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Recommissioning Another Barontini Aldo Velani Trio of Italy – A Classic Billiard

Blog by Dal Stanton

The Aldo Velani Trio Classic Billiard now on the worktable represents the 6^th of 7 pipes Daniel commissioned from the For “Pipe Dreamers” Only! collection. It also represents the second Aldo Velani Trio Daniel included in his trove of 7. I acquired 4 Aldo Velani Trios in 2018 in what I have called the St. Louis Lot of 26 that my son, Josiah, found in an antique shop. The original 4 Velanis are pictured below.The Bent Apple and Rusticated Volcano have already found homes with new stewards. The Pot on the bottom is waiting for the Billiard to be completed to join Daniel’s commissioned pipes all which benefit the Daughters of Bulgaria – women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. This is a classy line up of pipes! Looking at their current restored states: With the Classic Billiard next, some pictures provide a closer look. The nomenclature on the left shank side is cursive script, ‘Aldo Velani’ [over] ‘TRIO’. On the shank underside, the COM, ‘ITALY’ is followed by the shape number ‘52’. As I noted with the Pot, when I first looked at the logo it was difficult to figure out but found in Pipedia’s Aldo Velani article, an example and details of the stamping on an original Aldo Velani box (courtesy of Doug Valitchka). The stamp depicts a pipe as the front leg of the ‘A’ for Aldo and the back leg of the ‘A’ forms the front riser of the ‘V’ of Velani. Again, I repeat the previous research here: The article cited from Pipedia provides helpful information understanding the provenance of the Aldo Velani Trio line:

Most Aldo Velani pipes are made in Livorno, Italy, for the USA market by Cesare Barontini. They were previously imported by Lane Limited. Lane spokesman Frank Blews once described Velani’s stylish, intrinsically Italian designs as “Billiards with more ball, bulldogs with more jaw.” The name “Aldo Velani” is actually fictional.

Another Barontini 2nd is named “Cesare”.

I learn two interesting things from this information. First, Aldo Velani is a faux name that does not describe an Italian pipe house but a specific line of pipes. Secondly, the Aldo Velani is made by the Casare Barontini name based in Livorno, Italy. Further information is available cross referencing to Casare Barontini in Pipedia:

In 1890 Turildo Barontini opened a factory for the production of briar. In 1925 his son Bruno began to produce the first pipes. Cesare Barontini, son of Bruno, started direction of the factory in 1955, and still runs it together with his daughters Barbara and Silvia.

Sub-brands & Seconds: Aldo Velani. Cesare, L’artigiana, Stuart, Cortina

Additional information is found in Pipephil’s site. Aldo Velani line was produced primarily for export. The stem stamping on the Aldo Velani line had different variations provided by Pipephil:Looking now to the condition of the Aldo Velani Trio Billiard, much like his Apple and Pot brothers, the chamber has a thick cake which needs cleaning. The lava crusted on the rim too, is thick. This will need cleaning. The stummel with the ruby/burgundy is soiled and generally in good shape. I’m hopeful of keeping the hues consistent between the Pot and Billiard now on the table. The clear acrylic stem, like the Aldo Velani Trio Apple, is soiled and has some tooth chatter. There is one tooth compression on the lower bit which was the same on the other Aldo Velani Trio pipes – forensics pointing to a sole steward passing these pipes on. The clear acrylic always gives a pause to ask the question about whether it is the earlier acrylic known as Perspex, on older GBD pipes. This stem is not Perspex and therefore alcohol may be used to clean without concerns of the material crazing. The airway does have a burgundy coloring, so after cleaning, it should still be burgundy but more translucent. I take a picture of the starting point of the clear acrylic stem. To start the airway’s cleaning process, I put the entire stem into a soak of lemon juice to help soften the oils in the airway. As a natural acidic cleaning agent, I use lemon juice when working on Perspex stems. I decide to experiment to see how it works on the Aldo Velani stem. I assure you; the stem is in the lemon juice!While the stem is soaking in the juice, I begin the cleaning process of the chamber and rim. I’m hopeful that there will be no heating issues with this Aldo Velani Billiard as was the case with his brother, the Pot. The rim is capped with a thick lava flow crust. The cake in the chamber is thick and I take a picture to show the starting point.To begin the reaming of the chamber, starting with the smallest of 4 blade heads provided by the Pipnet Reaming Kit, I use 2 blade heads. Next, I transition to scraping the chamber wall using the Savinelli Fitsall tool and finish by sanding the chamber with 240 grade sanding paper wrapped around a Sharpie Pen. After wiping the chamber with a cotton pad to remove carbon dust residue, an inspection of the chamber reveals healthy briar ready to go again. Looking to the rim, using the edge of my Winchester pocketknife, I carefully scrape the crusted carbon. I avoid gouging the briar by pulling the edge over the surface rather than pushing the blade. Next, using undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and starting with a cotton pad, the ruby/burgundy external surface is scrubbed. I also employ a brass wire brush to work on the rim. After scrubbing the bowl and rim, I take the stummel to the sink and continue the cleaning using warm water to rinse the Murphy’s Soap. Using shank brushes, I then work on the internal mortise chamber with anti-oil liquid dishwashing soap. This helps to break down the tars and oils which have built up through use. After a thorough rinsing, the stummel is transitioned back to the worktable. After the cleaning, the rim shows some bald spots where raw briar is exposed. I’ll need to address these, but the challenge will be to match and blend the stummel ruby/burgundy and the rim contour so that it doesn’t draw attention.I also find a small fill needing attention in the crook of the bowl and shank. It is not too noticeable.The cleaning continues with the internals using cotton buds and pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl 99%. After some effort, the cleaners and buds emerge lighter. The job is done, and I move on.I continue with the stummel and take another look at the rim. I had to do some work on rim of the Aldo Velani Trio Pot that I just completed. I saved the dye mixture I used to color the rim and I’ll use that dye mixture on the Billiard’s rim. The hue will be consistent between the two restorations of the same colored pipes. I take another picture of the Billiard’s rim, which is not in bad of shape as was the Pot’s, but the finish on the rim is thin at places and uneven. First, I apply the 1500 grade micromesh pad to clean the rim.This is followed by applying the full battery of micromesh pads to smooth the rim surface.As I mentioned above, I saved the dye mixture that I used to restore the Aldo Velani Pot, in my last restoration project. After testing and some experimentation, I used a mixture with the base of Fiebing’s Oxblood Leather Dye with a few drops of Fiebing’s Black Leather Dye to deepen the hue. It worked well on the Pot so I’m hopeful the Billiard will be just as happy! I apply several applications of the dye mixture with a cotton bud until the rim seems to be fully colored.I take another look at the fill I found earlier at the crook of the shank/bowl union. While I have the dye on the worktable, I apply some of the mixture on the fill to see if it would help camouflage the area. Unfortunately, it didn’t. Next, a red Sharpie Pen is used to attempt to blend the fill in. After touching up the fill, the Sharpie has helped somewhat but the fill is still somewhat visible. The reality of the challenge of this seemingly small repair is that to remove fully it would require refinishing the entire stummel. Yet, desiring to preserve the original ruby/burgundy finish so that it matches the Aldo Velani Pot also in Daniel’s Trove of 7 commissioned pipes, creates the necessity of leaving small imperfections in the original finish. If I attempt a spot repair by sanding and then refinishing, I’m afraid the result would be to draw even more attention to it! I’ll be satisfied at this point with the Sharpie repair.Putting the stummel aside and turning now to the clear acrylic stem, the stem has been waiting in a lemon juice soak. Using lemon juice allowed the natural acidic hopefully to help clean the airway of staining. The original stem airway has a burgundy coloring. I fish the stem out of the lemon juice. The airway continues to be darkened. We’ll see if the lemon soak had any benefit.Using bristled and smooth pipe cleaners, I use isopropyl 99% to clean the airway. Using smaller diameter shank brushes also helped to clear the staining from the airway. As I work, I can see the cloudiness dissipate and more of a translucent airway emerges. It looks much better now, and I move on!Looking now more closely at the upper and lower bit, there is tooth chatter on both and the lower also has a small tooth compression. Using 240 sanding paper, the tooth chatter and tooth compression are easily sanded and dispatched. After inspecting the entire stem, I can find no scratching in the acrylic stem other than the bit sanding to repair the tooth chatter. With most of the stem in pristine condition, there is no need to sand the entire stem. I will focus the sanding with 600 grade paper on the bit and then apply 0000 grade steel wool to the entire stem. Therefore, using 600 grade paper the bit area is wet sanded. Following this I apply 0000 steel wool to entire stem.Transitioning now to micromesh pads, the stem is wet sanded with pads 1500 to 2400 followed by dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000. Even though it really doesn’t protect the acrylic stem from oxidation, I like applying Obsidian Oil to condition it. The stem looks great. To shine the gold nickel shank ring, I use Tarn-X Tarnish Remover which gives the metal a new spark of life. I apply some of the Tarn-X to a cotton pad and rub it into the ring, making sure I get it into the crevasse between the two ring risers. I also am careful to keep the cleaner off the briar which would probably leech the dye. After applying the Tarnish Remover, I wipe/rinse the fluid off with a cotton pad wet with water. I then buff up the ring with a cotton cloth. It looks great – the bling factor is increased with the ring!Next, after reuniting stem and stummel, a cotton buffing wheel is mounted on the Dremel and the speed is set to about 40% full power. I then apply Blue Diamond to the pipe avoiding the ring – this would create a black gunk that could stain the briar surface. After applying the Blue Diamond over the entire pipe, the pipe is given a buffing with a felt cloth to remove the residual compound dust before applying the wax.The unique Aldo Velani stem stamping needs refreshing to augment the classy look of this Billiard.Using European Gold Rub ‘n Buff metallic paint, I use a pointed cotton bud to paint over the stem stamping. Once thoroughly covered, I wait only a few moments because the paint sets up very quickly. I then use the side of the pointed cotton bud to scrape excess paint. I then flip the bud to the clean end and wipe/buff up the remaining excess to sharpen the stamping. The results are nice – it looks great!Next, another cotton cloth buffing wheel is mounted onto the Dremel. Remaining at the same speed, carnauba wax is applied to the stem and stummel. After applying the carnauba, the pipe is given a rigorous hand buffing to remove excess wax and to raise the shine.I’m pleased with the results of this second of the Aldo Velani Trio pipes that Daniel commissioned. The ruby-burgundy finish initially draws one’s attention and then the clear, glass-like acrylic stem. Finishing the ensemble is the golden double-bumped shank ring joining stem and stummel to present this classic Billiard after-dinner pipe. Both Aldo Velani brothers that Daniel commissioned, this Billiard and the Pot, will provide great fellowship with one’s favorite blend and adult beverage. Daniel has the first opportunity to claim the Aldo Velani Trio Billiard in The Pipe Steward Store which benefits the Daughters of Bulgaria. Thank you for joining me!

