his research of this brand has been included in pipedia.org, a remarkable and praise worthy achievement for sure. I implore readers to read through this research, the link to which is given below.

https://rebornpipes.com/2019/02/22/discovering-the-history-with-the-reclamation-of-this-petite-epc-majestic-bent-horn-stem-billiard/

I have reproduced excerpts from the write up as condensed on pipedia.org (https://pipedia.org/wiki/A._Pandevant_%26_Roy_Co.)

Pandevant & Roy Co. of Paris had its beginning in 1884 and disappeared with the commencement of WWII in the late 30s or early 40s. “E.P.C.”, “La Savoyarde”, “MAJESTIC”, “La Parisienne” and “E.P.” were registered trademarks of the company.

Note: The follow example and the information for this article is courtesy of Dal Stanton, The Pipe Steward

Thus, from the above information, it is evident that the pipe currently on my work table is from the stables of A. Pandevant & Roy Co. and definitely pre dates to early 1940s when the company became one of the many victims of World War II.

Initial Visual Inspection
As expected, my wife had not taken any “Before” pictures of the pipe prior to working her magic on this pipe and here I am talking about the year 2018 and even today she conveniently forgets to take pictures of the pipes that she works on initial cleaning. However, she did enclose a note with each pipe giving out the issues that need to b addressed and the note with this pipe pointed out to a through hole in the stem’s bite zone.

Initial Cleaning By Abha…
The initial cleaning on this pipe was done by Abha, my wife (she has cleaned up around 40-50 pipes and these have now reached me for further restoration). She reamed out the complete cake and further smoothened out the chamber walls with a folded piece of 220 grit sand paper. She further cleaned out the internals of the shank with pipe cleaners and alcohol and cotton buds. She followed the internal cleaning of the shank with external cleaning of the stummel using Murphy’s Oil soap and hard bristled tooth brush and dried it with paper napkins and cotton cloth.

Next she cleaned out the internals of the stem air way and immersed it in “Before and After Deoxidizer” solution along with the stem of other pipes in line for restoration. Once the stem had soaked overnight, she cleaned the stem under running warm water and scrubbed the raised oxidation from the stem surface using scotch brite pad. She further removed the oxidation by scrubbing the stem with 0000 grade steel wool and applied a little olive oil to rehydrate the stem.

Once The Pipe Is On My Work Table…
The overall condition of the pipe is very encouraging without any major damage to the stummel. The only damage visible is on the stem where a chunk of button along with a portion of the bite zone is missing. The stummel surface appears dull and lifeless. Here are a few pictures of the pipe as it sits on the work table. Detailed Inspection
The chamber walls are nice clean and fresh. There are no ghost smells and the rusticated rim top surface is clean and undamaged.The rusticated stummel surface is without any fills or dents or dings. The only issue that I see is the dull and dry appearance of the stummel. This stummel will turn out beautiful and the rustications will stand out once I have polished the surface. The mortise and shank internals are nice and clean. The vulcanite saddle stem on this pipe is where there is max damage and would take a considerable time and work to repair. To start with, the step tenon end has a chunk of vulcanite missing (encircled in green) and would need to be rebuilt. The lip on the upper stem surface has deep tooth indentation (encircled in red) while the bite zone of the lower surface has been completely chewed off and there is no button/ lip (encircled in red). These issues would need to be addressed. The stem stamping is slightly worn out with the letter C being more worn out than the other letters.The Process
