Tag Archives: topping a bowl

A Cutty Tavern Pipe – Recommissioning a Historical Classic as a Gift for a Steward of History

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Blog by Dal Stanton

Tavern Pipe
By Suzie Baker

Summary and excerpts of the artist’s description:
Here the subject poses as an American Colonial man from 1776; he actually posed on Washington’s Birthday.  He has a ruddy complexion and piercing blue eyes. From my perspective, he is more interesting to paint than a golden-haired beauty.

He poses with a tavern pipe. This type of pipe was a communal pipe used in pubs in the 18th century. After each use, the pipe stem was cut away then replaced on the mantel for the next user. I chose a color scheme appropriate to the time period and drew inspiration from Rembrandt’s work in the direct gaze, dark background and loose handling of paint, especially in the clothing….

Let me first tell you the story about the commissioning of the Cutty Tavern Pipe now on my worktable and then I will tell you about the gifted artist I discovered in my research about tavern pipes, Suzie Baker, and her amazing offer to benefit the Daughters of Bulgaria with her ‘Tavern Pipe’.Living in Bulgaria, the opportunities to talk with our grown children (and growing grandchildren!) residing in the US, is a special treat.  My son, Jonathon, reached out to me on FaceTime with a special, ‘historical’ request.  Jonathon desired to commission a special ‘historical’ pipe as a gift for Andrew, a friend who was leaving his job as the assistant curator of the Dearborn Historical Museum – an American city in the state of Michigan that takes its history seriously.   Jonathon, while serving on the mayoral appointed Dearborn Historical Commission, befriended Andrew as Andrew fulfilled his duties as a curator for the museum tasked with safeguarding Dearborn’s history.

Today, Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit, is proud to be one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world.  Yet, Dearborn’s history is predominantly shaped by the controversial industrialist and auto manufacturer, who called Dearborn his home, Henry Ford (1863-1947).

When Jonathan shared his desire to commission a pipe with some historicity as a gift for a CURATOR of a museum, and that museum was the Dearborn Historical Museum, I was anxious to rise to the challenge that that request presented.  I did a fast dictionary search on Google to see a working definition of ‘Curator’.  This is what I found:

Automobile manufacturer Henry Ford, left, and his son, Edsel, in one of their car showrooms in January 1928. (AP) from Washington Post article (link)

Curator:
a keeper or custodian of a museum or other collection.
“the curator of drawings at the National Gallery”
synonyms: custodian, keeper, conservator, guardian, caretaker, steward

I took special interest in the last word listed as a synonym of curator – ‘steward’, which speaks to my ‘Pipe Steward’ sentiments.  Understanding that we are not the owners ultimately but protecting and caring for that which belongs to others to pass it on.  I understand this as I handle pipes which are laden with their own histories revealed in the nomenclature, but often the history and legacies of that pipe’s steward(s) joins the pipe’s legacy moving together to the future.  As a curator, Andy participated in guarding history.  History by its very nature comes with a blend of beauty and goodness coalescing with ugliness and pain – each side of the pendulum is history which we guard so that we do not forget it and continue to learn from past triumphs and failures – even when it’s not comfortable.

So, the gauntlet was thrown: A Steward of History (Andrew the Curator) is celebrated for his service by the current president of the Dearborn Historical Commission (my son), who reaches out to The Pipe Steward (that’s Dal in Bulgaria) to commission a special pipe, with historical gravitas to adequately serve as an appropriate gift.  Jonathon asked for my recommendations, but relying on the Harry Potter principle in wand selection approach, I turn Jonathon loose

Keens Steakhouse reported to be the oldest pub/restaurant in NYC and that celebrates their history of clay cutty taven pipes and have a serious collection of clay pipes on display (Link from PipesMagazine.com).

looking through my virtual ‘Help Me!’ baskets in the For “Pipe Dreamers” Only! collection to discover which pipe would choose Andrew and let Jonathon know 😊.  After whittling the list down, one pipe did the choosing – the Cutty Tavern Pipe which I acquired from the Lot of 66 off the eBay auction block.  After Jonathon confirmed the commissioning, the first question that came to my mind, since I don’t know Andrew personally, was whether he is the kind of curator that enjoys a trip to the pub after a long day curating at the museum?  This was an important question for my historical research – how do you talk about Tavern Pipes without an appreciation for the natural and historical habitats from which Tavern Pipes have their genesis?  Thankfully, with a confident confirmation, Jonathan assured me that yes, Andrew would enjoy a pub.  With that settled, I began my research.

I found a short description of the Cutty shape on ThePipeGuys site to be a good summary and historical description of the Cutty Tavern Pipe.

Cutty

Tavern scene with a man smoking a pipe next to a barrel with a jug on top of it, his left foot resting on a bench. 1694 From the British Museum (Link)

There is no denying the resemblance that the Cutty bears to the clay tavern pipes of a bygone age. Delicately shaped, Cuttys typically have not an ounce of excess briar left in place. This delicacy of shaping necessitates the use of a special drill bit for the tobacco chamber, which tapers even more drastically than a Danish conical bit, and comes to a sharp point at its tip. A special honor is paid to this pipe, in that this type of conical bit is now called the “cutty bit”.

Notice, the ladies are not left out!
From Pinterist Pipe Smoker Group (link)

Many Cuttys still include the “spur” at the foot of the bowl, once again hearkening back to their clay ancestors, but while the spur of a clay pipe was the remnant of the manufacturing process, the briar versions are purely nostalgic. The bowl of the Cutty is heavily canted forward, which helps differentiate it from other long-shanked pipes like the Canadian. The Cutty may sometimes display a very unique stem, which is slim, slender, and round (almost like a straw). However, the majority of modern Cuttys now sport a tapered stem and come in many finishes.

Try simply googling ‘Cutty Tavern Pipe’ and 100s of images begin sharing different shards of the story and one feels like he’s in a time machine.  Of course, the briar descendants of the classic clay workhorse Cuttys of the 1800s and the early 1900s, claim this heritage as their own.

Elizabethans called a pipe a “little Ladell.”

TobaccoPipes.com adds this information in their ‘Complete Guide to Tobacco Pipe Shapes’:

As far as we can tell, the Cutty is the oldest pipe shape that is still available today.  

As early as the 16th century, pipe smokers would settle in at their favorite tavern and–if they had a high enough social status–would pull out a long clay pipe, almost always a Cutty shape.  This shape was common because it was easy to craft in the molds used for clay pipes (William Goldring, The Pipe Book: A History and How to:1973).  