Another Bizarre & Interesting System Pipe – A Lenox All Wood Pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

A few years ago Jeff picked up a Lenox from EBay that had a plastic wood finished barrel and a wooden bowl. It was an interesting looking piece. I restored it and have it in my collection of unusual pipes. When he saw this one he was drawn to it because it was all wood. The barrel and bowl were both wood. The internals were the same as the previous pipe. He picked it up because of it being all wood. He can’t remember where it came from but he remembers finding it. It is now on the work table after sitting here for almost a year. The pipe was dust and dirty. There was a thick cake in the bowl and a lava overflow on to the rim top. There appeared to be burn damage on the back inner edge and rim top that would need to be dealt with. The wooden barrel was dirty and dusty but otherwise in good condition. The bowl screwed onto the barrel and seemed to align well. The barrel is stamped Lenox on the left side of the barrel near the stem. The wood of the barrel and that of the bowl were stained to match each other well. The stem was inserted in the end of the barrel and was in good condition. There was some light oxidation and tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took the following photos of the pipe before he sent it to me. It looks a lot like a wooden version of a Kirsten — at least externally. Jeff took some photos of the rim top and bowl to give an idea of the extent of the cake and the damage to the inner edge of the bowl at the rear of the pipe. You can see the damage and the lava coat on the top. The stem photos show the light oxidation and tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. He took photos of the sides of the barrel and the bowl. The grain on this wooden barrel and bowl is quite unique. It is obviously not briar but I am not sure what the wood is. He removed the bowl from the barrel and took a photo. His photo shows the threads in the bowl and the metal threaded extension on the top of the barrel. I turned to the blog I had written on the previous Lenox pipe and read what I had found out when I worked on that pipe (https://rebornpipes.com/2016/10/30/a-bit-of-the-bizarre-and-interesting-restoring-a-lenox-system-pipe/). I include that information below.

I was not familiar with the Lenox brand so I did some research to see what I could find out. There was not much information on the brand online until I turned to one of my favourite sites for information on odd and unusual metal pipes – smokingmetal.com

I found the brand listed in three variations. The first of them was a Lenox made of Lucite (ed. By Lucite I assume that barrel is actually made of Perspex so in the information below I have edited it to read that). The link for the brand is: http://smokingmetal.co.uk/pipe.php?page=82. The site has this to say about the Perspex version of the pipe. I quote: “Hard to see the purpose of this one. There would be no significant extra cooling and there is no end plug to remove for ease of cleaning. It is stamped LENOX in the perspex top of barrel. (ed. I have included two photos from the site on the Lucite version of the pipe.) Centre image shows two colour versions. The dark version does not appear to be the result of discolouration by tar etc. These pipes were certainly on sale in 1951. The overall length 5 5/8 inch (143 /m).The site also had photos of the Lenox with a wooden barrel and wooden bowl. The metal barrel is stamped LENOX on the top of the barrel and a threaded bowl was screwed onto the top. The bowl had a brass insert in the bottom and it threads onto the nipple on the barrel. The following link has photos of the pipe: http://smokingmetal.co.uk/pipe.php?page=150.Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer and removed the rest of it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the barrel and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. I took photos of the bowl and rim top after the cleanup. You can see the extent of the damage on the backside of the edge and rim top. The bowl is very clean. The stem looks very good. The light chatter and marks will easily come off.I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It reads as noted above.I unscrewed the bowl from the barrel and took the stem out of the end. The next three photos below show the “exploded” view of the pipe. The rim darkening in the first photo needed to be cleaned up. I decided to start my work on the pipe by addressing the damage to the rim top and inner edge. The damage was quite extensive so I started by topping the bowl on a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. Once I had removed some of the damage I rebuilt that portion of the top and edge with the dust from the sanding and super glue. I cleaned up the inner edge with a folded piece of 180 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repair and then retopped the bowl to remove the buildup from the repair. Once I finished it was better. The bowl was back in round and the darkening was minimized on the top. I polished the bowl and rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each set of sanding pads. I stained the bowl and the barrel with an Oak Stain pen to blend in the repairs with the rest of the bowl. The Oak stain highlighted the grain and tied the parts together. I put the pipe together and took photos of it at this point in the process. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain stood out. I pulled the pressure fit stinger out of the tenon and ran a pipe cleaner through the stem. It came out very clean – yet another testimony to the great job my brother does in his clean up. I put it back in the tenon and took two close-up photos of the stem to show the really clean condition the stem was in. All that needed to happen was to polish it.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil between each set of three pads. I polished the stem with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I rubbed it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and hand buffed it. The wood is clean and really came alive. The rich reddish brown coloured stain gave the grain a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. I put the pipe back together and buffed it on the buffing wheel with Blue Diamond polish to bring a shine to the surface. I gave the bowl, barrel and the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the bowl, barrel and stem with a clean buffing pad to polish the wax coats. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finish unique pipe is shown in the photos below. The bowl and barrel and the bowl match very well and look like they may well have come from the same piece of wood. The finished Lenox System Pipe has its own beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 34grams/1.20oz. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store in the US Pipe Makers section if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

This Long Pencil Shank Viborg French Made Lovat is a real Beauty

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Blog by Steve Laug

I woke up to the sound of something large jumping on the roof next to our bedroom window around 4:30am this morning. That gave me an early start at the work bench. I have to tell you that on days like today I miss my old supervisor Spencer who would greet me no matter what time and beg for a treat… strange to not have him here. Ah well time to work. The next pipe, the second one on the table today, came to us in a group of pipes that we picked up through an online auction in 2017 in Wilder, Idaho, USA so it has been sitting here for a while. Even though the finish was a dirty and worn it had some charm showing through the grit and grime of the years. On the left side of the shank it was stamped Viborg [over] Made in France. The pipe is a long pencil shanked pipe with an elliptical shaped bowl. The saddle stem would make it a long Lovat but the stem is also long! The finish is filthy with grime and oil ground into the briar of the bowl and shank sides. The bowl had a thick cake and there was an overflow of lava on the rim edges. There was some damage to the inner edge of the bowl as well. The stem was a vulcanite saddle stem that was oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show its overall condition before he started his cleanup work. He took a photo of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and the lava and dust ground into the rim top. You can also see the damage to the inner edge of the bowl and the burn marks on the top back. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the chatter and tooth marks. Otherwise the stem is quite clean. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar around the pipe looked like. There are a lot of white putty fills on the right side of the bowl and on the right and underside of the shank. He took a photo of the stamping on the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable. The pipe is a bit of a mystery to me. The Viborg name sounds like it should be Danish but the pipe is stamped Made in France. I looked on Pipedia and Pipephil’s site and nothing was listed for the brand on either one. Perhaps one of you know the brand and could shed some light on it for us all. Thank you!