I started the process of restoration of this pipe by cleaning the internal and external surfaces of the stem even though Abha had cleaned them earlier as the pipe had been lying around for more than five years! Using anti oil dish washing soap, I cleaned the external surface with a Scotch Brite followed by 0000 grade steel wool. The stem airway was cleaned using the soap and thin shank brush.Continuing with the stem repair, I inserted a triangulated index card covered in transparent tape in to the slot. The tape prevents the mix of superglue and charcoal from sticking to the index card. I mixed superglue and activated charcoal powder and generously applied it over the bite zone, including over the buttons, on either surfaces of the stem and set it aside to cure. I shall rebuild the step end of the tenon once these fills are cured and completely hardened.While the stem repairs were set aside to harden, I decided to freshen up the already clean stummel surface. To enliven the briar wood, I rubbed a little quantity of “Before and After” balm in to stummel surface and set it aside for 20 minutes for the balm to be absorbed in to the briar. Thereafter I hand buffed it with a microfiber to deepen the shine. The stummel looks nice and vibrant. While I revitalized the stummel surface, the stem repairs had cured sufficiently to allow me to work on rebuilding the broken step tenon end. I tightly wound a transparent tape around the tapered end of a pipe cleaner and inserted it in to the airway from the tenon end. The rounded pipe cleaner will help in achieving a better thickness and shape profile of the tenon end while the triangular shaped index card that I used for the slot helped in achieving the desired V shape and horizontal thickness of the slot. Using a mix of CA superglue and food grade activated charcoal powder, I rebuilt the tenon end. I made sure that the fill is in excess of the requirement as that would provide me with more material to work on and shape the tenon end. I set the stem aside for the fills to cure overnight. By next afternoon, the stem and tenon rebuild patches had cured perfectly and was fit to work on. I moved ahead with the process of filing and shaping the button end with a flat head needle file. For a better blending, I further sanded the entire stem with 320. I used a folded piece of 320 grit sand paper to sand the tenon end patch and achieve an even match with the rest of the tenon surface. I shaped the opening of the rebuilt tenon for smooth and even airway surface using a round needle file and topped the tenon face on a piece of 220 girt sand paper to achieve a perfect seating of the step tenon into the mortise. I covered the slightly worn out stem stamp with a tape to protect it and wet sand the stem progressing through 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500 and 2000 grit sand paper. I wiped the stem after each grade of sandpaper to view the progress being made and also identify areas on the stem surface that were still covered with traces of oxidation. I wiped the stem with EVO at the end of 2000 grit sanding and set the stem aside.I followed it up with dry sanding the entire stem using 3200 to 12000 grit micromesh pads to completely smooth out the surface and bring out the deep black shine of the vulcanite.