In my digging into the Cutty clay pipe history, I discovered one very interesting and surprising article (at least to me) that a curator would appreciate.  The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s (Virginia, USA) website, History.org, published an article by Ivor Noël Hume entitled, “Hunting for a Little Ladle – Tobacco Pipes” (link).  The author describes how archeologist can learn much about different periods of Colonial America in Williamsburg, Virginia’s, history through the recovery of thousands of clay pipe fragments!  As we’ve already mentioned, hygienic concern is the predominant theory.  An excerpt from the author is enlightening:

There are thousands of pipe fragments found in Williamsburg. An early explanation for their ubiquity had it that in colonial-era taverns’ pipes passed from mouth to mouth, but that in the interests of hygiene the previously lip-gripped section was broken off and thrown away. There is no documentary support for that notion, but it is known that used pipes were placed in iron cradles and heat cleansed in bake ovens before being issued to the next round of smokers.

And then I came across this picture that was among 100s of others on the google ‘Tavern Pipe’ image search page results – and I paused.  I see a pipe man in an age gone by and I immediately know what he’s doing as a fellow-pipe man.  Yes, he’s smoking his beautifully shaped long Cutty Tavern Pipe, but he’s doing something else much more important – that his Cutty clay is helping him to do – reflection.  He’s looking out the window, or at the hearth with his eyes, but his heart and soul are elsewhere, seeking understanding or perhaps a much-needed answer.  It is not lost to me as well, that his waiting quill – while ready to move and inscribe on the parchment the sought-out knowledge or answer that his reflection is cultivating, is at rest.  For that moment, the quill waits for the hand’s movement from the heart’s command.

Every pipe man and woman know that smoking a pipe is more than smoking.  It’s a ritual that brings us into calm or fellowship and a slowed time for reflection as we seek to negotiate life and care for loved ones and friends.  The name of the painting I was lost in was simply ‘Tavern Pipe’.  I knew at that moment I wanted to include this painting in the writeup of this special Cutty Tavern Pipe for a special friend of my son – a museum curator would appreciate what I see.

In the next moment I was composing my email to the artist, Suzie Baker, after I clicked on the link taking me to her website where I found her contact information.  This is what I wrote:

Dear Ms. Baker,

I’m writing to you asking for permission to use the picture of your beautiful painting, Tavern Pipe, in a write up I am doing on the restoration of a briar wood Cutty Tavern Pipe.  I came across your www.suziebaker.com site while doing research on tavern pipes.  I will give full credit to your work and website when I cite the information. 

I am an artist of another kind.  You can see my website at www.ThePipeSteward.com.  I collect old, used and often discarded vintage pipes and restore them.  I then sell them world-wide and give the proceeds to the Daughters of Bulgaria – a work in Bulgaria helping women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited.  My wife and I live and work in Bulgaria with the Daughters of Bulgaria.  The pipe restoration hobby is a personal way I try to make a difference by talking about this issue to primarily a men’s world – pipe smokers.  Each restoration has its own write-up which you can see at the website.  I will not use the picture of your painting without permission and if given, will, as I said, give you and your site full recognition.  As a pipe lover and one who enjoys a bowl now and then, your painting captures something of the spirit of those who enjoy, and yes, love not only the smoking of pipes, but the beauty of pipes as they showcase both beauty and design.  I call my work, The Pipe Steward, is because unlike cigarettes and cigars (which I do not like!) pipes are often heirlooms and are passed down from generation to generation.  They often carry with them the memories of those who had them before. 

Thank you for your consideration of this request. 

Best regards, 

Dal Stanton
The Pipe Steward

In the past I’ve written notes like this to individuals and pipe houses asking for information about pipes to aid research and I press the ‘send’ button with a very low expectation that this burst of electrons ever finding their way back to my inbox.  I was surprised when her reply arrived so quickly.  Here is what she said:

Hi Dal,

Thanks for the request and your service to those caught in trafficking, a daunting and worthy cause. 

Yes, I would be pleased for you to use my image in your write-up. In fact, this painting is still available so if the posting results in a sale, I will donate 25-30% of the sale back to your worthy cause. The price and details are listed on my sight in the info under the painting (as seen on a computer screen) or info tag on a Mobile device. 

I am on an airplane currently and about to take off. I can send you the image tomorrow. Please let me know what resolution you require. 

Blessings,

Suzie Baker OPA
Vice President, Oil Painters of America 

 

 

Well, as the president of the Daughters of Bulgaria Foundation, her generous offer was something I could not refuse as we work for the benefit of the Daughters.  I appreciated her response and offer.  After looking at her website, I was drawn to the “About Suzie Baker” tab – who is this person?  Not only is she an accomplished artist, wife and mother, but she recognizes that her talent is a gift and she uses this gift to give back to others – especially artists.  There’s much more on this page that describes the accomplishments of this artist who also desires to be a benefactress of women who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. Her ‘calling’ is similar to my own, as I seek to ‘give back’ specially to pipe men and women, the gift of restoring pipes that I am stewarding for a time, and at the same time, seeking to benefit the Daughters.  About Suzie Baker:

Giving Back

This artist also believes in giving back to the community of artists, and she is proud to serve as a Board Member with the Oil Painters of America. “Serving on the board with OPA is and will be a highlight of my career, primarily because of the opportunity it gives me to serve my fellow artists,” she says. “Being on the path of a working artist is a calling. I find helping others on their path a very satisfying pursuit.” She has also earned Signature Member status in numerous other prestigious art organizations: the American Impressionist Society, the

Click the picture for the Daughters!

National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society, the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, the Outdoor Painters Society, the California Art Club, and American Women Artists.” – from Suzie Baker, Fine Artist at https://www.suziebaker.com/info/suzie

Pipe men and women, if you would like to add the ‘Tavern Pipe’ to your collection of pipes and artwork and help a good and needful cause at the same time, the Daughters of Bulgaria, click the image on the right which takes you to Suzie Baker’s site with a full description of the Tavern Pipe painting, and a higher resolution picture to view. Contact information for Suzie Baker is also included.  When you contact her, simply tell her that it’s for the Daughters.

This story has told you about the son, the curator and the artist.  Now, the story turns to the Cutty Tavern Pipe on my work table – the main character!  I was fascinated by the research I did that shed light on this unmarked Cutty.  All the before-mentioned descriptions are true of this 9-inch Cutty Tavern Pipe.  Here are pictures that show you what I’m seeing.     This pipe is the perfect gift for the curator!  One more bit of research that showcases the historical uniqueness of clay Cutty Tavern Pipes and its relations to its briar descendants.  The severely canted and uniquely shaped bowl comes to a point as it ties into the long, pencil thin shank and stem.  A very interesting diagram I discovered at CanadianArchaeology.com (link) of the National Historic Parks Branch of Canada, depicts the historical development of the clay pipe bowl and provides the corresponding dating for that particular style.  As I look at the diagram’s images and comparing them to our Cutty, it was fashioned after the clay Cuttys belonging to the period from 1820 to 1860.  The canting and the bowl width, along with the spur, now ornamental for the briar, all seem to align.  I have no way of dating the Cutty Tavern Pipe heading to Andrew, but its history and heritage wrap around it even in the absence of a verifiable nomenclature.