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the debris on the rim top and was able to remove it. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Before & After Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and cotton pads to remove remaining oxidation on the ferrule and the stem. He rinsed it with warm water and dried it off. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. It really looked good. The rim top and the inner edge of the rim were clean but the damage was very evident. The stem had remaining oxidation and a few small tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It was clear and read as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The pipe has a vulcanite saddle stem. I decided to address the damaged white putty fills first. I cleaned up the area in the fills and then replaced them with briar dust and super glue. It tends to turn the repair dark but anything would look better to me than the white spots on the bowl and shank. When the repairs had cured I flattened them with a small file and then smoothed them out with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I wanted to start the process of blending them into the surrounding briar so I wanted them smooth to touch. With that finished I wanted to address the damage to the rim top and inner edges of the bowl. I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. I worked over the inner edge with a folded piece of 220 grit paper. The rim top and edges looked considerably better once I was finished. To help mask the fills on the bowl and shank and to make the grain stand out better I stained the pipe with a black aniline stain. I flamed it to set the stain and repeated the process to ensure good coverage. Once it had cured I wiped down the bowl with isopropyl alcohol to begin the process of removing the black from bowl while leaving it in the grain. I polished the bowl and the rim top with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding to remove more of the stain and make the grain stand out more. Once I had finished the sanding I buffed the pipe with red Tripoli and then brought to the worktable for the top coat of light brown stain. I applied the stain and flamed it. I repeated the process until I had proper coverage. I buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and then brought it back to take it through the entire range of micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad to remove the sanding dust. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips. I used a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the plateau on the rim top and shank end. 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. I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This interesting French Made Long Pencil Shank Viborg Lovat with a vulcanite saddle stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished French Made Viborg Lovat fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ x 1 3/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 23grams/.78oz. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store shortly in the French Pipe Makers Section. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Recommissioning an Interesting Belgian Hilson Fantasia Block Meerschaum Lined Billiard

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Blog by Dal Stanton

Thanksgiving travels are now completed with us visiting kids and grandchildren in St. Louis and Nashville and I’m now back at the worktable in Golden, looking at an interesting pipe. Daniel was bold to commission 7 pipes from the For “Pipe Dreamers” Only! collection and with 3 completed, the fourth is now on the table, a Meer lined Hilson Fantasia. I acquired it along with another commission of Daniel, the Paul Viou Plume (See: Discovering the Vintage of a Paul Viou ‘Feather’ with the Help of Sebastien Beaud of Genod Pipes of St. Claude) from a Lot I acquired from an eBay seller in Paris. The pictures show the French Lot of 50 and the Hilson marked by the arrow in the picture below.The Hilson is next on the worktable and I take some pictures to get a closer look. The Hilson name is not found on the shank, but the stem. On the right shank flank is imbedded, BLOCK [over] MEERSCHAUMLINED. To the right is the shape number, ‘7’. The stem’s left side is stamped a half ghosted, HILSON [over] FANTASIA. This is my first opportunity to work on a pipe with the Hilson mark and my first impression of it drew mixed reviews – what is the material this is made of? I discover in a quick look to Pipedia’s article that this name finds its origins in Belgium but after financial difficulties was acquired in the early 1980s by the Dutch consortium, Elbert Gubbels & Zonen B.V., which later acquired the Big Ben name from England and started the Royal Dutch Pipe brand. I think the best short description of the Hilson name I initially found in Pipephil.eu but later discovered it originally came from Estervals Pipe House website:

In 1846 a German named Jean Knödgen started the production of clay pipes in Belgium. At the end of the 19th century Jean Hillen (married into the Knödgen family) took over the company and developed the idea of also producing briar wooden tobacco pipes in his factory. He had some suppliers from the French Jura district turn some bowls which he then finished himself. Some time later he took up the complete production process of briar wooden tobacco pipes so he did not have to depend on others.

Jean Hillen had 2 sons: Jos Hillen who was responsible for sales and Albert Hillen who was responsible for the production of pipes. Albert was also an interpreter in the English army during WWII and he succeeded in establishing many international contacts. Thus they were soon able to export the first pipes manufactured in Belgium to countries all over the world with the brand name HILSON (Hillen and sons).

In 1980 the Hillen Pipe factory from the Belgium-Limburg town of Bree was purchased by the Royal Dutch Pipe Factory where the production of Hilson pipes was continued, carefully observing the traditional craftsmanship.

The link to the Estervals Pipe House website I found in a rebornpipes posting in which Steve’s research and summary of the Hilson name provides a great overview of the Fantasia. The title of this rebornpipes.com writeup resonates with my first impressions and sets the table for a great summary: Is it really a plastic smoking pipe? What is a Hilson Fantasia?

From my research on the web I found that the Hilson Fantasia, made in Belgium originally came out as a meerschaum lined pipe with an outer bowl made of a new material that they called pipenite. In 1962 it came out in what they called ivory white and in a colour they called tortoise. In 1963 they seemed to have added the option of a black pipenite bowl. From what I can find out about the material they call pipenite, it was a specially designed polyester resin. It was light weight and fairly indestructible. The block meerschaum insert was something that Hilson turned into a specialty. (I have restored some beautiful briar pipe with the Double Ecume or meerschaum liners as well.) These colourful resin pipes look like a product of the 60’s and in my research on Chris’ Pipe pages, http://pipepages.com/hilson.htm I found them in catalogues from that era. The swirled materials of the bowl gave the pipe a 60’s psychedelic look. I have included a catalogue page from a 1962 Wally Frank Catalogue that was on the pipepages site. The write up on the Hilson Fantasia is entertaining to read in terms of the sales pitch that is delivered.

Unfortunately, Chris’ Pipe Pages that Steve references above is now defunct, but the Pipedia Hilson article has the early 60’s Fantasia add Steve references which follows containing the great pipe pitch as the ‘Most Beautiful Pipe in the World’! Who could resist having a Fantasia in one’s collection!When I first took a close look at the Hilson Fantasia chosen by Daniel, I wondered what the butterscotch colored material was – plastic? Steve’s research revealed that the ‘pipenite’ described in the Wally Frank add is a specially designed polyester resin which is practically indestructible. The other noteworthy characteristic Steve referenced from the add is the quality Meerschaum block used in the Fantasia line. The add also makes a point regarding the long, smoking condenser which was Hilson’s contribution to the pipe world’s ‘holy grail’ – the dryer, cooler smoking experience. The lower inset box in the add above shows the #7 as among a large offering of shapes by Hilson equipped with the condenser.

With a better understanding of the history of the Hilson Fantasia on my worktable, I look closer at its condition. The Block Meerschaum chamber and rim are covered with a thick cake buildup with the lava over the rim. This needs cleaning to give the Meerschaum a fresh start. I’ve lightened the picture to enable the black surface to be visible.The stem has deep oxidation, and the bit has heavy tooth chatter on both upper and lower bit. The ‘Pipnite’ surface is dirty and should clean up well without problem. The only question I have is what first appeared as a crack in the polyster acrylic resin bowl but is most likely a scratch. The question is, how best to address this, if at all? The glassy surface probably does not respond well to sanding or if I did sand the surface or buff with a compound to erase the scratch, will the scratching of the abrasives (papers, pads or compound) be able to be removed? Or will sanding inevitably leave the highly glossed surface dulled? If this is the case, then any attempt to sand out the scratch will leave the repair area standing out from the rest of the Pipenite surface. My guess now is that it is an ‘all or nothing’ proposition – either sand/buff the whole stummel or not at all. With the question of the approach to the stummel a question, I decide to send a note to Steve to get his feedback on the behavior of Pipenite if sanded? While waiting for Steve’s response, I press on.