I have reached the stage in this project which can be considered as the home run. I polished the entire stem with blue diamond using a cotton wheel mounted on to my hand held rotary tool. The blue diamond compound helps to eliminate the minor scratches that remain after the use of micromesh pads. I completed this project by hand polishing the stummel with Halcyon II wax. I rubbed this polish deep into the rustications and after a couple of minutes, vigorously hand buffed the stummel with a microfiber cloth to a deep shine. I polished the stem with carnauba wax using my hand held rotary tool. This is a gorgeous looking pipe and I consider myself fortunate to have the opportunity to work on this beauty and it is ready for the next pipeman or pipewoman who wish to carry forward the trust in this pipe till it is time to pass it on to others. If this pipe calls out to you or to someone that yo care for, please feel free to either get in touch with Steve or send me a mail on deshpandeparesh@yahoo.co.in. Here are a few pictures of the completed pipe for you to appreciate while I take the opportunity to thank you each of you for sparing your valuable time in joining me on this journey.

Restoring a Modified K&P Irish Made

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Blog by Kenneth Lieblich

This is the second pipe in a series of three that I was given by my cousin to clean up and bring back to life. This is a republic era K&P Irish Made X105 straight billiard from Peterson. It’s a handsome pipe, for sure, but there are lots of fills all over the bowl and it was in rough shape. It is important to note that this stem is not the original, but, after some back-and-forth with my cousin, we decided to leave the stem as it is. The markings are clear enough. On the left side of the shank, it reads K & P [over] Irish Made. On the right side of the shank, it reads Made in the [over] Republic [over] of Ireland. Near to that is the shape number, X105. There are also some maker’s marks on the ferrule. Quoting from a previous blog of Steve’s, regarding an Irish Made, “There is a nickel ferrule on the shank that is stamped with three symbols – a shamrock. a wolf hound and a tower. These makers marks put the pipe as pre-circa 1963.” That helps! On to the pipe work… It turns out that this stem is the dirtiest stem I’ve dealt with for quite a while. I don’t think it’s ever seen a pipe cleaner in its life until I got a hold of it. The thing was absolutely filthy inside, and it took ages and ages to clean out with pipe cleaners and lemon infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. In fact, it was dirty enough that I actually used some tube brushes as well (along with some detergent) to scrub out the insides and finally got it vaguely clean. Another thing you’ll notice is how badly chomped the button and bit are. It looked pretty bad, but I took my BIC lighter and tried to raise those dents with its flame. This didn’t work very well, if at all.The oxidization on the stem was pretty brutal, so I used some SoftScrub on some cotton rounds and scrubbed the dickens out of it for quite a while. The photo shows how much came off the initial scrubbing. I then threw it into the deoxidizing solution to sit overnight. The next day, with the stem nice and clean, I needed to address those dents on the stem. I applied a type of black cyanoacrylate adhesive (impregnated with carbon and rubber) to the damaged area. I sprayed these areas with an accelerant to cure the adhesive immediately.I then had to shape these repairs so that they would look great! I began by taking a needle file and shaping the hardened adhesive. Continuing, I used 200- and 400-grit sandpapers on the repairs to smooth them out. I finished up by using all nine of my MicroMesh pads to sand the entire stem. I also used some pipe stem oil to assist with the sanding and protect the vulcanite. The stummel was also pretty nasty. I begin by reaming it out. First, I took a drill bit and hand cranked (never with a drill) it into the shank to break up the incredibly hardened debris in there. Of course, I followed that up with cotton swabs and pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. It took a lot of scrubbing to get it clean. I also used some soap and tube brushes to make it extra clean. I cleaned the outside wood with some Murphy’s and then I set the stummel up for a de-ghosting session. I took a couple of cotton balls, gently stuffed them into the bowl and into the shank, and saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let that sit overnight, and the alcohol did its thing, leaching out more of the filth from the stummel. As the photos have shown, this pipe had a lot of fills, so I dealt with them, with a mixture of cyanoacrylate adhesive and briar dust. There was also a chunk missing from the rim, and I filled that up with the same. There was a lot of burning and damage to the rim which I addressed with my topping board and some sandpaper. This is always a balancing act: you want to make it look better, but you don’t want to take off too much. There was a crack in the shank, and a crack at the rim. Both of those required drilling before I could repair them. I took my micro drill bit and delicately drilled a hole through the briar right at the very end of the crack. This tiny hole – almost too difficult to see – serves as an endpoint for the crack, ensuring that it will not grow any further. I then carefully laid a thin bead of CA, glue along both cracks and let it cure. This pipe had obviously had a hard life, and one thing I noticed was that the bowl had quite a few craze lines on the inside. I wanted to fix them to make sure they weren’t a problem in future. Recently, I learned about a new mixture for a pipe mortar that I wanted to try inside this bowl. I found the mix on an old YouTube video, but I honestly can’t remember who the fellow was, otherwise I would credit him here. If anybody remembers who that was, please let me know. Anyway, I mixed up a combination of plaster of Paris, table salt, and activated charcoal. Once blended, I added a few drops of water to make a very thick paste. I then put a thin layer on the inside of the bowl and let it set overnight. It worked like a charm.The next step was to sand everything down. I started with some 220-grit sandpaper and sanded the repairs down so that they were level with the briar. I then took my nine micromesh pads and sanded the whole thing. Despite its fills, the pipe will be much improved once I’m done with it. Of course, I used my restoration balm and rubbed that into the wood to have its nourishing properties work on the wood. I left it set for 20 minutes or so and, while I was waiting, I decided to fix up the nickel ferrule that goes at the end of the shank. I used most of my micromesh pads to polish it up and it came out beautifully. I glued it back on and set the stummel aside. Off to my bench polisher! As usual, I used white diamond as my first compound and followed that with a few coats of carnauba wax. It provides just the sort of glam this pipe needs to pop!This K&P Irish Made X105 straight billiard so much improved that I’m delighted and I’m sure my cousin will be too. I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe as much I as I did restoring it. 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.

