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Refreshing a Beldor Studio Mini Churchwarden Paneled Apple of Saint Claude

Blog by Dal Stanton

The Beldor Studio on my worktable now came to me from what I call the French Lot of 50. I was tipped off by a fellow pipe man friend in Romania who acquired a L. J. Peretti Oom Paul from me. He saw 5 different lots of pipes on the French eBay auction block and sent me a note. My thinking is that one of the Lots might be a good addition to my online collection, For “Pipe Dreamers” Only!, where pipes may be commissioned by those who can see the potential of unrestored pipes. The different lots were from the same seller in Paris and his approach to selling these lots was like throwing bloody chum in shark infested waters! Each lot was in a pile of pipes with different angles of the pile pictured in the lot’s listing. Studying each of the piles was exhilarating trying to see markings on the pipes and characteristics that might reveal treasures in the mix. I finally chose to bid on one of the French Lots because it had a very interesting Cutty shape (Restoration here: A Cutty Tavern Pipe – Recommissioning a Historical Classic as a Gift for a Steward of History) sprawled across the top of the pile and several other very, very interesting candidates. The other characteristic of the French Lot of 50 that drew my attention were several pipes brandishing horn stems – very much pointing toward WW2 and post era pipes when rubber was scarce, and horn became a predominant replacement for stems. With some effort, I found the Beldor Studio buried in the middle of the pile – one arrow on the inverted stummel and the other on the end of the stem barely visible. I bid on the French Lot of 50 and the bid prevailed. It did not take long for the package to come from Paris reaching me in Sofia, Bulgaria.When the pipes arrived, I did my normal cataloging of each pipe and promoting their arrival on various Facebook Pipe groups and many of these pipes have already been restored and with new stewards. The Beldor Studio was waiting for Daniel to find in the online collection, For “Pipe Dreamers” Only! I received Daniel’s inquiry about commissioning the Beldor and he identified himself as the son of a colleague and acquaintance of mine in Pennsylvania! Daniel expressed his enjoyment of reading the write ups on the restoration of pipes and that he was interested in the Beldor Studio. I sent this description of the Beldor to help Daniel with his decision:

I appreciate your interest! The pipe you are interested in is a sweet pipe. I called it a small Churchwarden, or it could possibly be categorized as a ‘Pencil Stem Panel’. It’s a petite size and the paneled bowl is very nice. I haven’t worked on a pipe with this marking before so I can’t say at this point anything about the collectability of a ‘Beldor Studio’ so we’re looking primarily at the pipe itself.

I’m glad that in the end, after giving Daniel an estimate of the final valuing of the pipe, he agreed and the Beldor Studio went into The Pipe Steward queue of pipes that benefit the Daughters of Bulgaria – women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. Here are pictures of the Mini Churchwarden or Pencil Stem that got Daniel’s attention with a measurement of 7 1/2 inches in length and the bowl height of 1 1/8 inches.The only markings on the pipe are on the left shank flank with these stampings: ‘BELDOR’ [over] ‘STUDIO’. The stem is stamped with a circle.This is one of those frustrating pipes that are seen in many places on the internet for sale, but not much is known. The nomenclature on the Beldor Studio gives no indication of country of manufacturer (COM) but it becomes evident that the origins are French and from the pipe making center, Saint Claude. Pipephil.eu confirms the French origins. The lettering of ‘Beldor’ is the same with the circle stem stamp being the same.Pipedia only confirms a French origin and adds different lines with the Beldor name: Maker unknown; series: De Luxe, Golf, Western. The Saint Claude origin in France simply comes from a Beldor pipes that are listed for sale on various sites with the nomenclature on these pipes include Saint Claude. Here is one such example (LINK):I searched for some connection to an actual manufacturer in Saint Claude and could find none. As a ‘hail Mary’ I sent some emails to pipe shops located in Saint Claude to see if any might have more information. We’ll see what if I receive any helpful responses! I did confirm the Beldor ‘Studio’ as the specific line for the Mini Churchwarden with this offering on a French eBay listing that described the center pipe as “BELDOR STUDIO BRUYERE SAINT CLAUDE”.I now take a closer look at the pipe on my worktable. I like the petite panel bowl mounted on the pencil stem. It has Churchwarden proportions but on the miniature. The diminutive bowl would work well when one doesn’t have a lot of time to enjoy a bowl. For me, I’m not a strong, nicotine ‘kick in your pants’, tobacco person, but I do like trying stronger tobaccos but in smaller portions. This bowl would be perfect for this. The former steward used this pipe as the chamber indicates some cake build up. The beveled paneled rim has a heavy lava flow caked on it and this needs to be cleaned and refreshed.The hexagonal paneled apple bowl is very attractive. It is dirty with grime and reveals normal scratches and scuffs from wear but reveals some genuinely nice grain. The pencil stem has some oxidation and tooth chatter on the bit.To begin the recommissioning of this Beldor Studio Mini Churchwarden, I remove the stinger and put aside for safe keeping. I’m not a stinger fan but I’ll clean it and replace it to send to the new steward to decide what to do with itNext, using one pipe cleaner wetted with isopropyl 95%, the stem’s airway is clean.I then add the Beldor Studio stem to a soak of Mark Hoovers ‘Before & After Deoxidizer’ (www.ibepen.com) along with several other pipes in the queue.After a few hours soaking in the Deoxidizer, the Beldor stem is removed from the Deoxidizer and after squeegeeing the liquid off the pipe with my fingers, I use cotton pads wetted with isopropyl 95% to wipe away the raised oxidation. A few pipe cleaners wetted with isopropyl 95% are also used to clear away Deoxidizer from the airway.To help condition the vulcanite stem, paraffin oil is applied and rubbed into the surface. The stem is put aside to allow the oil to be absorbed. Turning now to the paneled bowl, I start by reaming the small chamber. I use only the smallest blade head in the Pipnet Reaming Kit to clear the cake. Following this, the Savinelli Fitsall Tool scrapes further on the chamber walls. Finally, I sand the chamber with 240 grade paper wrapped around a Sharpie Pen. After wiping the chamber with a cotton pad, the chamber appears to be healthy – no heating problems detected.Transitioning now to the externals of the stummel, the picture above shows the thick lava flow caked on the rim that needs to be cleaned as well as the entire bowl. Using undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap, I begin using a cotton pad to scrub the stummel’s surface as well as the rim. The rim also requires the brass bristled brush and the sharp edge of my Winchester pocketknife. I use the knife’s edge carefully to scrape the black on the rim. The brass brush also helps as the lava starts to break apart. In time, I move to the kitchen sink to continue the cleaning using shank brushes and anti-oil liquid dish soap to work on the mortise internals. After a thorough rinsing with warm water, I go back to the worktable and take a picture showing the results of the cleaning.The rim cleaned well but the front left rim panel section has a burn scar that will require additional attention.Another result of the cleaning was to reveal a thin finish on the Beldor stummel. The next three pictures show blotches of shiny and dull areas. The shiny indicates old finish hanging on, whereas the dull is raw briar. The second picture shows a small fill that may need to be addressed. While I am focused on the residue of the old finish, I decide to address it now. I first used alcohol and a cotton pad to see if it would break down the residue of finish. It did not. I then use acetone first with a cotton pad, which worked but slowly. Next, I used acetone with the gentle abrasion of 000 steel wool. This did the trick. I was able to remove all the old finish which is a good starting point. I take a couple of pictures to show the clean stummel. Backtracking now in my normal cleaning cycle, I now focus on the internal cleaning of the mortise and airway. I use only one pipe cleaner and cotton bud wetted with isopropyl 95% to discover that the internals are clean. I move on!Earlier I identified a fill on the right side of the stummel. Using a sharp dental probe, I test the fill and find that it has shrunk and unstable. I dig out the old fill to apply a new patch to the pit.After wiping the area with alcohol to clean it, using regular CA glue, I spot drop some glue on the pit. I then cover it with briar dust that helps blend after the sanding of the patch area. I put the stummel aside to allow the patch to cure.With the stummel on the sideline, I turn to the Mini Warden stem which is in particularly good shape. There is almost no tooth chatter on the bit. There is one small compression on the upper bit that needs addressing.I also detect some oxidation remaining on the end of the stem on the shank side. Using 240 paper, the upper and lower bit is sanded to remove any lasting tooth chatter and the one compression.The 240 paper is also deployed on the end of the stem where oxidation was detected. I’m careful to avoid the Beldor ‘O’ stamping on the stem.To be on the safe side, I cover the stem stamping with masking tape to protect it. Next, 600 grade paper is used to wet sand the entire stem. Following this, 000 steel wool finishes further.Next, the full regimen of micromesh pads is used on the stem. To begin, I wet sand with pad 1500 to 2400 and follow with dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000. Between each set of three pads, Obsidian Oil is applied to the stem to condition it and to protect it from oxidation in the future.To further condition the stem and to work on the area of the Beldor ‘O’ stem stamping to clean it up after it having been covered to protect from sanding, I use Before & After Fine and Extra Fine Polishes. Starting with the Fine polish, I apply it on the stem after putting a small amount on my fingers. I work it into the vulcanite and allow it to absorb for 15 to 20 minutes. After this time, I wipe off the excess polish with a paper towel, continuing to work the polish in as I do this. Next, in the same way, the Extra Fine Polish is applied. After 20 minutes, the excess is removed, and the stem is buffed with a microfiber cloth.Turning again to the stummel, the small patch on the right panel has cured.I first use a flat needle file to file down the patch mound then it is further smoothed and blended with 240 grade sanding paper.Next, I address the dark scorched areas of the rim. The internal edge of the rim is a ring of black from the burning. The next two pictures show the condition of the rim. I use the 240 paper to clean the rim and to blend the different contours. The rim is beveled and tapers downward toward the chamber. I go with this bevel to help mask and blend the burn mark that is on the front left panel. I follow with 600 grade paper further smoothing and blending.With the sanding and blending utilizing the tapering of the rim, the rim definition has been blurred. To redefine the hexagonal rim, I do a light topping using only 600 grade paper. The picture below shows how the rim was reestablished and a defined bevel line. I like it!Next the stummel is sanded with the full regimen of micromesh pads from 1200 to 2400, which is wet sanded, then dry sanded from 3200 to 4000 and then 6000 to 12000. Next, to tease out the rich briar hues, Before & After Restoration Balm is used. After applying some on my fingers, the Balm is worked into the surface starting with a cream-like texture then gradually thickening after it is worked into the briar. After applied, I put the stummel aside for a few hours for the Balm to do its thing. The picture below is of this period. Afterwards, the stummel is buffed with a microfiber cloth to remove the excess Balm and to raise the shine.With the stem and stummel reunited, Blue Diamond compound is applied to the entire pipe with a cotton cloth buffing wheel set at about 40% full power on the Dremel.After the application of the compound is finished, the pipe is buffed with a felt cloth to remove the compound dust that is left behind.Before applying wax, I have a couple additional projects to do. The shank on this Mini Churchwarden is very thin and makes me nervous about it being cracked. To guard the shank as well as add a bit more class to this sharp looking pipe, I fit the shank with a brass shank cap. The cap acts as a band as well as curling over the shank facing to serve as a spacer. I find a fitting that will work. I apply a small amount of CA glue to the inside of the fitment and use a toothpick to paint the inside circumference of the ring. After placing the cap partially over the shank to start it, I use the stem itself, to press the cap into place. This serves to create the perfect symmetry with the shank cap butting against the stem facing. This helps close any gaps that may exist between the two. The shank cap looks great – I like it! The next project is to try to fill the ‘O’ stem stamp with white acrylic paint to freshen it. My concern is that the stamping is no longer defined enough to hold a full circle.I place white acrylic paint over the stamping and spread the paint with a toothpick.I then tamp the wet paint with a cotton pad to remove the excess and quickening the drying process.I then use a toothpick’s flat edge to gently scrape the dried paint to achieve an almost whole ‘O’. It looks good.I use 000 steel wool to clean up the stinger and reinsert it into the nickel tenon. Tarn-X Tarnish Remover gives a new shine to the brass shank cap. I use the cotton pad to apply the polish.Finally, with the full ensemble united, I apply carnauba wax with the Dremel. Using another cotton cloth buffing wheel with the Dremel set at 40% of full power, wax is applied to the stem and stummel. Afterwards, I use a microfiber cloth to give the pipe a rigorous hand buffing to raise the shine.I am pleased with the results of this Beldor Studio Mini Churchwarden. The hexagonal paneled bowl gives an elegant presentation as it is mounted on the subtly curved pencil stem. I like the brass shank cap – it adds a bit of class to a very nicely flowing pipe. Daniel commissioned this pipe and he will have the first opportunity to acquire it from The Pipe Steward Store. This pipe benefits the Daughters of Bulgaria – women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. Thanks for joining me!