The cleaning of this Hilson stem began while I was still in Bulgaria and these pictures record the cleaning of the stem. Starting with 0000 grade steel wool, I rub and buff the long, heralded Hilson condenser. It spruces up the nickel condenser nicely.Following this, only a few pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl 95% clean the internal stem airway.Next, a ‘Soft Scrub’ product gets a head start breaking up the oxidation imbedded in the stem surface before continuing the cleaning by giving the stem a Before & After Deoxidizer soak. While protecting the Hilson stem stamp, using 0000 grade steel wool wetted with the CIF, the oxidation is mitigated. To further the cleaning of the stem, it joins other stems in the queue in a Before & After Deoxidizer soak. The stem soaks for several hours.After the soak is completed, the stem is fished out of the Deoxidizer allowing the fluid to drain off. A cotton pad wetted with isopropyl 95% is then used to wipe away the excess Deoxidizer from the stem surface. This is followed by using a few pipe cleaners, also wetted with isopropyl 95% to clear the Deoxidizer from the internal airway.The stem’s rejuvenation is commenced using paraffin oil and a cotton pad. The stem looks good.Earlier I sent a note to Steve to get his input on how best to approach the Pipenite surface scratch and the kind of material Pipenite is? His response was helpful in describing the universal lack of consensus on what ‘Pipenite’ is! Here’s Steve’s first response:

Hey Dal

The material on the Fantasia is described as everything from Bakelite to epoxy resin in a multitude of places. Others have called it plastic resin. some even fiber glass. To me nothing fits better than the resin concept… not sure about epoxy but everything about it is resin. It is not bakelite for sure…

Sanding the pipenite or resin leaves scratches that are nearly impossible to remove. I polished out a lot of scratches with my buffer and blue diamond polish and succeeded in not losing the lustre. Personally, I would buff it out best you can and leave it alone… war wounds from its travels.

To refresh my understanding of the unique composition of resin, I turn to a helpful Wikipedia article:

In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers.^[1] Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on naturally occurring resins.

Plants secrete resins for their protective benefits in response to injury. The resin protects the plant from insects and pathogens.^[2] Resins confound a wide range of herbivores, insects, and pathogens, the volatile phenolic compounds may attract benefactors such as parasitoids or predators of the herbivores that attack the plant.^[3]

Steve followed with another email with links from sites like Pinterest, Etsy, and Worthpoint, which are sales platforms with examples of different Hilson Fantasia offerings and the varied descriptions of the pipes running the gambit as Steve described above. I enjoyed looking at the Hilson Fantasias for sale on these sites which were of the ‘tortoise shell’ variety – nice. The collage below shows these examples.These examples reminded me of another Hilson Fantasia in my Pipe Steward inventory that also is a tortoise shell but has a significant crack in the stummel, so it never made it to the For “Pipe Dreamers” Only! online offerings – I just didn’t know what it was – or whether it was worth the effort being a ‘plastic’ pipe? I might give this Hilson another look!The tortoise shell is attractive, but the description by Steve that Pipenite is ‘practically indestructible’ found an example expanding ‘practically’! I still believe that Daniel’s Hilson Fantasia is marred by a scratch in the polyester resin shell, even if it is a trauma crack, perhaps from being dropped (?), it doesn’t appear to be such to question the pipe’s integrity with the Pipenet resin material. Turning now to the Hilson Block Meerschaum stummel, I start with clearing the Block Meerschaum chamber of the accumulation of carbon cake. As a reminder, Meerschaum does not need a protective layer as with briar pipes. It is best to keep the Meerschaum totally clean of buildup. In my own Meerschaums, after each use my practice is to gently scrape the chamber with a folded bristled pipe cleaner. This cleans the surface nicely keeping the Meerschaum in good shape. To allow a cake buildup can cause the Meerschaum to crack in time. Carbon cake expands differently from Meerschaum when heated and this can cause stressing on the Meerschaum. I take a couple pictures to mark the start of the cleaning process.The aft section of the rim reveals the lighting practices of the former steward – drawing the flame over the back. The crusted lava cake has totally covered the Meer rim lining and the Pipenet portion, too. Cleaning is needed to show what’s beneath.With Meerschaum, using my usual Pipnet Reaming Kit with the blade heads is not good. The torque created by this reaming approach can crack the Meer. Instead, using the slow, patient, less intrusive approach, the chamber wall is gently scraped using the Savinelli Fitsall Tool.The Fitsall Tool also does well to begin clearing the rim of lava flow. The approach is gentle! I then transfer to the sharper edge of the Winchester pocketknife. With the knife, the approach is more to ‘pull’ the blade carefully over the surface rather than to push the blade. I’m careful not to gouge the softer Meerschaum. With the rim scraping looking good, I transition to sanding the chamber by wrapping 240 grade sanding paper around a Sharpie Pen. I then continue the sanding on the rim using a small piece of 240 paper. I sand the rim gently and remove the lava and clean the rim nicely. To complete the main cleaning of the Meerschaum lining and finish, I wipe the bowl with a cotton pad wetted with isopropyl 99%. In Bulgaria, I was able to find isopropyl at 95% purity. Now in the US, I was able to find 99% which is about a pure as one can get. Switching now to the external ‘Pipenite’ surface, undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap is used to scrub with a cotton pad. The surface, as expected, cleans up very nicely. To guard the Meerschaum lining, instead of rinsing under a tap, I wet a cotton cloth and wipe the bowl to rinse off the soap. Next, the internal mortise is cleaned using several cotton buds dipped in isopropyl 99% and one pipe cleaner. After a time, the buds emerge lighter and it’s’ time to move on. Cleaning completed.The stem now awaits attention. The stem cleaned up nicely from the thick oxidation. Even though the HILSON FANTASIA stem stamping was protected during the process, it appears even more ghosted now. I’ll continue to protect this remnant by covering the stamping with painters’ tape during the next stages of sanding.Both the upper and lower bit have minor tooth chatter remaining along with a bite compression. I’ll begin to minimize the damage by the heating method. Vulcanite, a rubber compound, is an amazing material. Using a Bic lighter to paint flames on the bit, the heating causes the expanding of the vulcanite allowing it to regain much of its original composition. After several ‘flaming’ cycles, a few more on the lower bit, the comparison of before and after shows a distinct improvement with upper and lower. Using a piece of 240 sanding paper, I sand the residual tooth chatter which is dispatched without difficulty. I also refresh the button with a flat needle file and sand it with 240. From the 240 paper and file working on the bit and after placing tape over the stem stamping, the sanding is furthered first by wet sanding the entire stem with 600 grade paper. The 600 paper is followed by applying 0000 grade steel wool. Next, the full regimen of micromesh pads is applied to the stem. Starting with pads 1500 to 2400 the stem is wet sanded. This is followed by dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000. Between each set of 3 pads, Obsidian Oil is applied which rejuvenates the stem and helps to prevent future oxidation. The pop in a freshly micromeshed stem is nice! After the micromesh cycles are completed, the Hilson Fantasia stem and stummel are reunited to get a look at the progress. I discover that the union of tenon and mortise reveal a bit too much tightness. I know that the Pipenite is tough, but I don’t want to test it and inadvertently crack the shake trying to force the tenon in the mortise. To reduce the mortise pressure, 0000 steel wool is first used to see if this will clean the tenon allowing a seating. While pinching the tenon with the steel wool, I then rotate the stem to create the abrasion. After using the steel wool, the fit is tried again, and it remains too tight.Next, 240 is employed in the same way to reduce the pressure by sanding the tenon. This does the trick. The mortise now receives the tenon snugly. I finish the tenon smoothing with 600 paper and 0000 steel wool and reunite the Hilson stem and stummel.Next, after mounting a cotton cloth buffing wheel on the rotary tool, the speed is set to about 40% full power and Blue Diamond compound is applied to stem and stummel. I start with the Pipenite stummel with a bit of fear and trembling. Steve had used the compound on his Fantasia projects but the anxiety stewing in my mind was, will the Blue Diamond buff up the glossy surface or will it apply fine scratchings that become impossible to remove? I gingerly start applying the compound with the Dremel’s cotton cloth buffing wheel and to my joy, the surface is responding very nicely to the fine tune buffing of the Blue Diamond. I continue with the stummel then the stem. I like the results. The gloss of the Pipenite is enhanced with additional glow and the removal of fine marks and scratches on the resin surface.Before applying wax to the pipe, I spruce up the BLOCK MEERSCHAUMLINED stamping on the right shank side with Rub ‘n Buff European Gold metallic paint. The gold and the butterscotch hue of the stummel will go well.As the name implies, after rubbing some of the metallic paint with a toothpick over the lettering and number, I simply rub it off with the flat edge of a toothpick then a cotton pad. The result is good. The ghosting of the stem stamping leaves me with no hope of freshening it with white acrylic paint, so it remains as it is – bearing the wear of its service.After wiping the entire pipe with a felt cloth to remove residue compound dust, another cotton cloth wheel is mounted with the speed remaining the same. Carnauba wax is applied to the entire pipe followed by a rigorous hand buffing with a microfiber cloth to raise the shine further.