What a Beautiful Square Shank Saddle Stem Apple from the House of Robertson

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is the last of the House of Robertson pipes we picked up. It was separate purchase from the previous five HOR pipes. It another beautiful Apple with a square shank and saddle stem. We bought off eBay on 08/03/2023 from the same seller as the others in Niles, Michigan, USA. It is a classic shaped pipe. The name House of Robertson is roughly hand-etched on the left side of the square shank with an engraving tool. This pipe is a well shaped Apple with a square shank so the pipe sits nicely on the desk top as a sitter. The bowl has some interesting mixed grain on the sides of the bowl and shank. The bowl is thickly caked with some lava overflow on the rim top. The outer and inner edges of the rim look to be in good condition. The pipe was dirty but underneath all of the grime it appears to be in excellent condition. It is definitely an interesting pipe and should clean up very well. The fit of the stem to the shank was good. The saddle stem was oxidized and calcified. There are light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started the cleanup. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. Jeff took photos show the condition of the bowl and the stem. The photos of the bowl and rim show the cake in the bowl and the lava overflowing onto the rim top. The grain on the top of the bowl and the inner and outer edge of the rim are pretty well covered in lava. It was hard to know what the edges and top really looked like until we cleaned it. The square saddle stem was oxidized, calcified and had tooth chatter and marks on both sides of the stem near the button. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show some stunning and unique grain all around the pipe. The finish makes the grain really stand out on the bowl and shank. The next photo shows the etched name on the left side of shank on the shank. It reads House of Robertson. Jeff also took a photo of the nicks in the shank on the top right side of the square shank. The clean up had shrunken them a bit but they are still visible. My plan was to leave them as part of the story of the pipe’s journey.I am including the information that I found when I received my first of the House of Robertson Pipes. I found a link on Pipedia that gave me the only information I could find on the brand. I include that in total as it is interesting to read.

“House of Robertson” was in business for many years, but alas, closed their doors in 1999. They were located in Boise, Idaho. They are noted for making rather large and interesting pipes. Thayne Robertson was a Master Mason, AF & AM, and started the shop about 1947 and his son Jon started working there in 1970 when he finished college, along with Thayne’s daughter. Thayne and his son started making the big pipes at that time, and made them together until 1987 when Thayne passed away. Jon kept the store and his sister moved on to other things. The House of Robertson appears to have closed around 1999 (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Robertson).

Since then I have worked on a lot of House of Robertson pipes and have been able to track down more information. I am including a link to a Catalogue that I picked up on eBay. Click on the link and have a look at this interesting book of information on the brand and the pipe maker himself (https://rebornpipes.com/2022/12/11/a-house-of-robertson-catalogue-filled-with-great-examples-of-thayne-robertsons-work/).

I am also including a biography of Thayne Robertson that I found on Facebook from a fellow in Boise, Idaho. It is an interesting read into the mind of the pipe maker. Make sure to take time to read it (https://rebornpipes.com/2021/10/31/house-of-robertson-pipes-boise-pipe-carver-thayne-robertson/).

Now it was time to work on the pipe itself. When it gets to Vancouver it my turn to contribute to its restoration. Jeff did a great job cleaning the pipe on the inside and outside. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the remnants with the Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the dust in the rustication on the bowl and shank as well as the smooth portions. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. Once the dust and debris were removed the finish was dull but appeared to be in excellent condition. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it under warm water to remove the deoxidizer gel solution. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show how well it had cleaned up. There is some rim darkening but you can see the interesting grain on the top of the bowl. The stem tooth marks and chatter are very light.I took a photo of the engraving on the left side of the shank. It is clear and reads as noted above. I also took the stem off the pipe and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the proportions of the pipe. It is a beauty.I started my work on the pipe by dealing with the darkening on the inner edge of the rim and the darkening on the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It looked much better when finished.I polished the bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl with a damp cotton pad after each sanding pad. The surface began to take on a nice shine. I worked Before & After Restoration Balm deep into the smooth finish to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I hand rubbed it with my fingers and worked it into the finish then set it aside to dry for 10-15 minutes. I wiped it off with a soft cloth. I buffed the bowl with a cotton cloth to polish it. It really began to have a deep shine in the briar. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. The grain on the bowl stands out with interesting lines moving across the sides of the bowl and the shank. I set the bowl aside and sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad. I was able to remove the tooth marks and chatter on both sides with the pads. The stem looked very good.I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Polish – using both the Fine and Extra Fine Polishes. I gave it a rubdown with Obsidian Oil one last time and set it aside. I put the House of Robertson Square Shank Saddle Stem Apple back together and worked the pipe over on the buffing wheel using Blue Diamond to lightly polish the stem. I buffed the bowl and stem to raise the gloss on the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the pipe multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished the House of Robertson Apple is shown in the photos below. The medium brown stains on the smooth Billiard shaped bowl works well with the rich black of the vulcanite stem. The dimensions of the pipe are: Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside Diameter: 1 ¼ inches, Diameter of the chamber: ¾ inches. The weight of the pipe is 42 grams/1.45 ounces. This is an interesting piece of briar, cross grain and birdseye on the bowl and shank. I really like how the briar and the vulcanite work well together. This one will soon be on the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in adding a House of Robertson to your collection this may well be the one for you. Thanks for walking with me through the restoration process.