Armed now with a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the Cutty Tavern Pipe on my table, I take a closer look at his condition.  The briar, somewhat subdued underneath the dirt and grime, is beautiful.  The surface itself shows that it has been well loved and used by a previous steward.  There are nicks and dents over the bowl surface as well as the shank. The pipe shows signs of wear but has been well-cared for.  I say that because, with a shank of only 7/16 inches wide at the stem joint, the fact that the shank hasn’t cracked at this very thin juncture is amazing!  A caution to the future steward, be careful with the stem mounting and removal!  The shank IS pencil thin.  Looking at the rim, there are some dents on the external lip and some significant lava flow over the backside of the rim.  The conical chamber has moderate cake build up which I will remove to provide the briar a fresh start.  The long pencil stem shows some oxidation and tooth chatter on the bit.  The button and slot look to be in good shape.To begin the restoration, using pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl 95% and long shank brushes, I clean the internal airway of the pencil stem.  It was dirty.After soaking for several hours, I remove the stem and take a closeup shot to reveal the raised oxidation – the olive green layer is now to be removed.To remove the oxidation, I wet sand the stem using 600 grade paper.  Following the sanding, I apply a 0000-grade steel wool on the entire stem as well cleaning the surface further.  To begin the process of rejuvenating the vulcanite, I apply a mineral oil – paraffin oil, to the stem and put it aside to absorb.  It’s looking good!I begin the cleaning process of the stummel by reaming the chamber.  Because of the small, tapering chamber, I do not use my regular Pipnet Ream kit but instead go directly to using the Savinelli Fitsall tool and it does a stellar job.  It reaches very easily to the difficult areas at the floor of the chamber and negotiates well the angle of the conical bowl.  Using 240 grit paper around a Sharpie Pen, I sand the chamber to clean further the carbon cake.  Finally, I clean the carbon dust using a cotton pad wetted with isopropyl 95%.  After inspecting the chamber, I see no heating problems with cracks or fissures.  I move on. Next, to clean the external surface of the stummel I use undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a cotton pad to scrub.  This does a great job.  I also utilize the straight edge of a pocket knife to gently scrape the lava crust from the rim and then use a brass wire brush to work on the burned area of the rim.  The cleaning well removes the finish on the stummel, but there remains a darkened area on the rim where there was scorching.  To complete the basic cleaning regimen, I use pipe cleaners and cotton buds to work on the internals of the mortise.  With the stem internal airway as dirty as it was, I am not surprised to find the mortise equally mucked up with tars and gunk.  After I put on surgical gloves, my first hurdle was to clear the entire airway.  The first pipe cleaners I plunged into the abyss would not push through the draft hole – something was blocking. After a few attempts, the pipe cleaner pushed old tobacco through, and it was finally cleared.  In addition to pipe cleaners and cotton buds dipped in alcohol, I use a long-wired shank brush wetted with alcohol to clean the airway.  A dental probe was also helpful reaching in and excavating the collected tars off the mortise walls.  To increase my cleaning leverage more, I use a drill bit almost the size of the airway, hand turning it as it moves up the airway, scraping the tars of the briar as it goes.  Finally, some headway is realized, and cotton buds begin to lighten.  I’m satisfied with the cleaning for now.With the workday ending, I continue the cleaning of the internals using a kosher salt and alcohol bath.  I first stretch and twist a cotton ball to form a ‘mortise wick’ that I insert into the long, narrow shank of the Cutty.  I use a slender painter’s brush to help force the cotton down the airway.  I then situate the stummel in an egg carton and fill the bowl with kosher salt.  Kosher salt doesn’t leave an aftertaste like iodized salt.  I then fill the bowl with isopropyl 95% until is surfaces over the salt.  I wait a few minutes as the alcohol recedes and then top it off.  I turn out the light to let the salt and alcohol do it job through the night. The next morning the soak has done the expected job.  The kosher salt and cotton wick are soiled after drawing out oils and tars from the internal cavity.  I empty the bowl of salt, wipe the chamber with a paper towel, use a shank brush and blow through the mortise to remove any left-over salt crystals.  To make sure the cleaning is complete, I expend a few more cotton buds and pipe cleaners and find great results. A refreshed pipe for the curator! Moving on!I look now at the rim.  With the dents I see on the outer lip and the scorched darkened briar on the inside of the rim lip, I decide to top the stummel lightly to remove most of the damage to the rim and to freshen the rim lines.  After placing 240 grade paper on a chopping board, with the stummel inverted, I rotate the stummel over the paper several times to top the stummel.  I check to make sure I’m remaining true and finish with a few more rotations. I change the paper on the board to 600 grade and rotate the inverted stummel a few more times to smooth the rim surface further following the coarser 240 grit.  Not all the darkened briar is removed, but I’m not willing to give up more of the rim’s briar.  I focus now on the internal lip of the rim and introduce a bevel to remove more of the darkened briar.  I first cut the bevel using a coarse 120 grade paper followed by 240, then 600.  With each grade of paper, I fold it into a tight roll and then pinch it against the inner rim with my thumb.  I work the rolls around the rim so at the end it is an even, consistent bevel.  I like the subtle softening of the internal bevel and it accomplishes sufficient removal of damaged briar.I move on to the stummel preparation.  As I identified above, I find some significant cuts and dents in the stummel, and especially in the narrow shank.  My guess is that the pipe was stored in a can with the stem inserted first.  The cuts in the shank look like injuries sustained as the shank rubbed against the can edge – my theory.   I take a few pictures to show this.  I decide to fully clean the briar surface and I use 240 grade sanding paper over the entire stummel followed by 470 grade paper.  I then wet sand the stummel using 600 grade paper.  The pictures show the progress. Next, I use sanding sponges to sand and smooth the surface more.  I start with a coarse sponge, then medium then finally, a light grade sponge.  The grain starts emerging during the sponge sanding process.  It looks good. While inspecting the shank afterwards, I notice the crevasse that remains in the shank.  I use a magnifying glass to take a closer look.  It doesn’t appear to be a trauma resulting in a crack but a gouge or cut.  