This Hilson Fantasia Block Meerschaum Lined has transformed amazingly from being an interesting gimmick pipe to becoming an extremely attractive alternative pipe to briar. The butterscotch hue of the bowl pops in relationship to quality Block Meerschaum lining. The added benefit is the ability of the Meerschaum to be used repeatedly without rest, unlike briars. This makes for much fellowship! The timeless classic lines of a Billiard make this Hilson Fantasia a great addition to a collection and possibly to add to one’s regular rotation. Daniel commissioned this pipe and will have the first opportunity to claim it from The Pipe Steward Store benefitting the Daughters of Bulgaria. Thanks for joining me!

Breathing New Life into a WDC Wellington Jumbo French Briar

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to us from a group of pipes that we purchased from an antique mall in 2018 in Newport, Oregon, USA. It is a large WDC Wellington Jumbo Pipe with a fancy hard rubber stem. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Wellington [over] French Briar separated by the WDC Triangle. The right side is stamped Made in U.S.A. There is a stamp on the metal shank cap/ferrule that reads Nickel Plated. This is a nice piece of briar with interesting grain all the way around the bowl. The finish had a lot of grime ground into it. There is also a large area of road rash on the front of the bowl where it has obviously been dropped on a hard surface. The bowl was moderately caked and there was a lava coat on the top and the inner edge of the rim. The rim top has deep scratches in the surface and the bowl appears to be out of round under the lava coat. The stem was oxidized, calcified and had tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button. The bent stem had straightened over time and would need to be re-bent. The stem bore the WDC Triangle logo stamped on the top ahead of the saddle. It was also stamped Wellington in an arch under the triangle logo. The pipe showed promise but it was very dirty. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and the condition of the rim top and beveled inner edges. You can see the cake in the bowl, the lava on the rim top and the damage to both the top and inner edge. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the oxidation, calcification and chatter and tooth marks. There are also flecks of metal in the hard rubber stem that I have seen in pipes of this time period in the past. Jeff took a photo of the right side and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar looked like.He took photos of the stamping on the shank and the stem. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable. I turned to Pipedia’s article on WDC (William Demuth) pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/William_Demuth_Company). I have included one of the advertising flyers on the Wellington Jumbo below. Look at the price of this pipe when it was sold.Now it was time to work on the pipe. Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe and bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. The rim top and edges of the rim were in rough condition. The rim top was chipped, scratched and had gouges in the surface. The inner edge of the bowl was out of round and had burn and reaming damage. The outer edge also showed nicks and damage as well. The stem surface looked very good with some tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.I took photos of the stamping on the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The stem is a fancy saddle version. I decided to start my work on the pipe by addressing the damage on the rim top and the edges of the bowl. I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the damage on the flat surface and clean up the edges at the same time. I worked over the out of round inner edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper until I had brought it back to round. I gave it a slight bevel to take care of the burn damage and chipping. I decided to address the road rash on the bowl front next. There were deep gouges and nicks in the surface of the briar. Interestingly when Jeff cleaned the pipe some of them were raised. What was left behind would not be lifted any further. I filled in the remaining marks in the briar with clear super glue. Once the glue cured I sanded it smooth and blended it into the surrounding briar. I would polish it with micromesh when I worked on the rest of the bowl surface. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The pipe was in such good condition that started by rubbing it down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips. 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. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I decided to deal with bending it to the proper angle first. I inserted a long pipe cleaner in the stem heated the stem with my heat gun until the rubber was flexible. I carefully bent it so that it matched the flow of the stem. I cooled it with running cool water to set the bend. Once it cooled I inserted it in the stem and took photos. Now it was time to work on the tooth marks on the stem. I sanded them out with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing the stem surface with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. Note the white specks on the black rubber ahead of the button and on the button edge in the photo below. Those are actually bit of metal in the rubber. This was typical of pipes made during the war when recycled tires were used to make rubber stems.I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I touched up the gold stamping in the logo on the top of the saddle stem with Rub’n Buff Antique Gold. It is a great product and easy to apply. I rubbed it into the stem with a tooth pick and once it was well worked in I wiped the stem down with a soft cloth to remove the excess. The resulting stamp looked very good! This WDC Wellington Jumbo French Made Bent Billiard with a the polished briar, polished nickel ferrule and fancy saddle stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The parts all come together to form a great looking piece. The beautiful grain that shines through the polished finish is stunning. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad which really brings the shine out with the wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Wellington Jumbo fits nicely in the hand and feels great and will truly be a pipe to be smoked while sitting and reading or listening to music. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 10 inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 93gr/3.25oz. I will be adding it to the American Pipe Maker section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Wow what amazing grain on this tired looking Selected Straight Grain Canadian

1 Reply

Blog by Steve Laug

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer and removed the rest of it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. I took a photo of the rim top to show the interior the bowl and the rim top and inner edge. The rim top and edges were quite damaged with nicks, dents, darkening and burn marks. The vulcanite tape stem is in decent condition with light tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. I took a photo of the top left side of the shank to try to capture the stamping that was there. It is too faint to pick up with my camera.I found a photo of the same shank stamp when I did a google search for Selected Straight Grain pipes. It perfectly matches the one that is barely visible on the pipe that I am working on now. It is faint but it is identical to that in the photo to the left.

I took the stem off the bowl and took a picture of the parts of the pipe to give a sense of the beauty of the grain on this pipe.Before I started my work on the pipe I wanted to double check the connection that my brain had made when I made out the stamping. I turned to a blog that I had written on the restoration of another Selected Straight Grain pipe (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/selected-straight-grain-pipes/). This is what I found.

…I did a bit of hunting online and read on Pipedia that these pipes were made by Comoy’s and were essentially “Specimen Straight Grain” (exceptional line of Comoy’s pipes). The Selected Straight Grain pipes were seconds to the Specimen line that exhibited some small flaw or sand pit. They were listed in the 1965 catalogue at $15 or $17.50 in Extraordinaire size.

I decided to begin my work on the pipe by addressing the damage to the rim top and edges. I topped the bowl on a piece of 220 grit sandpaper on a topping board. Once I had finished I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to rework the inner edge of bowl. It took some time but I was able to bring it back to a pretty clean condition. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped down the bowl after each sanding pad. I carefully avoided damaging the already faint stamping. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips 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. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. It looks quite nice at this point. With that done the bowl was finished other than the final buffing. I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I used the pads to remove the tooth marks on the stem on both sides near the button. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I was just getting ready to post the final photos of the restored pipe when my daughter’s dog, Frankie came and climbed up on the desk top and laid down in front of me with his head on my arm. He has taken it upon himself to be my buddy when I am working on pipes.

With Frankie’s help I am posting these last photos of the pipe. This beautifully grained Comoy’s Made Selected Straight Grain Canadian is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The briar is clean and really came alive. The rich medium brown coloured stain gave the grain a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. The grain really popped. I put the vulcanite stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Selected Straight Grain Canadian is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 26grams/.92oz. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next pipeman or woman.