Cleaning Up an Interesting Paradis Star Freehand Pot

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Blog by Kenneth Lieblich

A fine gentleman from out east contacted me asking for this pipe to be restored. Naturally, I obliged and managed a relatively quick job on it. This is just a quick-and-dirty report because it was really more of a cleaning job than a repair job – and I missed out on a few photos. This pipe is a Paradis Star 72 Freehand Pot. The markings on the pipe are as follows: the left side of the shank read Paradis [over] Star; on the right side of the shank read the number 72 – the shape number; and on the left side of the stem was the word Filter. This pipe did indeed have a 6 mm filter and so that makes sense. I knew Paradis Pipes to be a Canadian pipe company, based in Montréal, but I went over to Pipedia and Pipephil to seek out more information. Here’s some of what I found (after correcting the many spelling errors):

Paradis Pipes is the Canadian brand of the brothers Gilles and Fernand Paradis. In 1922 the Paradis family moved to the USA, when Lucien Paradis (1906-1979) was 16 years old. It was at this age that he started as an apprentice at his uncle’s pipe factory: Joseph B. Desjardins, maker of (JD) pipes, in Fall River, MA. Joseph Desjardins was issued two patents during this period, one for a new machine for making pipe stems and another for a new design of pipe reamer. The company employed 60 workers at one stage. In 1930, due to the Great Depressions, Lucien lost his job and returned to Quebec to work in the agricultural machine industry. In his spare time, be made pipes, selling them door to door. Three years later the rest of the family joined him, and Lucien founded a pipe factory with two of his brothers. The company eventually employed 18 workers and in the 1960s produced over 50,000 pipes a year, under brads like JBL, Dr. Thomas, Fernand Gignac, S.C. Pipes, New London Golfer, and Jo Thomassin. Paradis was founded in 1978, at the Salon of Quebec Artisans, and is available in tobacconists all over the country today. The brand produces 8,000 pipes a year (400 “handmade”), with Greek briar.The pipe was in decent condition. It had been well-smoked, and the bowl and shank were fairly dirty. The bowl had some cake on the inside and a bit of lava on the rim. But there was clearly some burning there too. The brass ring around the bowl was in good condition, just a bit scratched up. Meanwhile, the stem was relatively dirty. It was made of acrylic, so no oxidation to speak of, but there were what I would describe as “typical” tooth scratches on the bit. Fortunately, no dents – but someone did leave a heavily used filter behind. Delicious. The stem was first on my list. I wiped the outside down with Murphy’s Oil Soap on some cotton pads. I cleaned out the insides with lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol and some pipe cleaners and cotton swabs.I then used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to make the swirling colours of the stem’s acrylic shine again. I also used Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil in between each pad scrubbing (from 3,600 onward).

Now for the stummel. I reamed out the bowl to remove the built-up cake and followed that with 220-grit sandpaper taped to a dowel to eliminate as much as I could. I took the chamber down to bare briar, as I wanted to ensure there were no hidden flaws in the wall. Fortunately, there were none.I then proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with Q-tips, pipe cleaners, and lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. There was quite a bit of filth inside this stummel and it took a fair amount of cotton to get it clean. I used cotton rounds and some Murphy’s Oil Soap to wipe the outside of the stummel. I also used my toothbrush on the rim to see if I could lift some the burn marks there. Only so much was cleaned up. I followed that up by cleaning the insides of the stummel with some Castile soap and tube brushes. Next, I decided to de-ghost the pipe in order to remove any lingering smells of the past. 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 any remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton. The bowl was nice and clean after this.In order to safely remove the damage on the rim, I used a piece of 220-grit sandpaper wrapped round a wooden sphere. This effectively removed the damage, without altering the look of the pipe. This worked very well and I was pleased with the results. I tidied up some of the lost colour with one of my furniture pens. Then I sanded the rim down with all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit). I also made sure to use the Micromesh pads on the brass ring, in order to remove some scratches and bring back its shine. Finally, I applied some Before & After Restoration Balm and buffed it with a microfiber cloth. I then took the pipe to my bench polisher and buffed it with White Diamond and a few coats of carnauba wax. Wow – the pipe looks much improved.This unusual Paradis Star 72 Freehand Pot will suit the buyer very well and I’m sure that he will enjoy smoking it for many years to come. I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe as much I as I did restoring it. 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.