To be on the safe side and for cosmetic reasons, after wiping the area with alcohol to clean it, I apply CA glue to it to seal it. After applying a drop of CA glue on the crevasse, I put the stummel aside giving time for the CA glue patch to cure.With the stummel on the side, I turn back to the stem and look at it again.  The tooth chatter that was evident before was fully removed during the earlier wet sanding with 600 grade paper and 0000 steel wool.  I decide to move now to the micromesh phase by first wet sanding with pads 1500 to 2400 and follow this by dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000.  Between each set of 3 I apply Obsidian Oil to revitalize the vulcanite.  The pencil stem looks great! The CA glue patch applied to the crevasse on the shank has cured and is ready to be sanded down and blended.  Using 240 grit paper, I sand down the initial patch mound until it is flush with the briar surface.  Following this, I again use 600 grit paper to erase the 240 scratches and to smooth it out.  As before, I then apply each sanding sponge, starting with the coarse sponge, medium then light. I can still see the scar, but it is now sealed and smooth to the touch and blends in nicely.  A needed detour. With the repair finished, now I apply micromesh pads to the Cutty stummel.  First, I wet sand using pads 1500 to 2400.  Following I dry sand with pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000.  The spur even gets its time in the sanding process! During the micromesh phase, I watch the grain emerge and it is beautiful, and see the Cutty bowl design more clearly.  The horizontal grain flanking both sides of the bowl run parallel with the shank.  The cant of the bowl is accented by the grain as the bowl seems to jut out with the grain.  The effect catches the eye.  Added to this is the bird’s eye grain that is on the fore and rear of the bowl.  Whoever turned this block of briar into the Cutty was insightful and could see what the lines would do with the canted Cutty angles.  The picture of the Comoy’s Blue Riband 347 Cutty below (link) has the same eye catching grain motif.  I found this picture of a Cutty as I was doing an online survey looking at the different hues that briar Cuttys come in generally.  Of course, you will find a spectrum of color from dark to light as you look at the googled image pages.  Yet, as I looked at 100s of pictures, what seemed to be resonating with me was the darker hues like the Comoy’s above depicts.  Of course, the clay Cutty is white, but the older ‘English’ classic feel was communicated more through the darker hues like this striking Comoy’s.  My decision was made, and after assembling my desktop staining tools, I mix together Fiebing’s Dark Brown Leather Dye 2 parts to 1 with Fiebing’s Saddle Tan Pro Dye in a shot glass.  After wiping the stummel with alcohol to clean it, I insert into the mortise two doubled pipe cleaners to serve as my handle.  I then heat the Cutty stummel with a hot air gun to open the briar helping it to be more receptive to the dyes.  Using a folded pipe cleaner as an applicator, I ‘wash’ parts of the stummel with the dye and then ‘flame’ it using a lit candle.  As an aniline dye, the alcohol combusts when it meets the flame and as the alcohol burns off in a ‘puff!’ it sets the dye pigment into the briar.  I methodically apply the dyes to the entire stummel flaming as I go. When thoroughly covered, I put the stummel inverted on a cork situated in a candle stick holder to rest through the night allowing the dye to settle.  I discovered that this period of resting is important as it helps guard against the newly applied stain to come off on the fingers later when the pipe is first put into service and the briar is heated for the first time.The next morning I’m ready to start ‘unwrapping’ the fired and dyed stummel.  The firing creates a crust on the surface which I initially remove with the use of a felt buffing wheel applying Tripoli compound.  I mount the felt buffing wheel onto the Dremel, set the speed at the lowest RPMs because I do not want to create too much friction and scorch the briar.I methodically work the felt wheel through the crust revealing the briar grain underneath the crust.  Throughout the process, I purge the felt wheel often as it collects the crusty fired dye.  I stage a picture (below) to show the contrast after the felt wheel applies Tripoli compound and has unwrapped a portion of the stummel revealing the stained grain beneath.  After I complete the initial unwrapping of the entire stummel, I change from a felt cloth buffing wheel to a cotton cloth wheel and increase the speed of the Dremel to 40% full power.  I then apply another round of Tripoli compound with the softer cotton wheel.  I discovered doing this after the felt wheel helps to angle in to the crook of the shank/bowl junction better, but it also removes more dye blotches revealing a sharper grain contrast.After completing the second round of Tripoli, I wipe the stummel with a cotton cloth wetted with alcohol.  This can lighten the finish if I choose to rub more aggressively but I don’t.  I’m satisfied with the color, but the wipe helps blend the finish further and remove excess dye.I follow the Tripoli compound by applying the finer Blue Diamond compound.  I mount another cotton cloth wheel to the Dremel, keep the speed at 40%, and apply the compound.  I apply it to both the stummel and the stem.  Since the stem is longer, it’s easier to keep them separated as I apply the compound.Following the Blue Diamond, another cotton cloth wheel is mounted, the speed remains the same and I apply Carnauba wax to both the stem and stummel.After completing the application of wax, I try to reunite the stem and stummel and discover that the tenon/mortise fit is too snug for comfort.  This often happens after internal cleaning and the briar is wet and that can expand it microscopically – enough that forcing the tenon into this pencil thin shank is a recipe for disaster – cracking a shank is not a fun thing to deal with! To remedy this, I wrap a piece of 600 grit paper around the tenon and sand it down until it fits more easily and snuggly.  This restoration has told an interesting story.  The Cutty Tavern Pipe looks great.  The dark brown finish and polishing regimen has resulted in a unique Cutty bowl drawing even more attention.  The Cutty Tavern Pipe’s lines are classic and harken back to a day gone by when these pipes were fashioned with clay and were held proudly by both those with means and the common man and woman who had gathered with friends to enjoy each other at the pub and a smoke.  A fitting gift for a curator of history and even more so, the commissioning of this pipe by my son, benefits the Daughters of Bulgaria – helping women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited.  The unexpected turn in this story is the painting, ‘Tavern Pipe’, depicting the pipe man and his pipe – an accurate and telling image captured on canvas by the brush of a gifted artist, Suzie Baker, whose generosity is making available a percentage of the sale of this painting to the Daughters of Bulgaria.  Is there a pipe man or woman out there to bring the Tavern Pipe home benefiting the Daughters?  I hope so!  Thank you for joining me!