Rescuing a Forsaken ‘No Name’ Smooth Meerschaum Billiard

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Blog by Dal Stanton

This No Name Smooth Meerschaum Billiard was obviously much loved and used by its former steward, but he is a mess! I’m glad Daniel chose this needy Meerschaum as one of the 7 pipes he commissioned from the For “Pipe Dreamers” Only! online collection. The ‘Dreamers’ collection is available for pipe men and women to peruse and choose vintage pipes of varying conditions to be resurrected and adopted. Some pipes are more needy than others and this No Name Meerschaum qualifies as among the needier! Yet herein is the challenge for those of us who seek to restore pipes to their former glory and sometimes even better than new: so that they will have another life in service of a new steward.

I acquired this No Name Smooth Meerschaum in 2018 when my son, who was then studying in St. Louis for his master’s degree, came upon a lot of 26 pipes in an antique shop. Josiah proposed that he contribute to part of the purchase price with the condition that I would choose one pipe among the 26 as a Christmas gift from him – an offer I could not refuse! I chose the huge French made Champion Churchwarden in the center. It was a good Christmas for me! The No Name Meer is on the bottom of the picture below – a pipe that pipe man Daniel chose, a Green Bay, Wisconsin, resident, that required a lot of dreaming on his part!Taking a closer look now at the No Name Meer, I take more pictures to show its condition. Now, looking even more closely at the chamber shows a thick cake which Meerschaum pipes do not need! In fact, no carbon cake buildup is better. In briar pipes the rule of thumb is a cake the width of a US dime is good to maintain to help protect the briar from premature burn deterioration. Meerschaum is a mined material that does not deteriorate from the heating of the chamber. A thick cake could result in cracking the Meerschaum as the carbon expands with its heating. A quick review of the qualities of Meerschaum come from the Altinok Pipes’ website:

The noble Meerschaum is unique among pipes. Its mysterious properties make it a perfect smoke and, at the same time, a work of art; a pipe highly prized by the Connoisseur and beginning smoker alike. Meerschaum is a German word meaning sea foam. The geologist knows the light, porous Meerschaum as hydrous magnesium silicate. The pipe smoker knows it as the perfect material for providing a cool, dry, flavorful smoke. The mineral itself is the fossilized shells of tiny sea creatures that fell to the ocean floor over 50 million years ago, there to be covered and compressed over the ages by layer upon layer of silt. Profound movements in the earth’s crust raised the creamy white stone of Meerschaum above sea level. Their men eventually discovered it and created an incomparable pipe from it. The first record of Meerschaum as a pipe dates from around 1723.