Cleaning up a Willmer Straight Grain AAA Standard Cup and Saucer

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a shape I would call a cup and saucer or at least Willmer’s take on this shape. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank Willmer in script over Straight Grain over AAA over Standard. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Made in England. It is a bent cup and saucer shaped smooth briar with vulcanite saddle stem. The pipe was dusty and dull looking but had great grain around the bowl and rim. The rim top is smooth and there was some darkening and damage to the inner edge of the bowl. There was a thick cake in the bowl. The finish was in great condition under grime ground into the sides and shank. The saddle vulcanite stem was oxidized and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took the following photos before he started his cleanup work on the pipe. He took close-up photos of the bowl and rim top from various angles to capture the condition of the rim top and edges of the bowl. There was a little darkening around the inner edge and heavier along the back edge of the bowl. There are some scratches on the top and outer edge of the bowl as well. You can also see the cake in the bowl.He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish and the grain around the bowl. The pipe has some stellar grain around the bowl and shank and the carver maximized the lay of the grain with the shape of the pipe. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable. He also took a photo of the Willmer “W” on the left side of the stem. The next photos show the top and underside of the stem. You can see the light tooth marks right next to the button edge.I turned to Pipephil to get a quick review of the Willmer Company as it had been a long time since I had worked on one (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-w3.html). I quote the side bar from the site bellow.

Willmer is a brand of H. Willmer & Son Ltd. The factory closed down about 2006-07 after more then 60 years activity and two generations of makers. Gradings until the 1980s (ascending): BA, A, AA, and AAA. After this date Willmer introduced the AAAA and AAAA PRESENTATION as top grades.

The pipe I was working on has a AAA stamping on it which if the pipe came from pre-1980s was the top of the line. If it was later pipe it close to the top of the line.I turned to Pipedia to get more information on the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Willmer). The first paragraph dispelled of the belief that Willmer had been a carver for Charatan in his own words. I quote a portion of the article to give a sense of the history of the brand.

Willmer was founded in London. According to the website, which doesn’t exist anymore because the Willmer factory has been closed in 2006/07, the firm was in business “for more than 60 years” by 2003. Willmer was homed then in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, so not far from the Cadogan plant.

When Willmer first started, they definitely strived to compete with brands in the high-end market. Due to the excellent quality of the pipes Willmer was frequently asked to produce private label pipes for England’s best renowned pipe retailers. So many pipes are not easily recognized as Willmers for stamped under the name of the respective shop. Willmer’s own pipes were stamped “Willmer – Made in England” and showed a sweeping “W” in white or gold on top or left side of the stem. The earlier grading had AAA as top grade followed by AA, A, AB etc.

Sometime in the 1980’s, Willmer went through some major changes. The move to Essex was already mentioned above. They continued making highly respectable freehands – often copying some of the stunning Charatan shapes of days gone by. The grading was altered. What used to be an AAA now became the additional name “Presentation” and was stamped with AAAA. Funny enough, the forth A was often larger than the three before. The other grades were changed accordingly.

Now it was time to look at it up close and personal. Jeff had done his usual thorought job in removing all of the cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top. He had reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He took the cake back to bare briar so we could check the walls for damage. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime on the bowl and rim and was able to remove the lava and dirt. He cleaned out the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until they came out clean. He cleaned the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime on the exterior and cleaned out the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I took photos of the pipe before I started my part of the work. To show the damage to the inner edge of the rim and the rim top I took a close-up photo. You can see it on the right inner edge and the back edge of the bowl. The vulcanite stem had some tooth marks on both sides and there was some oxidation remaining.I took a photo of the stamping on both sides of the shank. It clearly read what was noted above. The “W” stem on the left side of the saddle stem is also readable.I removed the stem from the bowl and took photos of the parts. It really is a great looking pipe.I started my part of the restoration by addressing the damage to the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. I worked over the inside edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper.I polished the newly topped rim and the rest of the bowl with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust and debris. I stained the rim with a Maple Stain Pen to blend the repaired and polished rim into the rest of the bowl.I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingertips into finish on the bowl and shank. I let it sit for 10 minutes to let it do its magic. I buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. The bowl was finished so I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. To address the oxidation and the tooth marks on the stem surface I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to blend in the tooth marks and to break up the oxidation. I started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I started polishing the stem with Denicare Mouthpiece Polish – a red gritty paste that feels a lot like Tripoli. I find that it works well to polish out some of the more surface scratches in the vulcanite left behind by the 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I rub it into the stem surface with my fingertips and buff it off with a cotton pad.I touched up the “W” stamp on the stem with PaperMate Liquid Paper. I pressed it into the stamp in the vulcanite with a tooth pick. Once it dried I scraped off the excess fill with the tooth pick and with micromesh sanding pads.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cloth containing some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I wiped it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. This is a unique pipe and it is the first one I have worked on like this. It is a beauty. I put the bowl and stem back together again and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I carefully buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I finished buffing with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe looks very good. The grain is quite beautiful a mix of straight and flame around the bowl sides and birdseye on the rim top and heel. The pipe feels great in the hand. It has an interesting shape that fits well in either the right or left hand. The finished Willmer Straight Grain AAA Standard is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. This great looking Willmer Cup and Saucer pipe turned out very well. It should be a great pipe. It will be going on the rebornpipes store shortly 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.

Breathing Life into an Aged Imported Briar Bullmoose

Renewing Paw’s Kaywoodie “500” Round Shank Bulldog – The Third Pipe of a Great Grandfather’s Legacy

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Blog by Dal Stanton

This Kaywoodie “500” is the final of three pipes Joe sent. It belonged to Paw, Joe’s wife’s great grandfather. I’ve enjoyed learning about Paw, or ‘2-Page Sam’, the name given to him by his fellow workers of Brown & Williamson Tobacco, Corp, founded in the 1800s in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In the restoration of the first of three, a Medico Apollo Brylon (See: Another Legacy Pipe of a Great-Grandfather: Challenges Working with ‘Brylon’ on a Medico Apollo) an article in the B&W Tobacco, Co.’s company magazine, Pipeline, Sam’s 43-year career was showcased and it described how he became known as ‘2-Page Sam’. As a salesman for the tobacco company, Sam’s daily goal was to secure enough orders from clients he would visit, ‘Ma & Pa’ establishments mostly, to reach page two of the order book for the day. This company-wide work ethic, along with how the article captures Sam’s sincere respect for people – his fellow M&W employees and supervisors as well as the normal working-class people he sold to that made his livelihood possible. Joe sent the picture on the left, below, of Sam among fellow employees of B&W. I’m not sure which one is Sam but, my guess is the top, fourth man from the left! The picture on the right is Sam (standing on the right) – capturing a moment in an age long gone.The second of Sam’s pipes that I just restored (See: Bringing to Life a Unique Kaywoodie Natural Burl 33 – Another Legacy Pipe of a Great Grandfather) was a rarer, Kaywoodie ‘Natural Burl’ 33, Apple shape. It turned out very, very well and even included the collaborative help of Bill Feuerbach, Kaywoodie’s – or more correctly, S. M. Frank Co.’s, president, the holding company of Kaywoodie, Medico and Yello Bole. The last of the three is on the worktable now, the Kaywoodie “500” IMPORTED BRIAR US Pat. 2808837 50C. Here are a few pictures to take a closer look. The nomenclature on both sides of the shank is clear. The left flank is stamped KAYWOODIE [over] “500” [over] IMPORTED BRIAR [over] PAT. 2808837. The right side of the shank is stamped with the Kaywoodie shape number, ‘50C’. The stem holds the classic inlaid Kaywoodie shamrock or clover. The first interesting aspect about this Kaywoodie is the shape designation. When I first saw pictures of the pipe that Joe sent, I made the immediate identification of the shape to be a compact Rhodesian. When I looked up the Kaywoodie shape number in the extensive list provided by kwguy originally in the Kaywoodie forum listed also in Pipepedia’s listing, the description surprised me:

50C

Small bulldog, round shank

1960-1963

My main pipe shape ‘go to’ is Bill Burney’s Pipedia’s Pipe Shapes where the debate is described:In deference to Kaywoodie, I’ll call Paw’s pipe a small Round Shank Bulldog. What was also helpful is that the short period that the Round Shank Bulldog was in production is small – 1960 to 63. Pipephil.eu’s comments on Kaywoodie’s
500 and 600 series were that they were cheaper, low-end pipes that ran through the period: 1959 – 1967. It’s probable that Paw’s Kaywoodie “500” Round Shank Bulldog which isolates it as a “500” that was marketed between 60 to 63, cost him $5.95. The 1962 Kaywoodie catalog page that Bill Feuerbach provided to include in the restoration write-up of Paw’s Kaywoodie Natural Burl, also included an ‘All New Kaywoodie “500”’ advertisement. Bill’s explanation of the page below indicated that the cost of the pipe, $5.95, identified it as the 1962 catalog which would have encompassed the 1960 to 1963 timeframe of the round shank Bulldog production. The Kaywoodie “500” add also touts a “Syncro-Lok Stem” and a “New Miracle Finish” which lasts for years. The “Syncro-Lok Stem” was a component part of the US Pat. 2808837 which is stamped as part of the “500” nomenclature. According to Pipedia’s Kaywoodie article, the 1957 Pat. 2808837 applies specifically to the metal on metal fittings developed by Kaywoodie (Picture below courtesy of Doug Valitchka). It was interesting for me recently to hear Bill Feuerbach, president of S. M. Frank Co., describing the era of Kaywoodie’s metal fitments coming to a close in his January, 2016, interview with Brian Levine on the Pipes Magazine Radio Show. Some reasons discussed were the changing landscape of pipe smokers where ease of cleaning and the fact that today’s pipe smoker, representing a younger generation, is not using the pipe as rigorously as those of earlier generations. The other primal reason that Bill gave were the economics – the company that had manufactured these parts for Kaywoodie no longer was in business and finding a replacement ended up not making economic sense. With a better understanding of the Kaywoodie “500” on my worktable, I now take a closer look at the Bulldog’s issues. The cake in the chamber is not thick in the upper chamber, but tightens toward the floor of the chamber. The rim is classic ‘2-Page Sam’ as it has sustained Sam’s rushed knocking damage on the aft quadrant of the rim – but it’s not severe. As with the other 2 pipes, and with Paw’s Kaywoodie “500” Long Shank Billiard that I restored for Joe last year, this “500”’s rim will also carry these marks in remembrance of Paw. The internal edge of the rim has a large divot which I will repair. The rest of the rim shows some grime and nicks on the external edge which one would expect. The finish on the “500” series to me is not preferred. In the Kaywoodie “500” add above it describes the finish as a “New Miracle Finish” which lasts for years. As with the other “500”, to me the acrylic-like finish is not as attractive as a natural briar shine. The ‘candy apple’ shine I will remove in order to reveal better the grain beneath. The stem is thick with deep residual oxidation and the bit is caked with calcium deposits. There is tooth chatter, but the button seems to be in good shape.One last issue is that the Kaywoodie screw in stem is slightly under clocked. This will need a small adjustment and may even correct itself through the cleaning. With the help of my mouse and box of matches, I’m able to show the stem’s orientation.To begin the restoration of the last of Paw’s pipes, I start by working on the stem. I first clean the internal airway with pipe cleaners wetted with isopropyl 95%. In order to reach through the tight quarters of the 3-hole stinger, a shank brush is used to help clean.To get a jump on dealing with the oxidation and calcium deposits, I take the stem to the kitchen sink and use a Soft-Scrub-like product here in Bulgaria called CIT. Using 000 steel wool, I scrub the stem with the CIT cleaner. The results look good, but I’ll probably use 240 sanding on the stem after seeing how the soak with Before & After Deoxidizer goes.The Kaywoodie “500” stem then joins other pipes in the queue for a soak in the Deoxidizer. After a few hours in the soak, the Kaywoodie’s stem is taken from the Deoxidizer and drained of the excess fluid to save it for future use! After I squeegee the liquid with my fingers, I again use a pipe cleaner wetted with isopropyl 95% to clear the remaining Deoxidizer from the stem’s airway and a cotton pad, wetted with alcohol, is used to wipe away oxidation raised by the soaking process.Then, to condition the vulcanite stem, paraffin oil, a mineral oil, is applied to the stem and set aside to absorb.Turning to the Kaywoodie “500” Bulldog stummel, the chamber has cake that thickens as it moves toward the chamber floor. To remove this cake buildup, the smallest blade of the Pipnet Reaming Kit goes to work on the small chamber. After using only this blade head, the Savinelli Fitsall Tool is employed to further scrape the chamber walls removing more carbon cake buildup. Next, using 240 grade paper wrapped around a Sharpie Pen, the last vestiges of carbon are removed from the chamber wall. After wiping the chamber with a cotton pad wetted with alcohol to clean the carbon dust residue, an inspection reveals a healthy chamber. Transitioning now to the external cleaning, the rim has some darkening from lighting and light lava flow. The stummel has normal grime. The second picture below shows the shininess of the acrylic-like finish. I’m interested to see how the finish holds up through the cleaning.Undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap is used on a cotton pad to begin the external cleaning. A brass wired brush is also used to clean the rim. After some cleaning, the stummel is taken to the kitchen sink where with shank brushes and anti-oil liquid dishwashing soap is used to clean the mortise and airway using warm water. After a good scrubbing, the stummel is rinsed thoroughly and after returning to the worktable, I take a picture to show the results of the cleaning.Next, returning to cleaning the internals, I use cotton buds with pipe cleaners wetted with isopropyl 95% to do the job. The metal threaded shank insert is small, and this makes it difficult for the cotton buds to exit with their buds! The buds are pulling off the sticks in the close quarters and that makes retrieval difficult. I discover in the end, if I ‘unscrew’ the buds when extracting them, the threads help instead of grabbing the buds. This makes cleaning a bit slower. A small dental spoon is helpful is scraping the mortise walls and excavating old tars and congealed oils. Another helpful technique was folding two bristled pipe cleaners and twisting the ends together. This provides the action of 4 pipe cleaners in the mortise at one time enhancing the cleaning action. In time, the buds are coming out lighter and I transition to cleaning with a kosher salt and alcohol soak.The hour is late, and I’ll let the soak go through the night. Kosher salt and isopropyl 95% are used for the soak and this method of cleaning helps to freshen the internals for the new steward. I first fashion a ‘wick’ by pulling and twisting a cotton ball. It is then inserted and guided down the mortise and airway with the aid of a stiff wire.The chamber is then filled with kosher salt, which leaves no aftertaste, and placed in an egg carton for stability. Using a large eyedropper, the chamber is then filled with isopropyl 95% until surfacing over the salt. After a time, the alcohol is absorbed, and I top the bowl off once more with alcohol and turn out the lights.The next morning, I discover that the salt and wick have soiled little which usually is a good indicator that last night’s cleaning was effective. After tossing the expended salt in the waste and clearing the salt from the stummel with the use of paper towel and by blowing through the mortise, I use a few more pipe cleaners to complete the internal cleaning.Next, I take another look at the stummel surface and finish. As with Paw’s Kaywoodie “500” I restored for Joe last year, the candy apple shine of the acrylic-like Kaywoodie finish lingers. My preference is to remove the finish and to get down to the natural briar.Another reason for removing the old finish is the fact that it’s already been removed on the rim from Paw’s knocking on the back side of the rim. Raw briar is already exposed here but the wear on the rim edge also shows where the finish is either gone or very thin.The most efficient way I found to remove the Kaywoodie “500” finish from my previous experience is with acetone. Starting with cotton pads I incessantly rub the surface with the cotton pads wetted with acetone. From the very beginning, the red dye begins to show on the cotton pads as the acetone breaks down the old finish.The next picture shows the progress on the stummel surface. The shiny surface indicates old finish hanging on. Next to it, you can see splotches of dull surface – the goal!The progress is slow with the cotton pads, so I transition to utilizing 000 steel wool wetted with acetone. This does the trick as the following pictures show. I’m amazed at the grain that I can now see, and it’s not half bad! Even though I do not prefer the thick acrylic-like finish, the upside of it at this point is that it has successfully protected the stummel’s surface from damage. Most of the nicks and scratches that could be seen before were superficial damage to the finish shell and not to the briar. As I inspect the stummel, I’m seeing a practically pristine surface. Before moving further with the stummel’s finishing, the divot on the rim needs attention. It’s located on the internal edge just in front of Paw’s skinned rim backside. It’s small but filling it will provide a better rim presentation.I fill the divot by mixing a very small amount of thick CA glue with briar putty. After placing both the briar dust and glue on the mixing palette, I use a toothpick to draw the briar dust into the glue until it reaches the thickness of molasses at which time I apply it to the divot. I use an accelerator to quicken the curing time of the patch. I next use both flat and half-round needle files to remove the excess briar putty patch.After doing the primary removal with the needle files, 240 grade sanding paper finishes the patch blending at this point.With the 240 paper in hand, I do a quick internal rim edge sanding. There is a dark ring remaining on most of the internal rim that is cleaned up.Taking a close look at the rims condition, there are nicks throughout the external rim’s edge. There are also pits here and there which need cleaning.I decide to do a very gentle cosmetic topping of the stummel to clean the rim and give it a fresh definition. Using the chopping board for my topping board, I first place 240 grade paper on it. With the stummel inverted, I give the bowl a few rotations and check. Then, after a few more rotations, I’m satisfied. I’m not concerned with Paw’s aft knocking damage – that remains. I’m concerned that the rest of the rim enjoys fresh rim lines. This is especially with a Rhodesian and Bulldog – the twin dome lines that encircle the bowl give these pipes their unique shapes. Then, switching to 600 grade paper on the topping board, the stummel goes a few more rotations to smooth things out further.Next, I use sanding sponges to further erase minuscule nicks and scratches and to start the process of coaxing out the grain that has been waiting beneath the heavy finish. Starting the sanding with a coarse sponge is followed with a medium then light grade sponge. I avoid the nomenclature except with the final sponge. HOLD THE PRESS! – At this point I had moved into the process of applying the full regimen of micromesh pads to the “500” and Steve had published a really good write up on rebornpipes that caught my attention which I was reading as I sanded (See: Operation Rescue – “My Dog Ate my Ser Jacopo L1 Billiard!”). He described the process of applying rustication, a skill that I’ve not had too much experience with, and I was very interested in the processes he described. One of these processes that dovetailed with my current musings about the Kaywoodie “500” on my table was the staining process. Steve described in his write-up using a black undercoat stain followed by a mahogany on the smooth briar parts of his project (See picture). He also described the reasoning and the other micro steps leading into and out of this process. The motif of the Kaywoodie “500” series is obviously red, but the grain underneath is dark to stand out in contrast to the light wood. Last year when I restored Paw’s other Kaywoodie “500” I had used a dark brown undercoat followed by an Oxblood overcoat. This achieved results that emulated very well the “500” red theme. The question in my mind after reading Steve’s write-up was the use of black versus dark brown. I sent Steve an email with that question that resulted in several emails back and forth where Steve responded to more questions raised about how his approach to undercoat staining was different than what I had done and probably, much more effective in creating the affects desired. Without repeating the full email chain, the process difference that I’m trying out with the Kaywoodie “500” from Steve’s input is to move the undercoating process before the micromesh process and to focus more on the undercoat process of removal of the excess dye. So, now you know why the presses are on hold!