What a Beautiful taper stem Apple from the House of Robertson

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a change of pace for me. It was purchased along with the three pipes I have worked on recently and two additional pipes. The one I have chosen to work on is an beautiful Apple with a taper stem. We bought the five pipes off eBay on 07/28/2023 from Niles, Michigan, USA. They are all classic shaped pipes. The name House of Robertson is roughly hand-etched on the left side of the shank with an engraving tool. This pipe is a well shaped taper stem Apple with the bottom of the shank flat so the pipe sits nicely on the desk top as a sitter. The bowl has some interesting mixed grain on the sides of the bowl and shank. The bowl is thickly caked with some lava overflow on the rim top. The outer and inner edges of the rim look to be in good condition. The pipe was dirty but underneath all of the grime it appears to be in excellent condition. It is definitely an interesting pipe and should clean up very well. The fit of the stem to the shank was good. The taper stem was oxidized and calcified. There are light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started the cleanup. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. Jeff took photos show the condition of the bowl and the stem. The photos of the bowl and rim show the cake in the bowl and the lava overflowing onto the rim top. The grain on the top of the bowl and the inner and outer edge of the rim looks really good. It was hard to know what the edges and top really looked like until we cleaned it. The square taper stem was oxidized, calcified and had tooth chatter and marks on both sides of the stem near the button. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show some stunning and unique grain all around the pipe. The finish makes the grain really stand out on the bowl and shank. The next photo shows the etched name on the left side of shank on the shank. It reads House of Robertson.I am including the information that I found when I received my first of the House of Robertson Pipes. I found a link on Pipedia that gave me the only information I could find on the brand. I include that in total as it is interesting to read.

Now it was time to work on the pipe itself. When it gets to Vancouver it my turn to contribute to its restoration. Jeff did a great job cleaning the pipe on the inside and outside. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the remnants with the Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the dust in the rustication on the bowl and shank as well as the smooth portions. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. Once the dust and debris were removed the finish was dull but appeared to be in excellent condition. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it under warm water to remove the deoxidizer gel solution. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show how well it had cleaned up. There is some rim darkening but you can see the interesting grain on the top of the bowl. The stem tooth marks and chatter are very light.I took a photo of the engraving on the left side of the shank. It is clear and reads as noted above. I also took the stem off the pipe and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the proportions of the pipe. It is a beauty.I started my work on the pipe by dealing with the darkening on the inner edge of the rim and the darkening on the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It looked much better when finished.I polished the bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl with a damp cotton pad after each sanding pad. The surface began to take on a nice shine. I worked Before & After Restoration Balm deep into the smooth finish to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I hand rubbed it with my fingers and worked it into the finish then set it aside to dry for 10-15 minutes. I wiped it off with a soft cloth. I buffed the bowl with a cotton cloth to polish it. It really began to have a deep shine in the briar. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. The grain on the bowl stands out with interesting lines moving across the sides of the bowl and the shank. I set the bowl aside and sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad. I was able to remove the tooth marks and chatter on both sides with the pads. The stem looked very good.I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Polish – using both the Fine and Extra Fine Polishes. I gave it a rubdown with Obsidian Oil one last time and set it aside.I put the House of Robertson Taper Stem Apple back together and worked the pipe over on the buffing wheel using Blue Diamond to lightly polish the stem. I buffed the bowl and stem to raise the gloss on the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the pipe multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished the House of Robertson Apple is shown in the photos below. The medium brown stains on the smooth Billiard shaped bowl works well with the rich black of the vulcanite stem. The dimensions of the pipe are: Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside Diameter: 1 ¼ inches, Diameter of the chamber: ¾ inches. The weight of the pipe is 48 grams/1.69 ounces. This is an interesting piece of briar, cross grain and birdseye on the bowl and shank. The patterns on the sides are almost circular. I really like how the briar and the vulcanite work well together. This one will soon be on the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in adding a House of Robertson to your collection this may well be the one for you. Thanks for walking with me through the restoration process.