The rim is also severely caked with lava. The smooth Billiard stummel surface shows many scratches and cuts amid the dirt also caked over much of the surface. These closer pictures survey the stummel’s condition. During the stummel survey, I see a small crack in the Meerschaum’s right side of the shank. Looking at the shank facing, the crack line continues to the acrylic push tenon insert. It doesn’t appear that this crack is creeping and might pose a problem of integrity to the shank. This observation is based upon the push tenon insert prohibiting any expansion of the mortise. The crack most likely happened with a hit on the stem or a drop – only guesses. One thing is for certain, this crack certainly has not kept the pipe from rugged use! After cleaning the area, it may be helpful to place a small line of CA glue to seal the hair line crack and to reinforce to be on the safe side of things.The acrylic stem has seen better days too! It needs a thorough cleaning inside and out. The acrylic stem is rough and faded. The bit has been chewed up. To begin the restoration of the No Name Meer Billiard, I begin with clearing the cake in the chamber. I do not use the Pipnet Reaming Kit blade heads as is the norm with briar pipes. This could create more surface torque than is good and crack the Meerschaum. Instead, a slower and less invasive approach is to begin with carefully scraping the chamber with the Savinelli Fitsall Tool and Winchester pocketknife. With these tools in hand, the caked rim is also carefully scraped. I repeatedly use ‘carefully’ describing the approach to cleaning the Meerschaum. As a stone-like substance it can crack and gouge if I’m too aggressive. Patience is good. From the scraping, I transition to sanding the chamber using a Sharpie Pen wrapped with 240 grade paper. I like the progress. Continuing the cleaning process now on the external Meer surface, I use undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap on a cotton pad and scrub the stummel and rim. I take a couple ‘starting’ pictures to mark the progress. I’m looking forward to what the Murphy’s Soap can do for this ‘No Name’! After scrubbing with the cotton pad and Murphy’s, instead of rinsing the soap off in the sink, I use a wet cotton cloth to wipe the stummel and remove the soap. I don’t want to saturate the Meer with water in the sink. The pictures may not show it as clearly as I can see it, but the difference after the cleaning is remarkable. Not only is the dirt and soil removed, but now the residual hue is identifiable as patina. There is a gentle darkening of the Meerschaum and some identifiable ‘hot spots’ of the coveted patina. As the Meerschaum pipe is smoked, the Meer absorbs the oils of the tobacco and smoke and this gradually darkens the stummel with a honey-like hue. The value of Meerschaum pipes increases with this patina. Before moving to cleaning the internals of the stummel, I address the darkened scorching of the rim. The scraping improved the rim’s appearance appreciable, yet it still needs to be cleaned up further. To do this I use medium and light sanding sponges to top the stummel. Using sanding sponges gently is not as intrusive as sanding paper. A closeup of the rim not only show the staining but also small chipping on the rim’s edge. After inverting the stummel on the sponges, starting with the medium grade sponge, the stummel is rotated over the sponges. The results are good. The rim still shows some patina but is cleaned up considerably. The pictures above and below show two distinctive and distracting (to me!) residual dark spots in the chamber just below the rim. I use the Sharpie Pen wrapped with 240 grade paper carefully to sand the spots to remove them. The potential problem with this pinpointed sanding is to create in the rim a wobble in the circle of the inner rim lip. This I want to avoid as well.The result is good!Next, I use the light grade sanding sponge and lightly sand the stummel to clean and smooth it somewhat. Again, the sanding sponge is gentle on the surface. To polish and smooth the surface, next I apply to the stummel surface the last 4 micromesh pads, 4000 to 12000. It is not my purpose to sand out all the nicks and marks that have left imperfections in the Meerschaum. I want to guard the aged patina that this No Name Meer has earned. I’ve read on groups and forums that often restoration of Meerschaum pipes is too aggressive, and the goal is somewhat different than briar pipes. With briars, a restoration seeks to return the pipe to its original pristine unsmoked state. However, with Meerschaums that have aged, the value is to preserve the current good state of that aging process – preserving the hues and patina. Aggressive sanding would remove all imperfections but also return the Meerschaum to a pure white state – the color that Meerschaums generally have in the store (there are exceptions to this!). Before moving on to the stem, I clean the internals of the stummel using cotton buds and pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl 99%. A small dental spoon is used to reach into the mortise, beyond the push tenon insert, to scrape the walls. Shank brushes also were used to complete the task.Now to the stem. Using pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl 99% I go do work on the internals of the stem. The tenon is also cleaned up using cotton pads and alcohol. I use a long dental probe to scrape and clean around the internals of the tenon as well. My assumption is that the stem is acrylic, but it feels almost like plastic in some ways. It doesn’t appear to be a high-grade acrylic, but it does clean up in time and I move on! I mentioned earlier that this pipe was well loved by his former steward. Well loved. but poorly maintained! With the stem clean, I take another look at the condition of the bit. The bit has been chewed excessively with tooth compressions littering the landscape on the upper and lower bit. The former steward obviously used this pipe to contemplate much or comfortably clinching while his hands were free actively engaged in other activities on the workbench or table. An attempt to only sand out this damage would leave the acrylic dangerously thin so I decide to build up the bit area using clear CA glue which will be transparent and able to allow the stem color to come through. The bit is thoroughly cleaned using a cotton pad wetted with isopropyl 99%. I want the bit as clean as possible because I don’t want to encase a dirty stem! Discoloration will show through the patch. To build up the compressed and chewed bit I apply a few layers of CA glue. I use an accelerator after the application of each layer to build up the patch material. The accelerator causes the glue to cure very quickly keeping it in place. I also apply a few layers of CA to the button lip – upper and lower, which have also sustained some chewing damage. After applying the CA glue, with the hour late, the lights are switched off and the stem will await tomorrow’s efforts! The next morning, I have a few hours in the earlier morning to work on the No Name Meerschaum and to do some activities on the ‘to do’ list with my wife! Still getting settled here in Golden, Colorado, had me hanging pictures in the foyer as one of the items on the list! Also, grandchildren will be coming over this morning while their super mom goes to the local Costco to stock up on the necessities. The CA patch has cured through the night. With the bit CA patch ready for filing, I begin the shaping using a flat needle file. I initially file along the button to reestablish and refresh the lip. I’ll leave the button lips for sanding later. After the lip has been scored and defined, filing continues to bring the patch down to the acrylic stem’s surface. The process is the same for the upper and lower bit.And lower:Next, I use the flat needle file to flatten and define the slot facing. Then, using a sharp, rounded needle file, the slot itself is cleaned up and sharpened. I like how it’s looking!With the main filing completed, the process transitions to 240 sanding paper. The focus is on continuing to smooth and shape the bit and button patch area, but the sanding is expanded to the entire stem to clean the roughness and cuts. I utilize a plastic disc on the tenon side to guard the crisp edge from shouldering. Transitioning next to 600 grade sanding paper, the entire stem is again sanded followed by applying 0000 grade steel wool. The transformation of the stem has been remarkable. On a roll, the stem is next the recipient of the full regimen of micromesh pads. Starting with pads 1500 to 2400, the stem is wet sanded. Then, with pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000, the stem is dry sanded. Between each set of 3 pads, Obsidian Oil is applied to help rejuvenate the acrylic stem. As I was sanding, I asked my wife what kind of material she thought this stem was? Her response was that it was acrylic, but that it had a different feel to it than other acrylic materials. I had asked her because I noticed as I was moving through the micromesh pads, normally I would expect the acrylic to shine more during the micromesh progression. This stem did, but only little. Instead of glossing up, it deepened it color and remains a more of a matte finish. I asked her next what color she would say it was? Her response after rattling off a few colors and then shaking them off – ‘no’, she settled on a dark mottled ivory. That sounds good to me! After completing the micromesh cycles, the stem and stummel were reunited to get a look at the progress to this point. I’m liking very much what I’m seeing. Before moving forward, the question of the small crack on the right side of the shank is in view. Because the crack is not a new one and it doesn’t appear to have any pressure on it so that it would progress, it wouldn’t appear to be an impediment to the integrity of the shank. Yet, I decide to be on the safe side to apply a small amount of clear, thin, CA glue to the crack line. In the picture below, the scratch to the left of the crack is not a crack, but a deeper scratch. At first glance one is left with the impression that it is a triangular fissure that would inevitably break. I’ve inserted arrows to identify the crack. To shore up the crack, the thin CA glue applied fills the fissure and when cured, should provide additional reinforcement. I put the stummel aside to allow the CA glue to cure.After the CA glue cures, using a 240 grade piece of sanding paper tightly rolled, I surgically sanded the thin mound of patch material running down the crack line. I want to keep the abrasion of sanding off the Meerschaum surface surrounding the patch. When the mound is removed, I follow by wet sanding with grade 600 paper to further smooth and blend.Call me a perfectionist and it would not be false. After finishing sanding the shank crack patch, I did a quick survey of the surface of the Meerschaum Billiard stummel and I wasn’t satisfied that the surface was as clean as it should be. I decide to run the stummel through the full micromesh regimen by dry sanding with pads 1500 to 12000. I’m satisfied now. Next, I apply beeswax to the Meerschaum stummel. Beeswax has been used to polish and protect Meerschaum for a millennium. The beeswax on my table came with me from Bulgaria and it is a darker hue. The Meer seems to respond well to it. I keep the wax in a mason jar that is impervious to heat. I use a hot air gun to heat and melt the beeswax in the jar. I then use a real, horsehair paint brush to apply the melted wax to the stummel surface after the stummel is also warmed with the hot air gun. I’ve learned the hard way not to use a synthetic brush because it will melt. When the wax has melted, I paint the stummel. I direct the hot air gun on the stummel while I’m doing this to help keep the wax thin during application.The beeswax congeals quickly and I allow it to cool.After cooled, the edge of a former clothespin is used to scrape the excess wax off the stummel surface. This helps to remove the hardened wax before using a cloth rag.Next, using a microfiber cloth I continue to wipe and rub the stummel to remove the excess congealed wax. This takes some time because the beeswax is firm and isn’t easily wiped off. When the excess is finally removed gradually in the progression, it’s nice to see the beeswax shine on the clean Meerschaum emerge! The beeswax is absorbed into the microscopic, porous surface of the Meerschaum.Next, with the stummel now waiting for the stem, I mount a cotton cloth buffing wheel to the rotary tool and set it at about 40% full power and I begin to apply Blue Diamond to the stem alone. The effort did not last long. As I started applying the Blue Diamond compound with the rotary tool, I notice almost immediately that the surface of the stem rippled from the heat generated by both the high spin of the buffing wheel and the compound. I stop immediately. I discovered that the material composition of the stem does not tolerate the speed and the friction. I decide to forgo application of Blue Diamond and try my hand at applying carnauba wax to the stem. I set the speed slightly slower and move the wheel more rapidly over the surface of the stem as I apply the carnauba wax. It works well and I had no further difficulties.After some thought, I decide on one additional project for the No Name Meerschaum Billiard. Earlier I started thinking about adding a band to the pipe to not only give added support for the shank crack repair, but in addition, give this No Name a bit of classy bling. I went through my assortment of brass bands and ferrules and found a perfect candidate. I found a perfect brass ring that wraps the facing edge and fit just over the end of the shank. To complete the mounting of the ring fully over the shank facing, I heat it with a hair dryer which softens the metal allowing it to expand. After the ring is heated enough, I firmly direct the shank downward pressing the ring more firmly in place over the end of the shank facing. It works perfectly.I like the look of the brass ring – it adds a bit of class to a very deserving No Name that has come a long way, endured a lot and ready to serve again! The stem and stummel are reunited and the restoration is finished with a rigorous hand buffing with a microfiber cloth. I’ve enjoyed seeing this battered pipe come back to life. As I said at the beginning – the fact that it had been used into almost oblivion proves that he’s a good smoker as a classic Meerschaum. Now he’s ready for a second life. This No Name Meerschaum Billiard is Daniel’s third pipe of seven that he has commissioned and he will have the first opportunity to claim the Meerschaum in The Pipe Store benefiting the Daughters of Bulgaria – women who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. Thanks for joining me!