Therefore, I stop the micromesh process mid-stream and plan to insert Steve’s approach to provide an undercoat and see how it goes! Regarding the question of the use of black or dark brown for the undercoat, Steve saw no difference in the two. I understand why now – the point of an undercoat is to darken the grain threads for the most part and in his approach, the undercoat is, in large measure, removed but for these effects. I decide to apply Fiebing’s Dark Brown Leather Dye as the undercoat. I assemble on my desktop the needed components. With spring in full swing here in Sofia, I’m working on my 10^th floor Man Cave balcony and enjoying the views while I work. To begin, after wiping the bowl with alcohol to clean it, I warm the stummel with a hot air gun (inside again for a few minutes). This warms the briar with the result of opening the grain to be more receptive to the dye. Then, back on the Man Cave, I use a folded pipe cleaner to paint the aniline dye onto sections of the briar surface. While still wet, the lit candle ‘flames’ the dye. The flame combusts the alcohol in the dye leaving behind pigmentation in the grain. I cycle around the bowl painting and flaming twice to make sure the coverage is thorough. I then put the stummel aside for the initial undercoat to dry. The following pictures show the dense appearance of the flamed surface.Turning now to the stem, there is very little chatter on the bit. The lower side pictured in the second picture only has a small button compression that I will address.Deep oxidation is still hanging on especially on the shank side of the stem. The lighter exposure of the picture helps to show what I can see with the naked eye.To address the lower bit button compression, I use the heating method of expanding the vulcanite, a rubber compound. With the flame of a Bic lighter, the bit is painted and as the vulcanite heats, the dent hopefully reclaims lost territory. The result is good. Only sanding will be necessary.The flat needle file is used to freshen the button and 240 grade paper sands the bit, and the minor chatter is erased.I expand the 240 sanding to the entire stem to address the latent oxidation. I do not relish the thought of the oxidation emerging during the later polishing stages. I use a plastic disk I fabricated for this purpose that I pinch up against the stem facing to guard against shouldering the edge of the stem. The disk works well to maintain a crisp facing.Next, the entire stem is wet sanded with 600 grade paper followed by an application of 000 grade steel wool. The 3-hole stinger also receives attention from the steel wool.The stem is now ready for the full regimen of micromesh pads beginning with wet sanding using pads 1500 to 2400 and followed by dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000. Between each set of 3 pads, Obsidian oil is applied to condition the stem and to guard against future oxidation setting in. The Kaywoodie “500” stem looks great. Turning again to the stummel, per Steve’s description I use 430 grade paper to sand off the dried excess undercoat.I combine the sanding with wiping the stummel with a cotton pad wetted with alcohol. This helps to remove the excess and to allow the grain to come through more.At this point I transition to applying the full regimen of micromesh pads from 1500 to 12000 in 3 pad increments – 1500 to 2400, 3200 to 4000, and 6000 to 12000. The point of the undercoat is darkening and giving greater definition to the grain. The progression of the micromesh process shows this to be the case. Next is the overcoat staining with the new red aniline dye I acquired. I’m hoping to get close to the Kaywoodie “500” red finish hue. I used Fiebing’s Oxblood as the overcoat last time. I approach this overcoat stain as if it were the first coat.I begin by heating the stummel with the hot air gun to open the briar’s receptivity to the dye.Next, using a folded pipe cleaner, I paint the red dye on the stummel. I discover at the first attempt to flame the dye with the lit candle, that there wasn’t enough alcohol content in it to combust. The application of the dye transitioned into a dye wash – hmm. I paint the dye on to get a thorough coverage. I repeat the process once more to make sure all was covered well with the dye. Afterwards, I set the dye aside to dry. I’m a bit concerned at this point that the red dye may not have enough resonance or depth in it. It seems to light or pale at this point.I decide to unwrap the finish using Blue Diamond compound and a cotton cloth buffing wheel on the Dremel. The Dremel is set at about 40% full power.After removing the dye excess my concerns were confirmed. The new red dye mixture that I used was not ‘grabbed’ by the grain to create much of a red tent over the dark brown undercoating. I take a quick picture on the black cloth I normally use for the finish shots at the end of the restoration to see what the camera might see. The finish looks great – the grain looks great, but the color of the Kaywoodie “500” is falling short of expectations. Last time I worked on Paw’s other Kaywoodie “500”, I used an Oxblood over dark brown and it turned out well. I know my processes have changed up somewhat, but I have a foundation of dark brown undercoating that has been brought down to a darkened grain presentation. On top of that, the red dye added something… and now, Fiebing’s aniline Oxblood Leather Dye on top of that. The only thing I do to prepare the surface for the Oxblood is to wipe it well with a cotton pad wetted with alcohol. Interestingly, almost no dye residue came off after the red wash. Now using Fiebing’s Oxblood, I apply the dye, flame it, and set the stummel aside to rest for several hours – overnight. Even at this ‘raw’ state, I can see a marked difference in the dye’s resonance.The next morning, the fire-dyed stummel is ‘unwrapped’ using my normal process, with a felt buffing wheel and Tripoli compound with the Dremel set at the slowest speed. I take a picture midstream to show the contrast between the flamed shell and the unwrapped briar surface. The difference is marked. As the surface is unwrapped, I purge the felt wheel many times during the process by running the felt wheel against the edge of the lapboard I’m working on. This keeps the felt wheel cleaners and more supple. The picture below shows the caking on the wheel that happens as the wheel does the plowing. I follow by wiping the stummel with a cotton pad wetted with alcohol. This lightens the finish some but helps to remove excess dye build up and help to blend the finish.Next, after changing to a cotton cloth buffing wheel set at about 40% full power and after reuniting stem and stummel, Blue Diamond compound is applied to the entire pipe. Tripoli is a coarser abrasive and Blue Diamond is finer, and less abrasive as the fine sanding is completed. After completion, I use a felt cloth rag to buff/clean the pipe of compound dust in preparation for the application of wax.In the homestretch – after changing the cotton cloth buffing wheel and leaving the speed of the Dremel at 40%, carnauba wax is applied to the entire pipe – stem and stummel. Following this, the pipe is given a rigorous hand buffing with a microfiber cloth to raise the shine.After some twists and turns trying out new processes and a new dye, I’m pleased with the results. I believe the undercoating advice that Steve provided certainly deepened the signature of the darker grains. Paw’s Kaywoodie “500” 50C Round Shank Bulldog is looking good with a classy, sharp presentation, and I believe the Oxblood works well to bring out the deeper red tones of the Kaywoodie “500” series. Paw’s signature remains on the back side of the rim with the shadow of Paw’s penchant for knocking and a reminder of the man he was as ‘2-Page Sam’. It was a privilege bringing life back to this Kaywoodie “500” for Joe and Hannah and preserving a great grandfather’s legacy to his family. Moreover, Joe’s commissioning of this restoration benefits the Daughters of Bulgaria – women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. Thanks Joe!, and thanks to all, for joining me!

New Start for an older BBB Best Ambroid Cased Billiard

2 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

Jeff and I picked up this older BBB Cased Billiard in a group of pipes we purchased not too long ago. It is quite unique. I have worked on a lot of BBB pipes over the years as they are one of my favourite brands and I have quite a few in my collection. This one is a bit different in that it has very little that gives a clue to its age. It is a nice briar with a silver band that is stamped with BBB in the Diamond and Sterling Silver. There were no hallmarks on the band to pin down a date. It is stamped on the inside of the case with the BBB Diamond logo. The left side of the shank itself is stamped with the BBB Diamond logo. The stem in golden Ambroid and has a bone tenon that screws into the briar shank. It came in a worn black leather covered case lined with black chamois. The case has a brass clasp on the front and brass hinges on the back. It was obviously custom made for this pipe.Jeff opened the case and this was what the pipe that was inside looked like. It was a nice looking classic billiard that is for sure but it was also very dirty. The bowl and shank were a rich medium brown that was very dirty. The stem was golden Ambroid material. The exterior of the bowl was very dirty and had tars and oils ground into the finish and sticky spots on the finish. There was a chip missing on the outer edge at the back of the bowl. The rim top was a mess with lava overflowing out of the thick cake in the bowl. I am sure once it was out of the case it would become clear how dirty it really was.Jeff took it out of the case to have a better look at the condition of the pipe. It was a very classic billiard with a silver band and golden stem. It looked like it would cleanup really well and look great when finished. The finish on the briar bowl looked like it would be great once it was clean. He took some close-up photos of the bowl and rim top. There was a thick cake in the bowl that was hard and uneven. The lava overflowed over the rim top but it looked like the inner edge of the bowl was in good condition. The outer edge had some large nicks and gouges – chunks of briar missing on the back edge. Jeff took photos of the sides of the bowl and heel to show the grain and condition of the finish around the bowl. The pipe has some great grain around the sides. In terms of stamping the only identifying marks on the pipe were the gold BBB Diamond logo on the inside of the case lid, the same stamped on the left side of the shank and again on the silver band. Jeff captured those marks in the next set of photos. The logo on the inside lid of the case was worn and but still readable. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the left side of the shank and the band. He took photos of the stem off the shank/base. The stem has a threaded bone tenon that was filthy with oils and tars. The internals of the pipe were very dirty.Jeff took photos of the stem to show the general condition of the stem shape. The Ambroid stem is well gnawed on both sides around the button. The first photo shows the profile of the straight narrow stem. He took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the damage and bite marks on both sides up the stem from the button.In 2009 Briar Books Press published a reprint of the 1912 BBB Catalogue No.XX from Adolph Frankau & Co, Ltd.London, E.C. I purchased a copy of the book when it came out and enjoyed reading through it and dreaming about the various pipes that were pictured there. I remembered that there was a section of pipes in the catalogue –Section E called pipes in Cases and it had individually cased pipes with Ambroid stems. I turned to that section in the catalogue and read through the various descriptions and looked at the pictures and sure enough I found this pipe. The only variation was that the one in the drawing had hallmarks on the silver but the rest was identical including the case and stamping on the lid. The top pipe on the right side of the page photo below looks like the one that I am working on.It is described in the title of the page a Best Ambroid Briars Silver Mounted in Cases and available in a variety of sizes. Now I knew the pipe I was working on and that there was at least some variation of it available in the 1912 BBB Catalogue.

It was time to work on it now and do my part of the restoration. I took the leather case from the box that Jeff had shipped to me and brought it to the work table. I opened it up and took photos of the case and the pipe in the case before taking it out and examining it thoroughly to see what I needed to do. You can see the definite similarity between this pipe and the on in the drawing on the top right of the photo above.The pipe looked very clean. The bowl had been reamed back with a PipNet reamer and cleaned up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The internals of the shank and stem had been cleaned with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. The exterior of the bowl had been scrubbed with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. The silver band had been cleaned and the tarnish removed. The stem was clean and the damage to the Ambroid was very visible and ready to repair. Jeff had done his usual great job on the clean up. I took photos of the pipe before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the bowl and rim top as well as the stem to show the areas that I would need to address. You can see the that the bowl and rim are very clean. The inner edge of the rim has some damage as do the top and outer edge. There is general darkening to the rim top and scratches and nicks on the surface. The stem is also very clean and the gouges on the top and underside near the button are visible and ready for repair.I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. I also wanted to show that the band had turned on the shank so that the BBB Diamond was now on the topside so I took a second photo to capture that. I would need to realign the band and glue it in place.I unscrewed the stem from the shank and took photos of the parts. The bone tenon that connects the stem to the shank is visible.I decided to begin my part of the restoration by addressing the issues with the rim top and edges. I topped the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on the topping board to smooth out the damage on the rim top and the immediate damage on the inner and outer edges. Once I had it smooth I used clear super glue and briar dust to repair the deep gouges in the back outer edge of the bowl. I took a photo of the rim top at this point to show how good the inner edge and top looked. You can also see the repair on the back outer edge of the bowl that still needs to be sanded. I sanded the repair with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the surrounding briar and then took a photo of the bowl looking down at the edges. I am happy with the state of the rim and edges at this point in the process. I removed the band from the shank before moving on to polish the briar with micromesh sanding pads. I sanded the old glue off the shank to make it smooth for the refit. I polished the bowl, rim and shank with 1500-12000 grit micromesh pads wiping it down between pads with a damp cloth. The way in which the rim top colour was blending in with the rest of the briar was perfect and would not need to be stained. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I find that it adds a depth to the polish that I really have come to appreciate. All that remains at this point is to wax and polish the bowl. The bowl looked very good at this point. I was able to preserve the old patina and through polishing blend the rim top into the rest of the finish. It was time to put the band back in place. I used a dental spatula to apply all-purpose white glue to the shank and aligned the band and pressed it in place. I wanted the BBB Diamonds on the shank and band to match as I had seen in photos on line. I wiped away the excess glue with a damp cotton pad.I set the bowl aside and turned to address the issues with the stem. I used a clear CA glue to fill in the deep tooth marks on both sides of the stem and to rebuild the button. I had to layer the glue and let it harden between applications to get a smooth fill on the stem.Once the repairs had cured I used a needle file to cut the sharp edge of the button and to smooth out the repairs.I smoothed out the repairs with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing with a folded piece of 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a cloth containing some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I put the bowl and stem back together and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of Carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and buffed it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the entirety of the pipe with a microfiber cloth. The pipe was alive now and looked great to me. The patina of the older BBB shines through and the repaired Ambroid stem – though far from it pristine beginnings – looks very good. This pipe is well balanced feels great in my hand. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. This older BBB Best Ambroid Cased Briar pipe is a beauty and the Ambroid Stem, Sterling Silver Band and old patina briar look stunning together. It is an old BBB pipe so of course it is one that will be staying in my BBB collection. It will be a great addition to my collection of that classic English Brand. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Beginning again – a KB&B Bakelite Blueline Cup and Ball Pipe

Operation Rescue – “My Dog Ate my Ser Jacopo L1 Billiard!”

7 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

When Jeff showed me the next pipe on the table we went back and forth about buying it or just leaving it with the seller. It was a really nice Ser Jacopo L1 Billiard at some point in its life but that time had passed. It had literally become a chew toy for someone’s dog. The bowl was in very rough shape and had deep tooth gouges around the bowl with chunks of briar missing on the rim and top. The bowl was really damaged to the point of being questionable. The shank interestingly was free of bite marks and the stem had less bite marks than some of the stems I have worked on from pipemen who chew their stems. For me the question was whether or not I wanted to work on it. There was no doubt that the pipe would be a challenge but was it a challenge I wanted to take on. That was the question we weighed before moving ahead with the buy.