 

Life for an interesting Triangle Shank Enrico Bocci Belgium 612

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe in the queue is an interesting triangular shaped billiard – I think that is what I would call it. It came to us in the lot that included the pipe cabinet and 21 pipes. There is a decided slope from the button to the junction of the bowl and shank. The bottom of the bowl and shank is flattened and broad so that it is a very stable sitter. It is a unique piece and like many of those in this lot it is a brand that I have not seen before. It is on the second shelf, the third pipe from the right in the photo below. I have circled it in red to make it easier to identify.The finish on the pipe is very dirty with an interesting orange and black contrasting stain. I look forward to seeing it cleaned. There is a thick cake in the bowl and a lava overflow on the rim top. I can see some damage to the outer edge of the rim but because of the cake and tars it is hard to know what the inner edge looks like. Jeff took photos of the pipe before cleaning it. The photos give a pretty clear picture of the shape of the pipe and its general condition when we received it. Jeff took some photos of the bowl/rim top and the sides and bottom of the bowl to give and idea of the condition and the shape. You can see the nicks on the back and front side of the outer edge of the rim. He also took photos of the stamping on the left and underside of the shank. The left side was clear and readable. It read Enrico Bocci in script over Marrone. On the underside it said Belgium followed by the shape number 612. The left side of the stem also had a stamped EB logo. The stem had some deep scratching in the surface ahead of the button and some small tooth marks next to the button. There was also wear on the sharp edge of the button.Enrico Bocci was a brand that I was unfamiliar with so I did some research on the web to see what I could learn about the brand and the maker. I turned first to Pipephil and found the first lead. As usual the site gives a great summary. It identified the maker as Enrico Bocci and the brand as Italian (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-e3.html). This did not match the Belgium stamping on the underside of the shank so more searching would be necessary. I have included a screen capture from Pipephil that gave the initial information on the brand. It seems that Bocci retired from pipe making in the 1980s so that helped to date the pipe that I am working on.I turned then to Pipedia to see what I could find out there (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bocci). The brand was listed under the country of Belgium. Sadly there was not a lot of information. I have copied the information and included it below.

Enrico Bocci, presumed to be of Italian origin, primarily turned out machine made pipes. The better ones were pre-turned and finally shaped and finished by hand.

From that at least I found that the maker was of Italian origin (not hard with a name like that). I knew that the pipe I had in hand was Belgian made and made prior to 1980. I also could deduce from the listing being in the Belgian list of pipemakers that Bocci lived there. Armed with that information I turned to deal with the pipe on the table.

As usual Jeff does a lot of the clean up on the pipes that we buy. He does a great job. When I pick them up here or do repairs here in Canada I am reminded just how much work he does to get the pipes to the point they are when I open his box to work on them.

Jeff reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl of the pipe. He rinsed it off under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He was able to remove most of the lava build up on the rim top of the pipe leaving behind some darkening and a clear view of the damage to the outer edge. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work. I took a close up photo of the rim top to show the darkening on the top and the damage to the outer edge at both the back and the front. You can also see some nicks and marks on the surface of the rim top. The stem photos show the scratching I noted above that extends from the button forward about an inch. They also show the tooth marks and the wear on the button surface on both sides.I took photos of the stamping to document what it looked like at this point in our cleanup process. You can also see some of the fills in the bowl and shank.I decided to address the damage to the rim top and edges of the bowl first. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the inner edge of the bowl first. Once that was complete, I topped the bowl on a topping board using 220 grit sandpaper to remove the damage along the top surface and minimize the damage to the outer edge of the bowl. It looks like I forgot to take a photo of the rim top at this point. I removed the damaged surface (a minimal topping). I worked over the outer edge with a 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad to smooth out the damage on the edges (the condition of the rim top can be seen in the third photo below). Once I finished that I polished the entire bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit pads to clean up the rim and smooth out the bowl. There were shiny spots on the finish from what looked like a light varnish coat that needed to be removed as well. I decided to stain the rim top and touch up the spots on the bowl and shank that needed it with a Maple stain pen before proceeding with the rest of the polishing. This might seem odd but I have found that it can work to blend the colours better. I let the stain coat dry for about 30 minutes and worked on the stem. Once the stain had cured for that time I continued polishing the bowl.I continued to polish the bowl with 3200-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. Each successive grit of micromesh made the grain stand out more and hid the fills better. The overall look of the bowl improved. With the rim top and bowl polished, I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The following photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. The bowl and the rim top look really good and the darkening and lava are gone. The finish looks good and though the fills are visible they are not as obnoxious looking as before. I am very happy with the results. With the bowl finished I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the scratches and the tooth marks on the stem and then filled it in with clear super glue. I set it aside to cure for about a half hour then smoothed out the fills with a needle file to dress up the sharp edge of the button. I sanded the repairs with 220 grit and 400 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wetsanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each pad. I used some liquid paper or correction white out to touch up the stamping on the stem. I applied it with a tooth pick and when it had dried I buffed the excess off with a cotton pad.I further polished it with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry.This interestingly shaped Enrico Bocci surprised me. When I first saw it I thought it was a Lorenzo pipe and expected a real mess under the stain and lacquer coat. It turned out I was wrong. I polished stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The contrasting grain came alive with the buffing. The rich contrasting orange/brown and black colour works well with the polished black vulcanite stem. The finished pipe is a beauty and feels great in the hand. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/2 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. I will be putting this triangular shanked billiard on the rebornpipes online store soon. It may well the kind of unique pipe you have been looking for so have a look. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this interestingly shaped Enrico Bocci.