Fresh Life for a Small Imported Briar Kettle Mini Churchwarden

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a mini churchwarden that we picked up somewhere in our travels. Neither of us remembers where we found it but it is an interesting pipe. Looking at it brought back all kinds of memories. Do you remember when the Salvation Army used have the big kettle sitting on the side walk or hanging from a tripod in front of shops during the Christmas season? There would be folks ringing bells there and taking donations for their work with the poor. When I look at this pipe that is what I see in the bowl. It is shaped like a kettle with feet on the bottom of the bowl. The feet make it a sitter. It is a nice looking briar bowl with rusticated triangles on both side of the bowl and the rest of the bowl is a mix of various grains. The long vulcanite stem is tweaked to the left from sitting in the heat somewhere and will need to be straightened out and re-bent. The bowl has a rich reddish brown colour combination that highlights grain. The pipe has some grime ground into the surface of the rustication and the smooth finish. This pipe is stamped on the sides of the shank. On the left it reads Imported Briar. On the underside it reads Made in Italy. There is a thick cake in the bowl and an overflow of lava on the top and inner edge of the bowl. The rim top looks good but it is hard to be certain with the lava coat. The stem was oxidized, calcified and there were some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The pipe looks to be in good condition under the grime. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup. He took photos of the rim top to show the thick cake and the thick lava coat. It is hard to know what the condition of the rim top and edges is like under that thick lava. It is an incredibly dirty pipe but obviously one that was a great smoker. The vulcanite taper stem had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. He took a photo of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the mixture of grain around the bowl and the condition of the pipe. You can see the grime ground into the surface of the briar. He took a photo of the stamping on the left and underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. It was time to work on the pipe. As usual Jeff had done a thorough cleanup on the pipe. He reamed the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. One of the benefits of this scrub is that it also tends to lift some of the scratches and nicks in the surface of the briar. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He cleaned the internals and externals of the stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water and cleaned out the airway in the stem with alcohol. Other than the damaged rim top and twisted stem the pipe looked good. I took a photo of the rim top and stem to show the condition. The inner edge of the bowl was in very rough condition. The rim top and the edges of the bowl had darkening, burn marks and some nicking. The vulcanite stem had light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button and on the button edges. It also was slightly twisted to the left side. The stamping on the sides of the shank is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. It is a interesting looking pipe that should clean up very well. I started working on the pipe by wiping the bowl down with acetone to remove the spotty varnish coat from the bowl and shank. I wiped it down with a cotton pad until the varnish coat was gone and the grain began to stand out. I liked the way the rusticated panels looked at this point as well. I reworked the damaged rim top and edges. I worked over the rim top and inner bevel of the rim with 220 grit sandpaper. I smooth out the damage and gave the rim top and edge a clean look that would polish out nicely. I wiped the rim top down with a damp cloth to remove the dust and debris. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped down the bowl after each sanding pad. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain stood out. I set the bowl aside and turned to the stem. I heated it with a heat gun and worked the twist out of the vulcanite. I also gave it a more subtle bend that allowed the feet on the kettle bowl to sit flat on the desk top. I polished the Lucite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. The photo below shows the polished stem. This nicely grained Imported Briar Kettle Mini Churchwarden with a long taper stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The briar is clean and really came alive. The rich reddish, brown stains gave the grain a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. The grain really popped. I put the vulcanite stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Kettle Mini Churchwarden is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 7 inches, Height: 1 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ½ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 19grams/.67oz.Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Fresh Life for a Savinelli Oscar Lucite 111KS Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to us 2018 from a fellow in Pocatello, Idaho, USA. It is a nice looking Billiard with cross grain and birdseye grain and has a Fancy Lucite half saddle stem. The Lucite stem fits the name on the left side Oscar Lucite. The bowl has a rich reddish brown colour combination that highlights grain. The pipe has some grime ground into the surface of the briar. The finish had a few small fills around the sides but they blended in fairly well. This pipe is stamped on the sides of the shank. On the left it reads Oscar [over] Lucite. On the right it has a Savinelli “S” Shield and next to that was the shape number 111KS [over] Italy. There is a thick cake in the bowl and an overflow of lava on the top beveled inner edge of the bowl. The rim top looks good but it is hard to be certain with the lava coat. There were some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the Lucite stem near the button. The pipe looks to be in good condition under the grime. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup. He took photos of the rim top to show the thick cake and the thick lava coat. It is hard to know what the condition of the rim top and edges is like under that thick lava. It is an incredibly dirty pipe but obviously one that was a great smoker. The acrylic half saddle stem had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. He took a photo of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the beautiful grain around the bowl and the condition of the pipe. You can see the grime ground into the surface of the briar. He took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. On the underside of the shank it is stamped Savinelli Product. I turned first to Pipephil’s site to look at the Savinelli write up there and see if I could learn anything about the Oscar Lucite line (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-savinelli3.html). There was a listing for the Oscar Lucite and I did a screen capture of the pertinent section.I looked up the Savinelli brand on Pipedia to see if I could find the Oscar Lucite line and the 111KS Shape (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Savinelli). There was nothing that tied directly to the line I am working on. There is a detailed history of the brand there that is a good read. I also captured the shape chart and boxed in the 111KS shape in red. The shape is identical to the one that I am working on. The stem on this one is the original shape that was on the Lucite Line but there was no shooting star logo on the left side.It was time to work on the pipe. As usual Jeff had done a thorough cleanup on the pipe. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. One of the benefits of this scrub is that it also tends to lift some of the scratches and nicks in the surface of the briar. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He cleaned the internals and externals of the stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub all-purpose cleanser and rinsed it off with warm water and cleaned out the airway in the stem with alcohol. Other than the damaged rim top the pipe looked good. I took a photo of the rim top and stem to show the condition. The rim top was in very rough condition. The rim top and the edges of the bowl had darkening, burn marks and some nicking. The Lucite half saddle stem had light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button and on the button edges. The stamping on the sides of the shank is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. It is a nice looking billiard that should clean up very well. I started working on the pipe by dealing with the damaged rim top and edges. I topped the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on a topping board. I worked over the rim top and inner bevel of the rim with 220 grit sandpaper. I smooth out the damage and gave the rim top and edge a clean look that would polish out nicely. I wiped the rim top down with a damp cloth to remove the dust and debris. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped down the bowl after each sanding pad. I stained the rim top with an Oak stain pen to match the rest of the bowl. Once I buffed and polished the bowl it would be a perfect match. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain stood out. I polished the Lucite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. The photo below shows the polished stem. This nicely grained Savinelli Made Oscar Lucite 11KS Billiard with Lucite half saddle stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The briar is clean and really came alive. The rich reddish, brown stains gave the grain a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. The grain really popped. I put the vulcanite stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Oscar Lucite Billiard is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 46grams/1.62oz.Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Restoring a No Name Tortoise Shell Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is one that neither Jeff nor I remember picking up. It could have come to us through a trade for work on a pipe or it could have come from one of an earlier pipe hunts that either Jeff or I did. Either way, the long and short of it is that this is another pipe that we have no idea how it came into our hands. It is an attractive no name billiard with a tortoise shell stem with a fancy trio of acrylic and wood decoration on the shank end of the stem. It had a smooth finish on the bowl and a inwardly beveled rim top. Under grime on the finish it appears that pipe may have had a light brown or tan stain to highlight the grain around the bowl. There were a few small sand pit fills around the bowl on the left back and the top and right side of the shank. The pipe had no stamping on the shank or underside. There was also no identifying stamp on the stem. It was in decent condition when I brought it to the table. The finish was dirty with grime ground into the briar sides and rim. There was a light cake in the bowl and light lava on the rim top and some damage on rear inner edge of the bowl. The stem was dirty but otherwise in good condition. There were light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and near the button. I took photos of the pipe before my cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the promise that we see in this pipe. I took a photo of the rim top to show the interior the bowl and the rim top and inner edge. It is moderately caked with some damage to the rim top and edges and some lava coat on the right and back top of the rim. The Tortoise Shell stem is in decent condition with light tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. The two black acrylic bands were slightly smaller in diameter than the stem and the wooden insert so it gave those areas a slight bulge. I would need to smooth out the transition on both sides of the black acrylic on the stem.I took photos of the sides of the shank to show the lack of stamping. There was no stamping on the shank so it was a bit of a mystery pipe. I took the stem off the bowl and took a picture of the parts of the pipe to give a sense of the parts of the pipe.I decided to begin my work on the pipe by addressing the damage to the rim top and edges. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean off the rim top and the inner edge of bowl. It took some time but I was able to bring it back to a pretty clean condition. There is a large fill on the rim top on the back right side.The pipe had been reamed recently so all I had to do with it was clean out the shank and airway in the shank and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. I was surprised that I also was removing some brown stain from the end of the shank. The diameter of the shank and the diameter of the black Lucite bands on the stem did not match. I decided to sand down the shank and stem to try and smooth out the transition between them. I sanded the shank as well as the bowl and rim top with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. After each pad I wiped the briar down with a damp cloth. This served a dual purpose of both removing the sanding debris and the dust that had accumulated in the rustication patterns around the bowl and shank. Once I was finished the flow between the stem and shank was much smoother. I touched up the light areas on the sanded shank and the rim top with a Maple stain pen that matched the finish on the rest of the bowl very well. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips 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. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. It looks quite nice at this point. With that done the bowl was finished other than the final buffing. I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. I had sanded the stem earlier to deal with the flow of the bands on the stem end. I also sanded it with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I used the pads to remove the tooth marks on the stem on both sides near the button. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I am excited to finish this No Name Tortoise Shell Stem Billiard. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the grain popping through on the bowls sides and rim top. Added to that the polished Tortoise Shell acrylic stem was beautiful. This smooth finished Billiard turned out to be a nice looking pipe that feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 49grams/1.73oz. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store in the Metal and Pipes from Various Makers section soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next pipeman or woman.