After spending time talking about it we decided to pick up the pipe and see what I could do with it. When Jeff got it the story became even sadder! The bowl had amazing straight grain around the sides and it appeared to have been barely smoked. It looked as if maybe a bowl or two had been enjoyed before the dog got a hold of the pipe and did the massive damage that showed when we saw it. The bowl had some darkening but there was no cake in the bowl. It smelled smoky but otherwise was very clean. Jeff would still clean up the pipe before he sent it on to me that way I would be able to just pick it up and see what I could do with it. Jeff took the following photos before he started his cleanup work on the pipe. Just look at the damage! Oh my; the pipeman or woman must have just wept after the initial shock or anger when he or she saw the pipe dangling from the dog’s mouth. He took close-up photos of the bowl and rim top from various angles to capture the gnawing damage to the bowl and rim top edges. You can see the large bite marks and chunks of briar missing on both the inner and outer edges. The largest chunk is on the front of the bowl and the inner edges damage is on the right side. You can also see the damage to the sides of the bowl. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the both the extent of the damage to the bowl and the amazing grain around the bowl. It really is a shame that this poor pipe suffered this fate. Jeff took photos of the stamping on sides of the bowl. On the left side it reads Ser Jacopo over Fatta A Mano over In Italia. On the right side it reads L1 in a circle Per Aspera Ad Aspera. On De Divina Proportione. All the stampings are very readable and clear. He took a photo of the inlays on the tapered stem top. The silver J with an I and a circle. The next two photos show the top and underside of the stem. Notice the few tooth marks on both sides. It is not as bad as it could be. I wanted to know a bit more about the pipe in hand. I knew a little of the history of the brand but I wanted to understand the stamping on the shank sides and underside so I turned first to the Pipephil website (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s5.html). Interestingly the first pipe they had a photo of was similar to the one that I had. It is stamped similarly on the left side of the shank with the Ser Jacopo over Fatta a Mano but the one I have also was stamped In Italia under that. The right side of mine is stamped with the L1 in a circle and the Per Aspera Ad Astra followed that. Mine also was stamped on the underside of the shank and read: De Divina Proportione. The one I am working on also had a band on the shank and the stem stamp was different as well. I also learned the L1 stamp stood for a pipe with acceptable grain. I have included a screen capture of the pertinent information.Once I had that material digested a bit I turned to Pipedia to understand more about the stamping on the pipe (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ser_Jacopo). I am including the information on that below. The standard nomenclature found on Ser Jacopo pipes is as follows: Ser Jacopo Fatta A Mano In Italia Per Aspera Ad Astra.

Fatta A Mano translates to “Made By Hand”. Per Aspera Ad Astra is a Latin phrase found on Ser Jacopo pipes and is the Ser Jacopo motto. It translates to “To the Stars Through Travails”, meaning that success comes through hard work. In the Summer 1997 Pipes and Tobaccos article Giancarlo Guidi translated this as “through a difficult way until the stars are reached”.

All that remained was to find out what the De Divina Proportione on the underside of the shank meant. I turned to wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divina_proportione) for what I assumed referred to Divine Proportion or the Golden Ratio. I quote from there a good summary.

Divina proportione (15th century Italian for Divine proportion), later also called De divina proportione (converting the Italian title into a Latin one) is a book on mathematics written by Luca Pacioli and illustrated by Leonardo da Vinci, composed around 1498 in Milan and first printed in 1509.[1] Its subject was mathematical proportions (the title refers to the golden ratio) and their applications to geometry, to visual art through perspective, and to architecture. The clarity of the written material and Leonardo’s excellent diagrams helped the book to achieve an impact beyond mathematical circles, popularizing contemporary geometric concepts and images.

Now I had a clear idea of the meaning of the stamping. The Golden Ratio refers to the mathematical proportions of this particular pipe fitting that Ratio. It is seriously a beautiful pipe and now I am even sadder at the damage that was done. That motivates me to try to bring it back to some semblance of beauty.

Now it was time to look at it up close and personal. Jeff had done an amazing job in removing all debris and bits of broken briar from the finish. He had done a quick reaming of the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime the grime and dirt on the finish so the pipe was clean – damaged but clean. He cleaned out the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until they came out clean. The rim top looked quite daunting with the missing chunks of briar but it too was clean. He cleaned the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime on the exterior and cleaned out the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I took some photos of the pipe as I saw it when I brought it to the work table. To show how the rim top and stem looked at this point I took a close-up photo of the rim and stem. The bowl was clean and the damage to the inner edge and the rim top was very visible. It was a mess! The black acrylic stem was saved from major dog chomping. There are just a few tooth marks on both sides of the stem that could be addressed fairly easily.I removed the stem from the bowl and took photos of the parts. I chose the left side of the bowl as really both sides were equally damaged. This is truly a sad sight to see as the great grain on the bowl shows up nicely under the damage.I had been thinking about what to do with the finish since first seeing the photos. I had decided I would rusticate it but was undecided as to what extent I would go in the process. I wanted to retain the original shape and intent of the pipe while working out the damages. I started by using three different burrs on the Dremel – a ball, a cone and cylinder. Each one gives a slightly different finish. I worked them one after another to seek to blend in the tooth marks as much as possible. I also decided to rusticate the worst areas – the base and part way up each side of the bowl and the entire bowl front. The photos show this first step. I decided to let that rustication pattern sit with me for awhile and not add more to it. I just wanted to think about it for a while. I decided then to patch the bite marks in the upper part of each side and the entire back of the bowl. I also wanted to repair as much of the rim top and edge damage as I could. I used clear super glue and briar dust to patch the many tooth marks around the bowl. The photos show the freckled sides. I built up the damaged front outer edge and the deep marks on the top of the rim with super glue and briar dust. These took some layering to do the job. I looked over the rustication some more and was not completely satisfied with the coverage of the existing rustication or the distance I came around the sides of the bowl. I decided to use a tool that a reader of rebornpipes made for me for rusticating. You can see it in the photos. It is essential a group nails bound together in a handle and with a clamp to give me multiple points to rusticate with. The way it works is to press it into the briar and twist it. You move across the briar until it is “randomly” covered. Once I was happy with the coverage I knock off the debris left behind with a brass bristly brush. I like to knock it down and smooth it out to give it an old leather like look to the rustication. I left the rustication and turned to address the damage to the rim top. I topped the rim with 220 grit sandpaper on the topping board. Once it was smoother and flatter I filled in the divots and holes in the rim top and edges with briar dust and super glue once more. Once I finished I topped it once more to smooth out the repaired areas.With that finished for the moment I turned to sanding the smooth portions of the bowl. I used my Dremel and sanding drum to flatten out the repaired areas first. I followed up by sanding them with 220 grit sandpaper. The photos below show the bowl at this point in the process. Note that there was no damage to the shank so I left it as is and would match the stain to that once I stained the repaired area. I was pretty happy with the way it was looking. I was ready to stain the undercoat on the bowl. I decided to use a black aniline stain for the rusticated part of the bowl and for the undercoat on the smooth sides and rim top. Black does a great job hiding the kind of repairs that I had to do with this briar. I applied the stain and flamed with a lighter. I repeated the process to ensure the coverage was thorough. I flamed it again and set it aside to dry while I had some dinner.I took photos of the bowl at this point to show the coverage of the black stain on the rustication and the undercoat on the smooth areas. After dinner I wiped down the smooth areas with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton pad to make them more transparent and show the grain. I then gave the smooth areas a coat of Mahogany stain using my stain pens to get into the transition areas and control the flow better. The combination of the black undercoat and the Mahogany matched the original shank colour! When that coat of stain had cured I polished the smooth portions of the bowl with micromesh sanding pads. One of the pains of this process is all the flaws show up in the initial sanding. You can see my repairs in some spots but hopefully they bill disappear a bit in the polishing. I was really happy with the right side of the bowl. The repairs virtually disappeared in the staining and sanding. I worked on the left side a little more. I sanded the offending areas of the transition with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper and restained the area. I worked through all of the micromesh pads another time on that area. I was happy with the finished looked at this point. I rubbed the finish down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the smooth areas on the bowl and rim top with my fingertips and the rusticated areas with a horsehair shoe brush. The product cleans, protects and enlivens the briar. I let it sit for about 30 minutes and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. The photos below show the bowl at this point… it is a far cry from the dog eaten bowl that I started with — at least I think it is ;). I set the bowl aside and turned to the stem to address the issues that were on the top and underside. I filled in the tooth marks on the stem with clear super glue. I generally overfill them a bit so that it takes into account the shrinkage that occurs as the repair cures.Once the repairs had cured I sanded them smooth to start to blend them in with the surround acrylic of the stem. I sanded the repairs on both sides with a folded piece of 220 sandpaper and started polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I rubbed the stem down with Denicare Mouthpiece Polish – a red gritty paste a lot like Tripoli to polish it after the 400 grit sandpaper. I rub it on with my fingertips and work it into the vulcanite and buff it off with a cloth. It does a great job before I polish it further with the micromesh pads.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cloth containing some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. The next steps in this restoration were ones that I have been looking forward to. I was glad to reunite the bowl and stem and see what the finished pipe looked like. I polished the silver with a jeweler’s cloth and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I used a light touch on the rusticated portion as I did not want to fill in the rustication with the product. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I carefully buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I finished buffing with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe looks a lot better than dog chewed pipe that I started with. I am happy with the finished look at this point. While the repairs to the smooth areas show a bit they are smooth. The leather like rustication works well with the finish on the bowl in my opinion. The finished Ser Jacopo L1 Billiard is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. This should be a great pipe once it is broken in. The rustication on the base and front give it a very tactile feel that should only be better as it heats up during a smoke. This one will go on the rebornpipes store shortly. If you are interested in it let me know. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Bringing to Life a Unique Kaywoodie Natural Burl 33 – Another Legacy Pipe of a Great Grandfather

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Blog by Dal Stanton

This is the second of 3 of Paw’s pipes that Joe sent to me from Athens, Greece, where he and his wife, Hannah, live and work. Paw is Hannah’s great grandfather who left behind several pipes that Joe has asked me to restore for the family. Paw, also known as, ‘2-Page Sam’ by those who knew him as a salesman of over 40 years of the tobacco giant, Brown & Williamson Tobacco, Corp, has a fascinating story that was described in an article in B&W’s company magazine that I included in the write up of Paw’s Medico Apollo Brylon, which I just completed that turned out well (See: Another Legacy Pipe of a Great-Grandfather: Challenges Working with ‘Brylon’ on a Medico Apollo). Next, two Kaywoodies remain to be restored – a Kaywoodie “500” and the one on my worktable now, a Kaywoodie Natural Burl 33. Here are pictures to take a closer look. The nomenclature is on the underside of the shank’s smooth briar panel with ‘KAYWOODIE’ (as most of it is not legible as the upper half of ‘Kaywoodie’ bleeds into the craggy rusticated landscape) [over] ‘Natural Burl’ in fancy cursive script. To the left of the nomenclature is stamped the Kaywoodie shape number of 33. In Pipedia’s listings of Kaywoodie shape numbers, 33 is listed as: “Large apple, rounded top” that was used as a shape designator from 1937 to 1972.The dating indicators of this Kaywoodie are good. The Natural Burl has a 4-holed stinger which were phased out at the end of the 1950s, though they still show up some in the 60s according to Pipephil.eu’s discussion about Kaywoodie’s stinger evolution. The inlaid white shamrock also points to an earlier period.I found nothing specific in Pipedia or Pipephil.eu about Kaywoodie’s ‘Natural Burl’ line. Expanding my search, I did find very helpful anecdotal information in a February, 2013, thread by ‘kwguy’ on a Kaywoodie discussion group on Tapatalk.com:

Natural Burls are in the catalogs from 1957 to 1962. They were $4.00 when they first came out and $5.00 by the time they were discontinued. They were basically a stained version of the Coral White Briar, which also debuted in 1957. The overall rough texture was described in the catalogs as having a rough texture like the outside of the burl. The rough texture in theory would create more surface area for a cooler feeling bowl. Carving of this type was done on bowls of less desirable grain and with excessive surface imperfections. On the lower side of the quality scale, Natural Burls would have had the white cloverleaf. There may have been the occasional higher grade pipe that was downgraded during production and hence would have the round logo, but I think you’ll mostly see them with the white logos.