What a Beautiful Octagonal Square Shank Billiard from the House of Robertson

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a change of pace for me. It was purchased along with the three pipes I have worked on recently and two additional pipes. The one I have chosen to work on is an octagonal bowl, square shank billiard. We bought the five pipes off eBay on 07/28/2023 from Niles, Michigan, USA. It was one of five House of Robertson pipes we purchased on that date. They are all classic shaped pipes. The name House of Robertson is roughly hand-etched on the left side of the shank with an engraving tool. This pipe is a well shaped taper stem octagonal square shank Billiard with the bottom of the bowl/shank flat so the pipe sits nicely on the desk top as a sitter. The bowl has some interesting mixed grain on the sides of the bowl and shank. The bowl is thickly caked with some lava overflow on the rim top. The outer and inner edges of the rim look to be in good condition. The pipe was dirty but underneath all of the grime it appears to be in excellent condition. It is definitely an interesting pipe and should clean up very well. The fit of the stem to the shank was good. The taper stem was oxidized and calcified. There are light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started the cleanup. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. Jeff took photos show the condition of the bowl and the stem. The photos of the bowl and rim show the cake in the bowl and the lava overflowing onto the rim top. The grain on the top of the bowl and the inner and outer edge of the rim looks really good. It was hard to know what the edges and top really looked like until we cleaned it. The square taper stem was oxidized, calcified and had tooth chatter and marks on both sides of the stem near the button. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show some stunning and unique grain all around the pipe. The finish makes the grain really stand out on the bowl and shank. The next photo shows the etched name on the left side of shank on the shank. It reads House of Robertson.I am including the information that I found when I received my first of the House of Robertson Pipes. I found a link on Pipedia that gave me the only information I could find on the brand. I include that in total as it is interesting to read.

Now it was time to work on the pipe itself. When it gets to Vancouver it my turn to contribute to its restoration. Jeff did a great job cleaning the pipe on the inside and outside. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the remnants with the Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the dust in the rustication on the bowl and shank as well as the smooth portions. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. Once the dust and debris were removed the finish was dull but appeared to be in excellent condition. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it under warm water to remove the deoxidizer gel solution. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show how well it had cleaned up. There is some rim darkening but you can see the interesting grain on the top of the bowl. The stem tooth marks and chatter are very light.I took a photo of the engraving on the left side of the shank. It is clear and reads as noted above. I also took the stem off the pipe and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the proportions of the pipe. It is a beauty.I started my work on the pipe by dealing with the darkening on the inner edge of the rim and the darkening on the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It looked much better when finished.I polished the bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl with a damp cotton pad after each sanding pad. The surface began to take on a nice shine. I worked Before & After Restoration Balm deep into the smooth finish to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I hand rubbed it with my fingers and worked it into the finish then set it aside to dry for 10-15 minutes. I wiped it off with a soft cloth. I buffed the bowl with a cotton cloth to polish it. It really began to have a deep shine in the briar. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. The grain on the bowl stands out with interesting lines moving across the sides of the bowl and the shank. I set the bowl aside and sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad. I was able to remove the tooth marks and chatter on both sides with the pads. The stem looked very good.I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Polish – using both the Fine and Extra Fine Polishes. I gave it a rubdown with Obsidian Oil one last time and set it aside. I put the House of Robertson Octagonal Square Shank Taper Stem Billiard back together and worked the pipe over on the buffing wheel using Blue Diamond to lightly polish the stem. I buffed the bowl and stem to raise the gloss on the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the pipe multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished the House of Robertson Octagonal Billiard is shown in the photos below. The medium brown stains on the smooth Billiard shaped bowl works well with the rich black of the vulcanite stem. The dimensions of the pipe are: Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside Diameter: 1 ¼ inches, Diameter of the chamber: ¾ inches. The weight of the pipe is 38 grams/1.34 ounces. This is an interesting piece of briar, cross grain and birdseye on the bowl and shank. The patterns on the sides are almost circular. I really like how the briar and the vulcanite work well together. This one will soon be on the rebornpipes store in the American (US) Pipemakers section. If you are interested in adding a House of Robertson to your collection this may well be the one for you. Thanks for walking with me through the restoration process.