A Hard Ridden “Malaga” Billiard Made New

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Blog by Steve Laug

I have mentioned several times in the blogs I have done on the Malaga pipes that I have restored for Alex that he is now collecting them in a focused manner. He has found some beautiful pieces that come from the Malaga Pipe Shop in Royal Oak, Michigan in the USA. The more I work on the brand the more I am impressed by the quality of the craftsmanship and beauty of the pipes that came from the shop. I have written an earlier blog to give a little history of the Malaga Brand if you are interested: https://rebornpipes.com/tag/malaga-pipes/. That blog also includes links to a catalogue and the history of the pipemaker George Khoubesser). Follow the link to get a feel for the brand and the pipemaker. If the pipes Alex has found have been beautiful, this one was not! It was a bleached and varnished mess. The stem did not fit in the shank and the feel of the pipe when I ran my fingers over it was ridged and bubbled. It was a strange feeling pipe. It is stamped on the left side of the shank with “MALAGA” and on the heel of the bowl with a 0. I have not seen the 0 stamp before so I am unclear of the meaning. All I know is that this pipe was going to be a hard one to make beautiful again. Here are some photos of it before I started. The varnish coat had protected the bowl from scratches and dents but it was rough feeling with its ridges – almost like it had been painted on with a brush. The rim top was dirty with some darkening around the surface and the inner edges of the bowl. The outer edge was clean. The bowl had a thick cake. The finish had some dark stains along the left side of the shank around the Malaga stamping. There were also some stains on the underside of the shank. It really was an odd pipe in many ways. The stem was quite oxidized and there were deep tooth marks on both sides near the button. The button surface was also marked. The stem did not seat in the shank. That led me to believe that the shank was lined with tars and oils.The stamping was hard to capture because of the painted on varnish but is clear and readable. It is stamped “MALAGA” on the left side. The 0 on the heel of the bowl is very clear.The varnish coat was so hard and impervious I decided to throw the bowl into an alcohol bath to soak overnight. I did not think it would work but thought it was worth a try. I closed up the container and called it a night.In the morning I removed the bowl from the bath. It had not done any damage to the thick coat of varnish or whatever… it was a hopeless endeavour so I decided to wait and deal with it later. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer using three of the four cutting heads. I took the cake back to bare briar. I followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to scrape away the remnants of cake and clean up the walls of the bowl. I finished the reaming with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper and sanded the walls of the bowl. To remove the damage to the rim and the varnish coat I used a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper and worked the rim against the surface of the board in a circular motion to remove the damage. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the inner edge of the rim and to remove the darkening present there. I decided to go back to stripping off the painted coat on the bowl. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to break the shiny surface of the topping. I wiped it down with acetone on a cotton pad and sanded more and repeated the process until the finish was gone. With the varnish/plastic coat removed I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads.  Wet sanded with 1500-24000 grit pads and dry sanded with 3200-12000 grit pipes. I wiped the briar down after each pad with a damp cotton pad to remove the sanding dust. The colour of the briar was uneven and the area around the stamping had some dark streaks that I could not remove. I worked on them with a corner of micromesh but I was thinking I would need to stain the bowl to take care of the issues. Before I went that far I decided to rub the bowl down with some Before & After Restoration Balm. I rubbed it into the briar and buffed it to see what showed up. I like the grain but I wanted to go for a darker brown to cover the stains on the shank. I was not happy with the overall look yet but decided to clean out the shank and the mortise. I scraped the mortise walls with a dental spatula to loosen the build up in the shank. I used cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol to remove the tars and oils that had built up in the  shank and kept the stem from seating against the shank end.  With the inside and outside clean it was time to stain the bowl. I heated the briar and then applied some Fiebing’s Light Brown stain to the briar. I flamed it and repeated the process until I was happy with the coverage on the bowl.I let the stain cure for several hours and worked on another pipe. Once the stain had set I wiped it down with isopropyl alcohol on cotton pads to remove the excess and make the stain more transparent. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I worked some Restoration Balm into the newly stained surface of the briar and it came alive. The following photos show the new look of the pipe. I buffed the pipe on the buffing wheel using Blue Diamond polish. It removed a little more of the darker stain and the grain really began to shine through more clearly. I set the bowl aside and addressed the issues with the stem. I sanded the surface of the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove as much of the oxidation as I could. I wiped down the surface of the stem with a damp cloth and cleaned out the tooth marks with cotton swabs. I filled in the tooth marks with black super glue and laid the stem aside to let the repairs cure. I turned to work on another pipe while the repair cured.Once the repairs had hardened and cured I used a needle file to sharpen the edge of the button and smooth out the repair on the stem. I sanded the stem repairs with 220 and 400 grit sand paper to blend the repair into the surface of the stem. It took a lot of sanding to smooth it out but the finished product looked a lot better than when I started. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil and then cleaned the airway in the airway with pipe cleaners and alcohol. I was quite surprised by the lack of debris and grime in the airway.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Polish – Fine and Extra Fine. When I had finished it I wiped it down a final time and set it aside to dry. This Malaga Billiard came alive with the buffing. I polished the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The various styles of grain shining through the finish on the bowl. The rich contrasting brown colour works well with the polished black vulcanite stem. The finished pipe is a beauty and feels great in the hand. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 3/4 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/4 inches, Chamber diameter: 3/4 inch. I will be putting this I have a few more of Alex’s pipes to finish then this one will be heading back to him. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of the new look Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this Malaga.

 

Removing an annoying whistle from a Handmade Canadian by Bill Lator

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Blog by Steve Laug

A fellow Vancouver Pipeman named Alex has been keeping me busy with working on the pipes he is picking up. He is selling quite a few of his pipes on the rebornpipes store right now so that he can change the direction of his collection. He is currently picking up a lot of interesting American and English made pipes. One of those is this Canadian that is engraved on the underside of the shank and reads as follows: Handmade Canadian by Bill Lator. It is a nice piece but has some unique features that are visible in the photos that follow. It had a Sterling Silver decorative band (no cracks or damage to the shank). The shank ahead of the band has a definite curve to it… to me it made the pipe interesting. There was also a cant to the bowl with the backside of the bowl more angled. The rim top has some damage that has been cleaned up and the backside of the rim is thinner than the rest of the bowl. The bowl is clean and quite pristine. The stem did not fit well in the shank and had a definite whistle when you drew air through it. I took some close-up photos of the rim to show the condition of the rim top and the inner and outer edge of the bowl. The rim top had some dents and damage to it and the inner edge was thinner at the back of the bowl. The outer edge had a few nicks and dents in it. The stem was in excellent condition though the fit of the stem to the band was off in that the stem circumference was bigger than that of the inside of the band keeping the stem from seating properly in the shank. The silver band is engraved Sterling Silver on the underside.The engraving on the underside of the shank is shown in the photo below. It is also engraved on the left side of the shank with the name of the individual for whom the pipe had been made. It is worn but I can make out “Made For” and under that is the name Keith R. Westerberg (?) at least that is what it looks like. It is faintly etched but the first part is more readable than the last name.When Alex dropped it off I asked him to do a bit of research on the brand and see what he could find out about the pipemaker and the brand. He said he would and over the next couple of days sent me several emails with information that he had found out about the pipe.

The first email was the description given of the pipe on the SATX Pipes site – the company he purchased it from. They gave a pretty detailed description of the pipe and the stamping on the pipe. He included a photo of the pipe along with the description.

This is a very rare hand made Canadian by Bill Lator. In addition, it bears the customer’s name on it that it was commissioned for. Bill Lator was a pipe maker from Indiana who operated two small pipe shops with his family.

This particular Lator is in fine shape. Stem is shiny black and free from any chatter. Beautiful grain and color is offset by a sterling silver band. This is a non-filtered pipe. Pipe has been sanitized, polished and waxed, and comes ready to smoke. Pipe Dimensions: Length Overall: 6 1/8″ Height Overall: 1 3/4″ Width Overall: 1 1/4″ Chamber Width: 7/8″ Chamber Depth: 1 5/8″ Weight: 1.1 ozAlex added a personal note with the description and reflected that though the description says…it bears a customer’s name, but I didn’t notice that. All I saw was “Handmade Canadian by Bill Lator”.