Based upon the information of this thread, the Natural Burl Apple before me dates from 1957 to 1962, when they were featured in Kaywoodie catalogs. I looked for a catalog during this period online, but unfortunately, I was unable to find one. The rusticated or carved surface theoretically provides a cooler feeling bowl. This pipe fits Sam’s low budget approach to his pipes. When the Natural Burl Apple first hit the market, it was in a working man’s modest budget range, $4! I’m hopeful that after I’ve completed working on Paw’s vintage Kaywoodie it will look like a million bucks!

The above thread from ‘kwguy’ also mentions that the ‘Natural Burl’ line was featured in Kaywoodie catalogs from 1957 to 1962. There are Kaywoodie catalogs and adds referenced on Pipedia and the Chris Keene Directory of Pictures, but I could find nothing in these ‘go-to’ places for catalogs or listing between 57 and 62. Emails to Steve and rebornpipes contributor, Al Jones, also came up empty. However, Al encouraged me to reach out to Bill Feuerbach, the current president of S.M. Frank with Kaywoodie production in New York. Al said that Bill had always been helpful and had seemed to enjoy providing info. Nothing like going to the top of the pipe food chain! I sent a note to Bill through the S.M. Frank website as well as to the ‘kwguy’ in the Natural Burl thread with the hope of getting a response and perhaps a historical Natural Burl add!

Al’s suggestion to me paid off! In a few days I received a response from Bill Feuerbach, president of S.M. Frank since taking over the role from his father in 1990 as the fourth generation of Feuerbachs overseeing the company. Bill’s note to me:

Dal

I’d love to be able to help you out with that. I’ve looked through what I have at the shop and most of those catalogs are later 60’s to later 70’s. I’m sure I’ll have those older catalogs from that range at home. I’ll try and check tonight.

Best regards

Bill

After arriving home that night, Bill sent an additional note that he hadn’t found anything at his home and would redouble his efforts the following day at the shop to find the sought after ’57 to 62’ catalog pages. Then, this note came in and the treasure hunt ended with success!

Dal

Success!! I found the catalogs at home. They were in a storage tub in the downstairs closet. Funny I don’t remember putting them there. It’s probably been 4 years since I referenced them. It is hell getting old, CRS is kicking in.

Anyway, I’ve attached three images from the 1958, 1960 and 1962 catalogs. I was only using my phone to take pictures and it was difficult not to get any flash or glare. Are they ok? You can tell the year by the retail prices for the Natural Burl.

1958- $4.00

1960- $5.00

1962- $5.95

Let me know when you’ve posted this and the link. I’d like to take a look. If you have any other questions let me know. If in the future you need other images from the catalogs, let me know.

Best regards

Bill

The images Bill sent were great depicting the Kaywoodie presentation of the Natural Burl line. Both the 1960 and 1962 pages, second and third below, showcase the Large Apple on my worktable. The pictures and descriptions are great helping to wrap Paw’s pipe in its historical context! I appreciated the help of Bill Feuerbach, president of the S. M. Frank Co. & Inc. based in New Windsor, New York. The Frank website not only showcases the Kaywoodie, Yello-Bole and Medico brand lines, but has other interesting information as well. In my email response to Bill, I offered to digitize the ‘treasure tubs’ of Kaywoodie catalogs and adds if I only lived a bit closer to his neighborhood! Oh my….

As I was waiting for word from Bill before he found the catalogs, I reread the Pipedia article on the S.M Frank Co. and discovered at the bottom of the article a reference to Brian Levine’s interview of Bill on the Pipes Magazine Radio Show. I tuned in to learn more about Bill and the Kaywoodie name. I was interested to hear in the interview that not only is Bill the CEO of the company, but he is an accomplished freehand pipe maker himself, likes single malts and owns and enjoys pipes in his rotation other than Kaywoodies! It was a great interview and I encourage readers to tune in too!

The name for this Kaywoodie series, ‘Natural Burl’, harkens back to a pipe’s origins – or at least its bowl. The Natural Burl adds above from Bill describe the ‘rugged, weather-carved briar’ that breathes more because of the increased surface of the bowl. Briar comes from a bush-like plant that grows in arid lands. The Kaywoodie motif focuses on the rough state of the burl in its natural form sporting rusticated or carved bowls to emulate a natural harvested burl. The burl is the base of the briar bush that is cut into blocks, each becoming the raw material for fashioning each unique bowl. I found this example online of the burl texture which looks very much like the pipe on my worktable! This interesting information was added about the process at the WorthPoint site:

The mother of briar is Erica Arborea, an evergreen bush / tree, that grows in all forests of the Mediterranean area, preferring acid soils (Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Morocco, Algeria- these are the countries where it is found). The bush has a typical height of 3 – 12 feet. But not the visible parts are the wanted ones, the ball-like roots are the pipe makers desire. These are the raw material for the briar wood, which is cut in blocks (plateaux and ebauchons) by real specialists. After a long process of boiling them in clear water and drying periods, these briar blocks will be ready for the experienced hands of a pipe maker.

With a deepened understanding and appreciation for Paw’s Kaywoodie on my worktable, I look more closely at the issues it brings from its years of service. As one would expect, the craggy Burl bowl is full of grime. The chamber has thickening cake as you go down toward the floor. This needs to be cleaned out as well to inspect the chamber wall and to give the briar a fresh start. The rim has evidences of Sam’s penchant for knocking the stummel on the back side of the rim. It is worn and tapers away from the chamber. The rim was fashioned to be somewhat rough complementing the craggy bowl motif, but there is a large chip or divot out of the rim that will need to be filled and then blended. The bowl itself, along with the rim, is faded and skinned up. I suspect that the original finish bent toward a light brown, but it is now thin and will need refreshing with new dye to blend the rim and bowl. The 1962 add above describes a ‘2-tone brown finish’ characterizing the ‘Natural Burl’ line. This is helpful information that hints at the depth of the final finish.The stem is in rough shape. The oxidation is thick and deep. The bit has calcium caked on it and some lower tooth compressions – not as bad as I’ve seen on Paw’s previous pipes! The stem orientation is also over-clocked which is a normal phenomenon with Kaywoodie screw in stems that happens over years of use with repeated loosening and tightening. This will need to be adjusted as well. I begin the restoration of Paw’s Kaywoodie Natural Burl Large Apple by addressing the severe oxidation in the stem. Before placing the stem in a soak of Before & After Deoxidizer, I get a head-start on removing the oxidation by pre-sanding the stem. I use both 240 grade sanding paper and 000 grade steel wool to sand the stem to remove as much oxidation and caked calcium as possible. The nickel 4-hole stinger also is cleaned up with the steel wool.After the sanding, the stem joins other pipes in the queue in a soak of Before & After Deoxidizer. After a few hours, the Kaywoodie’s stem is extracted from the Deoxidizer and after draining, I squeegee the liquid off the stem with my fingers. I then run a pipe cleaner wetted with isopropyl 95% through the airway to clear the Deoxidizer. Using a cotton pad and alcohol, the stem is wiped to remove the raised oxidation resulting from the soak.After cleaning the stem, paraffin oil is applied to help condition the vulcanite. I put the stem aside to absorb the oil. The stem looks great compared to where it started. It’s cleaning up nicely.Next, I turn the attention to the stummel. I begin by reaming the Kaywoodie’s chamber to remove the cake. Using the Pipnet Reaming Kit, I use two of the four blade heads available in the Kit. I don’t know how long this cake has been waiting to be removed, but it is as hard as a brick. I’m careful not to force the blades beyond their torque endurance level – simply allowing the scraping action to wear away the brick cake. When both blades do what they can, the Savinelli Fitsall Tool continues the scraping of the chamber walls. Finally, to remove the last remaining carbon remnants, a 240 grade sanding paper is wrapped around a Sharpie Pen to sand the chamber getting down to fresh briar. After wiping the chamber with a cotton pad wetted with alcohol, and inspection reveals a perfectly healthy chamber. The picture on the 10^th floor Man Cave balcony where I’m working, does not allow a very good picture of the chamber, but it looks good. Moving on.Next, using undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap, I go to work on the wonderfully craggy but grime-filled surface of the Natural Burl bowl. I use a cotton pad a bit, but transfer to using a bristled toothbrush which gets into the nooks and crannies of the landscape much more effectively.Next, after transferring the bowl to the kitchen sink, I continue to clean the surface and use shank brushes and liquid anti-oil dish soap and warm water to work on the internals. After rinsing thoroughly, back on the worktable I take some pictures of the results. The cleaning has totally removed what was left of the old finish – not unexpected. The cleaning reveals some white fills on the right side of the stummel which are fully embraced in the craggy landscape cover and seem to be solid after testing them with a sharp dental probe.Next, I focus again on the internal cleaning using pipe cleaners and cotton buds wetted with isopropyl 95%. Cleaning Kaywoodie pipes tends not to be easy. Working through the threaded metal shank facing makes access to the mortise difficult. Along with pipe cleaners and buds, the full arsenal added the use of shank brushes, and a dental spoon to scrape the mortise walls. After quite a bit of time and effort, the buds start to emerge lighter and a cease fire is called. I’ll continue the cleaning later with a kosher salt and alcohol soak to work through the night to further clean and freshen the internals of the Kaywoodie stummel.Turning now to the rim, the next step is to fill the divot, or perhaps, the crater on the rim. I go along with the ‘rough’ motif of this Kaywoodie Natural Burl. The rim is rough and the only repair I plan for the stummel is this divot. The damage of Paw’s knocking will remain – it simply adds to the rough rustic look and will be a remembrance of Paw when it is put into service by the family.I place a small mound of briar dust on the mixing palette that I’ve covered with scotch tape for ease of cleaning. Next to the briar dust a small amount of BCI Extra Thick CA glue is puddled.Using the toothpick, briar dust is pulled into the glue and mixed as it is added. As more is added, the resulting briar dust putty thickens. When it reaches the thickness of molasses, with the toothpick the putty is troweled to fill the rim divot.With the briar putty applied, I place the stummel aside for several hours for the putty to cure.Turning now to the stem, the upper bit is in good shape after the ‘pre-sanding’ that was done before putting the stem into the Deoxidizer. The lower bit, pictured below, has some compressions and a button bite compression that need addressing.I start by using the heating method with a Bic lighter. Using the flame of a Bic lighter, I paint the bit using a back and forth motion heating the vulcanite. As the vulcanite heats, it also expands to regain the disposition of the stem before the compressions were made by Paw. The picture below is after the heating and the process has helped the bit compressions so that only sanding should be needed to remove the damage. However, the button is still in need of additional steps.To fill the button lip bite, after wiping the area with alcohol to clean it, I spot drop black CA glue on the compression and put the stem aside for the patch to cure.The patch on the rim is now ready for filing. I use both the flat and half-rounded needle files to remove the excess putty and to shape the internal curve of the rim. I put a stop on sanding and further cleaning the rim because the hour is late, and through the night I want to use a kosher salt and alcohol soak to advance the cleaning of the internals of the stummel. I first fashion a cotton ball into a ‘wick’ by pulling and twisting it. It is then inserted down the mortise into the airway with the help of a stiff wire. The wick helps to draw out the latent residue of tars and oils.The bowl is then filled with kosher salt, which leaves no aftertaste as with regular iodized salt. After placing it in the egg carton to keep it stable, I then fill the chamber with isopropyl 95% until it surfaces over the salt. After a few minutes, as the alcohol is drawn into the stummel, the alcohol is topped off and it is set aside to work through the night. The next morning, the salt and wick are slightly soiled which hopefully means that the internals are already clean from earlier. After dumping the expended salt and wiping the bowl with a paper towel, I blow through the mortise to make sure all the salt crystals have been dislodged. To make sure that the internals are clean, and nothing has been left behind after the soak, I use only one pipe cleaner and cotton bud as confirmation of the cleaning. Moving on.I return now to the rim. I plan to apply a fresh color to the stummel and the only preparation for applying the new stain to the stummel is on the rim. I plan to leave it in the rough motif of the Natural Burl line, but I want the rim cleaned. I lightly sand the internal rim edge as well as lightly around the rough external rim edge as it transitions into the Burl landscape. I’m looking for ‘rough’ and ‘rustic’ but ‘fresh’ to give this unique Kaywoodie a fresh start.I follow the 240 paper with 600 grade paper with the same approach – keep the rustic but refresh the rim.Before moving to the next step, I notice that the nickel shank facing after the cleaning had not been spruced up. A quick revolution of 000 steel wool takes care of this. This is the only bling this Kaywoodie has and I’m making the most of it!As I think about applying a fresh color to Paw’s Kaywoodie, I have only one picture of another Natural Burl online and it is no help in hinting at the original 2-toned brown coloring Kaywoodie used. The best clue I have is on Paw’s pipe. The smooth briar panel on the underside of the shank holding the nomenclature holds a clue. To guard the stamping on the panel I’ve not sanded it – only cleaned with the rest of the stummel. I’m guessing that the coloring of the panel leans toward a light brown. I’m thinking that Kaywoodie’s approach was straightforward with this less expensive line of pipes. Yet, the craggy surface now is so dry and bare, showing pristine briar, that applying even a light brown dye will probably darken considerably as the thirsty briar drinks it in.Looking at the craggy landscape in the picture above brings the next question in my mind about applying a new finish. My normal way of staining with aniline dye is to flame it to combust the alcohol which encourages a deeper embrace of the dye by the briar grain. My normal follow-up to this is then to apply compounds to remove the crusting the combustion creates and to further shine the surface with the fine abrasives of Tripoli and Blue Diamond compounds. The roughness of this stummel causes me to question my normal approach. My concern is that if compounds are used on this craggy rough surface, I will forever be trying to clean out the compound residue lodged in the rough surface! I think I can utilize buffing wheels on the Dremel without too much problem, but without compounds. I decide in the end to apply a dye wash instead of flaming the dye because of this concern.