A Beautifully Grained Saddle Stem Pot from the House of Robertson

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a change of pace for me. It was purchased as one of three pipes off eBay on 07/28/2023 from Niles, Michigan, USA. It was the third of three House of Robertson pipes – two billiards and a pot. This one is a nicely grained Pot shaped pipe. The name House of Robertson is roughly hand-etched on the left side of the shank with an engraving tool. The pipe is a well shaped saddle stem Pot with the bottom of the shank flat and the pipe sits nicely on the desk top like a sitter. The bowl has some interesting flame grain on it along with a mix of other grains. The bowl is thickly caked with some lava overflow on the rim top. The outer and inner edges of the rim look to be in good condition. The pipe was dirty but underneath all of the grime it appears to be in excellent condition. It is definitely an interesting pipe and should clean up very well. The fit of the stem to the shank was good. The taper stem was oxidized and calcified. There are light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started the cleanup. Jeff took photos show the condition of the bowl and the stem. The photos of the bowl and rim show the cake in the bowl and the heavy lava overflowing onto the rim top. It was hard to know what the edges and top really looked like until we cleaned it. The saddle stem was oxidized, calcified and had tooth chatter and marks on both sides of the stem near the button. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show some stunning and unique grain all around the pipe. The finish makes the grain really stand out on the bowl and shank. The next photo shows the etched name on the left side of shank on the shank. It reads House of Robertson.I am including the information that I found when I received my first of the House of Robertson Pipes. I found a link on Pipedia that gave me the only information I could find on the brand. I include that in total as it is interesting to read.

Now it was time to work on the pipe itself. When it gets to Vancouver it my turn to contribute to its restoration. Jeff did a great job cleaning the pipe on the inside and outside. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the remnants with the Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the dust in the rustication on the bowl and shank as well as the smooth portions. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. Once the dust and debris were removed the finish was dull but appeared to be in excellent condition. He soaked the stem in Before & After Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it under warm water to remove the deoxidizer gel solution. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show how well it had cleaned up. There is some rim darkening but you can see the interesting grain on the top of the bowl. The stem tooth marks and chatter are very light.I took a photo of the engraving on the left side of the shank. It is clear and reads as noted above. I also took the stem off the pipe and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the proportions of the pipe. It is a beauty.I worked on the darkening of the inner edge of the rim and the darkening on the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It looked much better when finished.I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl with a damp cotton pad after each sanding pad. The surface began to take on a nice shine. I worked Before & After Restoration Balm deep into the smooth finish to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I hand rubbed it with my fingers and worked it into the finish then set it aside to dry for 10-15 minutes. I wiped it off with a soft cloth. I buffed the bowl with a cotton cloth to polish it. It really began to have a deep shine in the briar. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. The grain on the bowl stands out with interesting lines moving across the sides of the bowl and the shank. I set the bowl aside and sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad. I was able to remove the tooth marks and chatter on both sides with the pads. The stem looked very good. I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Polish – using both the Fine and Extra Fine Polishes. I gave it a rubdown with Obsidian Oil one last time and set it aside. I put the House of Robertson Saddle Stem Pot back together and worked the pipe over on the buffing wheel using Blue Diamond to lightly polish the stem. I buffed the bowl and stem to raise the gloss on the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the pipe multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished HOR Pot is shown in the photos below. The medium brown stains on the smooth Billiard shaped bowl works well with the rich black of the vulcanite stem. The dimensions of the pipe are: Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside Diameter: 1 ¼ inches, Diameter of the chamber: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 31 grams/1.09 ounces. This is an interesting piece of briar, cross grain and birdseye on the bowl and shank. The patterns on the sides are almost circular. I really like how the briar and the vulcanite work well together. This one will soon be on the rebornpipes store in the American Pipe Making Companies and Makers. If you are interested in adding a House of Robertson to your collection this may well be the one for you. Thanks for walking with me through the restoration process.