Alex also sent along picture of a Magazine cover showing …Bing with a BL Canadian on the cover of a magazine.He also included an excerpt from a local newspaper article about the Lators from 1976:

Pipemaking is a family affair for the Bill Lator family. The family owns and operates “The Pipemaker,” 109 N. Broad. Father Bill, Sr. and all three sons, Paul, 28, Bill, Jr., 20 and Kurt, 14 have taken up the rare trade of pipemaking. According to Lator, there are only about 20 pipemakers in the United States. “And three of them are in Griffith,” he quipped. Lator said his pipe making started as a hobby, “a way to relax after a busy day as an executive.” Lator also began doing extensive research into pipe making going through a number of west coast libraries and learning everything he could. About a year ago, his friends started suggesting he open a pipe shop and after more urging by his son Paul, Lator moved to Griffith. The fame of his handmade briar pipes combined with the skills of his wife, Hellen, in blending pipe tobacco made the shop an instant success. Lator said his oldest son turns out artistic pipes, “he is the artist in the family-Son, Bill is the “perfectionist.” His creations have a machined perfection according to his father, “which appeals to certain customers.” The youngest, Kurt, is still an apprentice, learning the trade of pipemaking with the discards and making tampers. Mrs. Lator has gained a reputation as a master tobacco blender.

Alex sent a follow-up email and included a paragraph from Bill Lator’s obituary: “Bill was very artistic and in 1973 found he could make beautiful smoking pipes carved of briar. In 1975 he along with his 2 sons, Paul and Bill, opened The Pipemaker Pipe and Tobacco shop in Griffith, Indiana. He loved that shop and all the customers. He made a very successful business that lasted 13 years. In 1986 he decided it was time for him to retire…”

From this I know that the pipe came from Bill Lator’s Griffith, Indiana Shop – the Pipemaker Pipe and Tobacco Shop. It had been made between 1975 and 1986 when Bill retired.

Now it was time to address three specific issues that I saw with the pipe.

  1. There was a distinct whistle when you drew on the pipe to pull air from the bowl to the button.
  2. The stem did not seat well in the shank and there was a gap in between the end of the shank and the stem when it was in place.
  3. The bowl was slightly out of round and the back wall was thinner than the rest of the bowl.

I decided to deal with the whistle in the airway first. I took the stem off and drew air through the shank. It was a clean and open draw with no whistle. With that test I knew that the problem was not in the shank. I turned to the stem and blew air through the tenon and out the slot. The whistle was loud and distinct. I shined a light through the tenon so see if there were any obstructions on the walls of the airway. That is often the cause of the noise. There can be debris left behind by the drilling of the airway. I could not see anything from the tenon end. I shined the light in the slot end and there I found the issue. The slot was deep and T shaped rather than Y shaped. This made the air whistle as it was drawn into the slot. I used a flat and a round needle file to reshape the airway in the slot to a Y shape. In my experience this shape makes the transition of the air from the bowl to the mouth a straight smooth flow with no interruptions.I cleaned up the slot with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the edges of and leave it free of debris.

With the airway in the stem cleaned up and the whistling taken care of I turn ed to deal with the fit of the tenon in the shank. I used a sharp pen knife to carve a bevel in the shank face. The initial beveling was rough but when I tried the stem in the shank the fit was snug and there was no gap between the shank face and the face of the stem. I sanded the bevel with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth it out. The second photo shows  the first sanding of the bevel. The third photo shows the final sanding of the bevel smoothing out rough edges. The final photo shows the finished bevel. I stained it to match the rest of the pipe using a Maple stain pen. The second issue was solved.Now it was time to address the third issue – the damage to the rim top and the bowl edges. After measuring the slop of the walls of the bowl on the front, the sides and back I could see that the thinness was primarily an issue with the top of the bowl. To deal with that I decided to lightly top the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on a topping board. I removed the damage to the top of the rim and in doing so was able to reduce the thinness on the backside of the rim. I did not need to take much off of the rim top to effect this change and I was happy with the results. I polished the rim top with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the rim down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The rim top looked much better than when I started the process. I restained the rim top and edges with a Maple stain pen. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel to polish the pipe and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with soft microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The photos of the finished pipe are shown below. It is finish and the whistle is gone, the stem fits better against the shank and the rim top looks significantly better. I look forward to hearing what Alex thinks of his Lator pipe now… it is a beauty.

ADDENDUM

Yesterday (16 August 2019) Michele, Bill Lator’s daughter left an amazing comment on this blog about her Dad. I am highlighting that message because in the follow up to it she sent some photos of her Dad and the Pipe Shop in Griffith that I am including below.

I am Michele Lator-Murray, Bill Lator is my Dad. He is missed by all of us and so proud to see this article. I have forwarded it to our Mom. Our Brother Billy has passed also. Paul and Kurt are alive and well. My son has taken interest in his heritage and has a small collection of Dad’s Pipes.Thanks for the memories.

The photos include a picture of her Dad, Bill Lator by himself, with her Mom, a photo of the day Michele gave her son his first pipe that she found of her Dad’s online, the Pipemaker Pipe and Tobacco Shop advertisement from a Purdue Student paper and the backside of a book of matches.

Dad – Bill Lator
Dad & Mom Lator
A pipe gift
Pipemaker Ad From Purdue Cal student paper
Pipemaker book matches back

Thanks so much Michele for send us these photos. It is always great to have a photo of the pipe man himself and some of the memorabilia.

Todd’s Second Commission: A GBD New Era London England 9493 Pot with Distinction

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Blog by Dal Stanton

This is the second of 3 pipes that Todd commissioned.  I saw this GBD New Era long shank Pot or possibly a wide bowled Lovat, on the eBay block and liked it immediately.  It has seen some serious wear and tear, but he is obviously well loved, and the grain….  Oh my, the vertical grain on the bowl of the Pot shape it distinctive and when cleaned up….  Dream!  Well, my bid was enough when the bell rang, and it didn’t remain in my collection, and Todd saw the potential in the For “Pipe Dreamers” Only! collection and now this GBD New Era is on my worktable.  These pictures take a closer look at the GBD New Era: The nomenclature on both sides of the shank are thin but legible.  On the left flank of the shank is ‘GBD’ encircled in the oval [over] ‘NEW ERA’.  The right side of the shank is stamped ‘LONDON ENGLAND’ [over] 9493, the shape number.  The stem bears the classic brass GBD rondel.

I like this A Brief History of GBD from Pipedia to remind me of the origins.

The company was founded in Paris France in the 19th century by Ganeval, Boundier and Donninger who were no longer associated with the company by the turn of the century. By the time they left the GBD name was well established and thus retained. In 1903 an additional factory was built in England and ran by Oppenheimer. The Paris factory moved to Saint-Claude in 1952. Since 1981 the majority of GBD pipes come from the English factory. At about that same time GBD merged with Comoys, since then all production for both GBD and Comoy comes from a single factory.