After wiping the stummel down with a cloth and alcohol to clean it the best I could, the stummel is heated with the hot air gun to open the briar.Then, with the use of a folded pipe cleaner, the surface is painted with Fiebing’s Light Brown Leather Dye. I make sure the dye is getting into all the cracks, crevasses, nooks and crannies. The rim also receives the dye.After the dye is applied, the stummel is set aside to rest for several hours before continuing with the next steps of finishing. This ‘rest’ helps the new dye to stabilize in the briar.Turning back to the stem, the patch applied to the lower button lip is cured and I use a flat needle file to remove the excess patch material and to shape and refresh the button lip. I also file the bit area to remove any residual tooth compression.Flipping over to the upper bit, I file residual compressions as well as refresh the button lip. Refreshing the button lip is helpful to allow a better ‘hang’ grip of the pipe without biting and clenching, and extreme chewing!Continuing now with 240 grade sanding paper on the upper side, the file scratches are removed, and the button is smoothed further. The same is done on the lower bit and to further blend the button patch. I expand the 240 sanding to the entire stem to make sure that residual oxidation has been addressed. Following the 240 sanding, I wet sand the entire stem with 600 grade paper and follow with applying 000 steel wool. The nickel stinger is also a benefactor of the steel wool polishing again.Moving on, the full regimen of 9 micromesh pads are applied by first wet sanding with pads 1500 to 2400 and dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000. Between each set of 3 pads, Obsidian Oil is applied to condition the vulcanite and to guard against oxidation. I love the glossy pop of newly micromeshed vulcanite! I had observed earlier that the Kaywoodie screw in stem was over clocked a few degrees. This happens over time with tightening and loosening.To correct this problem and to bring the stem back to an accurate orientation, a Bic lighter is used to heat the nickel 4-hole stinger. Since the stinger is gripped by the vulcanite of the stem, the goal is to warm the stinger so that the vulcanite gripping the stinger heats and loosens its grip allowing the stinger to rotate. After heating the stinger, I quickly re-screw the stem into the threaded shank facing and when it tightens to the orientation pictured above, I continue to apply clockwise pressure and the heated vulcanite releases its grip and it allows me to turn the stem one full revolution to line it up correctly. I had to heat the stinger twice as the first try did not loosen the grip. After lining the stem orientation correctly, I leave the stem in place and as the vulcanite cools, the grip on the stinger is re-engaged holding the stem again in the proper orientation.Time to address the dyed stummel. It has been resting for several hours to help stabilize the dye in the briar.I use a cotton pad wetted with alcohol to wipe down the dyed stummel. I do this to remove excesses of dye on the surface and to lighten and blend the new dye.Next, I mount a cotton cloth buffing wheel onto the Dremel and simply buff the stummel. I do not use any compounds so that the compound dust does not fowl up the surface getting lodged in the plethora of hiding places on the Burl surface causing me to have to clean it! The Dremel is a great tool for getting into the nooks and crannies of the Natural Burl landscape. I’m able to rotate and move up and down ridges and to reach into crevasses. The newly dyed surface responds well to the buffing wheel. The coloring of the wheel shows that new dye is leeching out of the surface. The more I’m able to remove now, less likely to come off on hands later!Next, I use the 1500 grade micromesh pad and lightly sand over the Burl surface. The aim is to ‘scalp’ the peaks of the mountain tops on the craggy surface to lighten them. The lightening of the peaks creates more contrast and depth definition to the landscape. I follow the scalp sanding by running the Dremel’s buffing wheel over the surface again. This, I believe, achieves the ‘2-toned’ look of Kaywoodie’s design for the ‘Natural Burl’ line.In the homestretch – next, I mount another buffing wheel onto the Dremel setting the speed at about 40% full power. After reuniting the Kaywoodie’s stem and stummel, Blue Diamond compound is applied to the rim and smooth briar surface on the underside and end of the shank. The compound is also applied to the stem. After applying the Blue Diamond compound, the pipe is buffed with a felt cloth to remove the compound dust from the areas on the stummel and from the stem. Next, another cotton cloth buffing wheel is mounted and set at the same speed and carnauba wax is applied to the entire pipe. I’m careful to apply with a very light touch of wax to the Natural Burl surface not to allow wax to build up in the crannies. Wax is applied to both stummel and stem and then the pipe receives a rigorous hand buffing with a microfiber cloth to raise the shine.

Wow! I’m very pleased with how this Kaywoodie Natural Burl Apple shaped up. The brown craggy finish is flecked with shade differences that give it a depth and warmth – a rustic knobby feel. I always enjoy the contrast nuances that the coalescing of rough and smooth briar creates. The smooth briar underside and shank ring alongside of the Burl texture is nice. I’m amazed that this pipe occupied the lower shelf on Kaywoodie’s offerings back in the day when Sam chose it and added it to his rotation of pipes. The TLC it has received has enhanced the briar presentation with this unique Natural Burl finish. I appreciate the collaborative help from Bill Feurbach who even as the president of the S.M. Frank Co., was not hindered from helping with the recommissioning of this one vintage Kaywoodie – a pipe man at heart. Thanks, Bill! I like the Natural Burl a lot and I trust that Joe likes it too. Paw’s Kaywoodie Natural Burl 33 – Large Apple, that was put into production in the mid-50s/early 60s, is a venerable 60-year-old(!), and is starting a new lifetime in the loving care and stewardship of Paw’s family. Adding frosting to the Kaywoodie cake, Joe’s commissioning of this restoration of Paw’s Natural Burl also benefits the Daughters of Bulgaria – women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. Thanks for joining me!

Next on the table – a 1948 MR&Co GBD 191 Chubby Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on my worktable is an older GBD Chubby Billiard that Jeff and I picked up in a recent purchase of pipes. I have always loved older GBD pipes and the thick shank ones always have my attention. The pipe had some beautiful grain shining through the dust grime ground into the smooth finish. The finish was dull and lifeless and very dirty from sitting around. There was a thick cake in the bowl with lava flowing out of the bowl and over the beveled rim top. The cake and lava was thick enough that it was hard to know what the inner edge of the rim looked like. The pipe was stamped on both sides of the shank. The left side bore the GBD Oval logo stamp and nothing else. The right side read London England over the shape number 191. The tarnished band on the shank is Sterling Silver and bears the GBD Oval logo with three hallmarks underneath. There is also the MR&C^o stamp below the hallmarks on the band. The thick tapered stem bore the GBD Oval Brass Roundel and was heavily oxidized and there was light tooth chatter and tooth marks on both sides near the button. The button surface also had some deep tooth marks that would need to be addressed. Jeff took the following photos before he started his cleanup work on the pipe. He took close-up photos of the bowl and rim top from various angles to capture the absolutely filthy condition of the bowl and rim top edges. It is caked with a thick cake with tobacco debris in the bowl and the rim top is beveled but that can hardly be seen in the debris and overflow that has filled in the top. This was a dirty pipe for sure but it must have been a favourite of the pipeman who had held it in trust before it came to us. The next photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show the beautiful smooth mix of birdseye and cross grain around the bowl. It is quite stunning and you can see the grime and grit that is ground into the finish on the bowl sides. Did I say that this pipe was dirty? Perhaps that was a bit of an understatement. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the shank. The left side has the standard GBD Oval stamped into the briar. There is nothing else on the briar of the left side. The right side reads LONDON ENGLAND over 191 which is the shape number. He also took a photo of the band on the shank with its stamping as well as the GBD Oval Roundel on the left side of the stem. The next photos show a top view of the thick tapered stem as well as the top and underside. The oxidation, calcification and tooth marks and chatter on both sides near and on the button are visible in the photos. When the pipe arrived I turned to Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-gbd.html) to see if he could help me with the MR&C^o stamp on the shank band. There was some quick information the top of the page so I did a screen capture of the section and have included it below. It gave me the name behind MR&C^o which I already knew – Marechal & Ruchon Cie. It simply said that MR&C^o first, the CJ Verguet Freres owned GBD from 1903 to 1970 and manufactured the pipes in the St. Claude, France plant. I needed more specific information so I would do some more reading.I turned to Pipedia for more information MR&C – Marechal Ruchon & Cie. There was a specific listing for the company so I turned there https://pipedia.org/wiki/Marechal_Ruchon_%26_Cie.). I quote in full:

Marechal Ruchon & Cie. was a company owned by Auguste Marechal and Ferdinand Ruchon (“& Cie” is the french equivalent of “& Co”) which owned the GBD brand from the end of the 19th century until 1902 when they sold Marechal, Ruchon & Cie. to Oppenheimer Pipe, which in turn changed the name of the company to Marechal, Ruchon & Co., Ltd.. Upon the creation of Cadogan, however, the brand was no more, remembered only in the name of the GBD Marcee pipes made until just after the Second World War. For more information see GBD.

Since the GBD pipe that I was working on bore the MR&C^o stamp in a extended rectangle with pointed ends that helped me know that it was made after MR&Cie sold the company in 1902 to Oppenheimer Pipe in 1902 who changed the name to Marechal, Ruchon & Co., Ltd. The stamp from that time forward matches the one on the GBD on my table.

I turned to the article on Pipedia on GBD itself and found some interesting additional information (https://pipedia.org/wiki/GBD). I quote:

…Meanwhile the GBD name was well established and thus retained. August Marechal and Ferdinand Ruchon led the firm into the 20th century. They were in charge of the company for more than 50 years….

This means that MR&C^o led the firm from 1902-1970. Now I felt like I was on my way to dating this pipe and I have not even looked at the silver hallmarks yet.

I decided to turn to the hallmarks at this point. I knew that the marks were clear and read as follows from right to left. There was a Leopard’s Head without a Crown, a prancing or rampant Lion and the letter N. Each of them was in a square cartouche.

I turned to an internet site on British Silver Hallmarks to unpack the meaning of each of the hallmarks (https://www.925-1000.com/british_marks.html). The first screen capture below picks up the information on the Silver Standard Marks. The Rampant Lion is shown in letter A. It informed the buyer that the silver was Sterling .925.The second screen capture shows the Leopard Heads that were often on silver from London. They are the City Marks and I captured only the London section. The Leopard on this band is the one without the crown. The information on the screen capture is clear that the uncrowned Leopard was on silver from 1822 to the present.Now I knew the first two hallmarks on the band – It was a London Made Silver band made after 1822 and it was .925 Sterling. Now it was time to narrow down the dates on the band. I turned to another webpage that gave me the letter codes so that I could pin down the date on this pipe from that site (https://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Dates/London.html). The large chart on that site covers the time period from 1544-2024. I include a screen capture of the section from 1698 to 1974 as it includes the stamp I am interested in.I have to thank John Fetter on the Facebook Tobacco Pipe Restorers Group for helping me nail this down. I posted the stamping on the shank band on the group with a potential date I was looking at and he posted a more accurate read. He included a photo of a pipe that he was waiting for from 1955 with similar hallmarks other than the “N” stamp that I have inserted below.I also checked the site for the 1948 date that he surmised and found that it matched perfectly to the stamping on the band on my pipe. I have included a screen capture of the section on the chart with the 1948 N stamp.

Now I knew that I was dealing with a GBD pipe made when Oppenheimer owned the company and operated as Marechal, Ruchon & Co. It was made in 1948 and bore the City of London mark in a band of .925 Sterling Silver. This was an old timer – 72 years old, just 7 years older than I am!

Now it was time to look at it up close and personal. I know I have said this before but I have to tell you this again. Jeff does an incredible job when he cleans these pipes. I know for a fact that I could not work on so many pipes without his cleanup work. He saves me an amazing amount of time with what he does. I receive these pipe cleaned and ready to work on with my part. I am very thankful for his help. He is a major part of rebornpipes.

This pipe was nothing short of looking like a completely different pipe! He had a real job in removing all of the cake and the thick lava on the rim top. He had reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He took the cake back to bare briar so we could check the walls for damage. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime on the bowl and rim and was able to remove the lava and dirt. He cleaned out the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until they came out clean. The rim top was clean when you compare it with what it looked like before he started. There was still some darkening on the top and inner edge of the bowl. There was one burned area toward the back of the inner edge and top. He cleaned the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime on the exterior and cleaned out the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I took some photos of the pipe as I saw it. To show how clean the rim top and stem really were I took a close-up photo of them both. The bowl was clean and cake free. The rim top is very clean with no residual lava on the surface of the inward beveled rim top. There was some darkening in the finish on the top and the inner edges of the bowl. The black vulcanite tapered stem cleaned up nicely. There were still some deep spots of oxidation around the shank end and in the crease of the button. The surface had some light tooth marks and the button edge had a deeper mark on each side.I took photos of the stamping on both sides of the shank. You can see that it is very readable and clear on both sides.I removed the stem from the bowl and took photos of the parts. The taper vulcanite stem has the older style stepped down tenon end that extended beyond the end of the mortise into the first part of the airway.I started my part of the restoration by addressing the issues that remained on the rim top. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the inner edges of the bowl and also sand the smooth portion of the inward bevel on the top. I worked it over to minimize the burn mark on the rear inner edge and remove the darkening from the rest of the edge and the rim top. I started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I am happy with the results thus far. It definitely is an improvement. I would be able to polish it and blend it into the natural finish of the bowl.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. The grain really began to stand out and the finish took on a shine by the last sanding pad. The photos tell the story! The bowl looked very good. There were a few war wounds that I decided to leave in the briar as they were part of the story of the pipe. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the smooth finish on the bowl with my fingertips. I let it sit for 10 minutes to let it do its magic. I buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine and grain began to come alive in the finish. I took photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. The bowl was finished so I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the deeper oxidation that still remained in the vulcanite and the tooth marks on both sides of the stem with a folded piece of 220 sandpaper. I also reshaped the button surfaces with the sandpaper at the same time. I started polishing with a folded piece of 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I rubbed the stem down with Denicare Mouthpiece Polish – a red gritty paste a lot like Tripoli to polish it after the 400 grit sandpaper. I rub it on with my fingertips and work it into the vulcanite and buff it off with a cloth. It does a great job before I polish it further with the micromesh pads.I polished the band with some tooth paste – rubbed it on with my fingertips and rubbed it off with a cotton pad. It really shone and gave a bit of pop to the shank and stem.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cloth containing some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I gave it a final rub down with Briarville’s No Oxy Oil to preserve and protect the vulcanite stem. I put the bowl and stem back together again and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I used a soft touch on the sandblast bowl so as not to fill in the blast with the product. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I carefully buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I finished buffing with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe looks very good. The grain patterns around the bowl are very nice and the chunky shape of the bowl and shank look great. The pipe feels great in the hand. It is comfortable and light weight for a pipe of its size. The finished GBD 191 London England Chunky Billiard is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¼ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. This 1948 GBD Billiard turned out very well. It should be a great pipe. This one will be joining my collection of older GBD pipes. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

New Life for a Second Generation Butz-Choquin A Metz Origine

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on my worktable brings back a lot of fond memories for me. The first is walking through the restoration of Paresh’s Grandfather’s A Metz Origine. Paresh and I had chatted on Facetime many times during this particular restoration (https://rebornpipes.com/2018/11/17/a-challenging-restoration-of-vintage-era-first-choquin-a-metz/). Paresh had determined that this pipe was very old. I quote:

From all the input that I have gathered, the flat bottom bowl, the stamping, the sterling silver adornments, the bone shank extension and horn stem, I can safely place this piece as being one of the first A Metz pipes from the 1858 era! (Photo from Paresh)That was the first memory of the Origine. The second one is also is one I cherish. On my trip to India last year to visit Paresh and Abha and their daughters Mudra and Pavni I had the privilege of not only seeing this pipe up close but of also being the first one to smoke it since the restoration. What a privilege to be able to smoke Paresh’s Granfather’s pipe. It was so light weight and an amazing smoke. It was cool and dry to the end of the bowl. I cannot thank Paresh enough for letting me fire up this old timer. Dal wrote about this in a great blog about the trip called West meets East in India (https://rebornpipes.com/2019/05/30/west-meets-east-in-india-to-restore-a-grandsons-treasure-an-1846-bbb/). I quote Dal as he so ably described this experience:

As we had planned, in celebration of the completion of the restoration together we smoked 3 unbelievable vintage pipes with albatross shank extensions and horn stems – all from the 1800s. Oh my…. We each thoughtfully packed our bowls with our choice of blends and lit up and, well…. What a treat for Paresh to share the treasure trove of pipes left to him by his grandfather. Jeff did the honor of commemorating this event with pictures. (Photo from Dal)For me smoking that older BC A Metz Origine was a delight. I was able to enjoy a great English tobacco in this historic pipe. So when this pipe showed up in one of Jeff’s auctions we went for it and picked it up. While the 1858 Origine had an albatross wing bone for the shank extension the new one had a shorter acrylic look alike. The shape of the bowl is the same but the 1858 version’s horn stem was replaced by an acrylic stem that was nowhere near as elegant as the first.The pipe was in overall good condition. The silver (polished nickel) that caps the shank and the faux “bone” extension was tarnished but in good condition. The stem was amazingly clean with just some tooth chatter on both sides near the stem. The finish was dull and lifeless and a little dirty from sitting around. There is a cake in the bowl and an overflow of lava on the rim top toward the back. There also appears to be some burn/charring damage on the inner edge in the same area. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Butz-Choquin over A Metz over Origine. On the right side of the shank it is stamped St. Claude France over the number 2. Jeff took the previous and the following photos before he started his cleanup work on the pipe.Jeff took close-up photos of the bowl and rim top from various angles to capture the condition of the bowl and rim top edges. You can see the darkening around the inner edge of the rim and the damage at the back of the bowl. You can also see the cake in the bowl and the lava overflow onto the back of the rim top. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show condition of the briar. You can see the birdseye grain on sides of the bowl. And the cross grain on the heel, front and back of the bowl. The stamping is very clear on both sides of the pipe. The next two photos confirm what I wrote about the stamping above.The next photo of the stem to shows the general condition of the stem. The flow of the shank extension with a silver cap each side is well done. The angle of the stem is very similar to the shape of the original 1858 horn stem. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the light tooth chatter on both sides near the button. I turned to Pipephil (www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-butzchoquin.html) to get a bit of background on the second or the modern version of the Origine pipe. I have included a screen capture of the pertinent section below.Now it was time to look at it up close and personal. Jeff had great job in cleaning up this Origine. He had reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He took the cake back to bare briar so we could check the walls for damage and also see the extent of the burn damage on the back of the inner edge of the rim. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime on the bowl and rim and was able to remove much of the grime and dirt. He cleaned out the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until they came out clean. The rim top looked much better when you compare it with where it started. The damaged area is very clear now and the extent of the damage was clear. He cleaned the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime on the exterior and cleaned out the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I took some photos of the pipe as I saw it. To show how clean the rim top and stem really was I took a close-up photo of the rim and stem. The bowl was clean and cake free. The rim top is quite clean and the damage to the back inner edge of the bowl is clear. The pinkish/bone coloured acrylic stem looks very good. The surface and the button edge look really good. There are no issues that are there to address. The tarnished silver ends on the shank ends have a rich shine to it now as well.I removed the stem from the bowl and took photos of the parts. The shank extension came apart at the shank end but not at the stem. It was glued to the stem and unmovable. The pipe looks pretty amazing – kind of a shorter version of the 1858 Origine.I decided to address the burned area on the inner edge and top of the rim first. I started by lightly topping the bowl to clean up the top edge. Once it was smooth I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to give the inner edge a bevel to minimize the damage at the back of the bowl. I decided to polish the rim top and the bowl next. I polished them with the micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads to remove the sanding scratches on the rim top and blend it into the bowl. I wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. When I finished the bowl and rim top looked significantly better. I touched up the stain on the rim top Oak stain pen. The match to the rest of the bowl was very good. Once I buffed it the colour would be a perfect match. The repaired rim top looked very good and the burn damage was gone.I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes to let it do its magic. I buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. The bowl was finished so I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. Since it was quite clean I decided to polish the stem and shank extension with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cloth containing some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I put the bowl and stem back together again and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I used a soft touch on the extension and stem but work the bowl over with a regular touch to the wheel. I buffed the pipe with carnauba wax and a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I finished buffing with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The grain patterns came alive with the buffing and wax and looked great to me. It has a great feel in the hand and if it is at like the first generation 1858 Origine should smoke very well. The finished Butz-Choquin Origine 2 pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 8 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 5/8 of an inch. This modern replica of the original A Metz turned out very well. It should be a great pipe. It is one that I am not sure what to do with at the moment. It brings back the memories spoken of at the beginning of the blog and I need to sort that out a bit before making a decision. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.