The dating of this New Era can be determined with certainty to be before the 1980s. The brass rondel on the stem and straight line “LONDON, ENGLAND” stamping of the nomenclature identify it as being made prior to the merger with Comoy’s in 1982 (or 1981). 

The GBD line, New Era, can be found in catalogs going back to the 1950s.  The example I found on Pipedia’s article on GBD are pages from Circa 1950s Oppenheimer Pipes Catalog, courtesy Václav Blahovec, which I’ve included.

The add to the right is from Pipedia’s discussion on GBD Model Information is credited to the 1961 GBD Flyer, courtesy  Chris Keene’s Pipe Pages, unfortunately now a defunct website.  So, the spread of possible dating for the GBD New Era Pot on my table could span from the 50 through the 70s.

The quality of the New Era line is toward the upper third of GBD lines, from what I read in the Pipedia article.  This last quote from Pipedia’s reprint of Pieces From My GBD Collection, by G.L. Pease (re-published here by permission), sums up well GBD pipes and what I believe is true of the GBD New ERA before me:

Since then, many GBDs have come, many have gone. I’ve tried to select exquisite examples for my collection – pipes that are exemplary in every regard. Not all old GBDs smoke wonderfully, but when they do, they sing. The French made ones, for some reason, seem particularly suited to Virginias. GBDs are not exactly hip. They’re not trendy. They’re not the high-grade pipes du jour. But, they are solid, classic pipes with a long history, and they can be subtly and sublimely beautiful. They can also often be had without sacrificing too much coin.

As I look at the GBD New Era Pot on my worktable, what stands out immediately are the dark blotches on the briar surface, especially on the long shank.  If these were on the bowl or the heel, I would be concerned about heating damage.  But on the shank, the issue is on the briar surface and hopefully cleaning will address it. The chamber has moderate cake build up and the rim shows some lava flow and scorching on the forward part of the rim, yet there is darkening around the entire inner circumference.Oh my, the short saddle stem is oxidized and mauled!  Looking at the bit (upper and lower below) the forensics are not difficult to decipher. One can discern the eye or canine tooth imprinted followed by the first premolar – especially on the upper side.  The lower side is not as distinct, yet the practice is revealed.  The former steward’s ‘hands free’ approach was to insert the entire flat part of the stem on the right side in his (or her?) mouth and clamp down using the stem as a palate to hold the pipe in place.  Hmmmm, deep breath.  Moving on.With a good understanding of the pipe on my worktable, I begin the restoration by cleaning the internal airway of the stem with several pipe cleaners wetted with isopropyl 95% and then I add the GBD’s mangled short saddle stem to a bath of Before & After Deoxidizer along with other pipes in the queue. After the stem soaks for several hours, I fish the GBD stem out of the Deoxidizer and after draining the Deoxidizer, I wipe the stem with cotton pads wetted with alcohol.  A good amount of oxidation is removed, and the stem looks good after cleaning it.To begin the revitalization of the vulcanite, I then hydrate the stem by applying paraffin oil (a mineral oil) to the stem – it absorbs it well.  I put the stem aside for the time.To begin the cleaning regimen of the GBD Pot stummel, I ream the chamber using the Pipnet Reaming Kit. The dimensions of the chamber live up to a grand Pot image – the chamber is 1 inch wide and 1 3/8 inches deep, plenty of room for a bit of tobacco!  After putting down paper towel to minimize cleanup, the width of the chamber causes me to skip the smallest blade head and I use the remaining 3 larger blade heads.  I then transition to scraping the walls further with the Savinelli Fitsall tool and finish the reaming by sanding the chamber with 240 grit paper wrapped around a sharpie pen to give leverage.  After wiping the chamber with a cotton pad and alcohol, I inspect the chamber, and everything looks great – no signs of heat damage.  Now a fresh start for the chamber. Now, turning to cleaning the external briar, I hope that the cleaning will address the large dark blotches on the surface.  I use undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a cotton pad to do the job – and what a job it does! As I scrub with the cotton pad the grunge starts breaking up and eventually the black spots on the shank are removed!  I love Murphy’s Soap!  I work further on the inwardly sloped rim also using a brass wire brush.  This helps, but the rim still has some scorching darkness left.  The pictures show the great progress. Remaining on the cleaning regimen, I now address the internals of the stummel using cotton buds, pipe cleaners wetted with isopropyl 95%.  I also use shank brushes which are perfect for the longer shank of this GBD.  To quicken the process, I also scrape the mortise with a dental spatula.  In time, cotton buds started emerging much cleaner.  Later, I plan to also clean the internal further with a kosher salt and alcohol soak.With some fear and trembling, I study again the mauled saddle stem.  The Before & After Deoxidizer did a good job removing the oxidation.  My first assault on the stem damage will be to expand the stem’s surface to regain the multitude of compressions on the upper and lower bit. I take pictures to mark the starting point for comparison.  Then, using a Bic lighter I paint the vulcanite surface.  As it heats, it expands and hopefully reducing the severity of the compressions.  After one round of heating upper and lower bit several times, I take a picture for comparison.

Upper, before and after:Lower, before and after:Next, using 240 grit sanding paper, I sand the upper and lower bit to get a better understanding of the contours of the remaining damage after using the heating method.  As you can see in the pictures I take after sanding some, the compression areas are revealed more clearly.  I have found from experience is that using charcoal/CA glue as a patch on the vulcanite stem, the patch material needs to have enough depth in the compression to get a good hold.  I have found that patching a compression that is too shallow will not hold, but sometimes these compressions are too deep to sand!  For instance, I debate whether it is better to sand the two lesser upper compressions on the lower bit (second picture) and risk sanding and taking too much of the stem?  And going partially and changing your mind with the view to applying patch material, and then it’s too shallow!  I decide to apply patch material at this point and then sand and see how it comes out.I first wipe the stem with alcohol to clean the area. To form the patch material, I mix CA glue with activated charcoal.  I start with the upper stem side.  I put a small pile of charcoal on an index card and put a blob of thick CA glue next to it.  Then, using a toothpick I pull charcoal into the CA glue mixing it as more is added.  When it thickens to that of molasses, I use the toothpick to trowel the mixture to the compressions needing filling.  I use an accelerator to speed the curing time.  I do the same for the lower bit compressions.  To now begin removing the excess patch material to the upper bit, I use a flat needle file.  The pictures show the progression.After bringing the patch mound down to the surface, I then switch to sanding with 240 grit paper to remove the excess patch material totally.  In the second picture you still see the patches, but the patch is now flush with the stem surface.Remaining on the upper bit, I refresh the button using the flat needle file and follow with 240 grit paper erasing the file marks and fine tuning the button restoration.  The upper bit repair looks great.Now, starting on the lower bit, I do the same using the flat needle file to bring the patch mounds down close to the briar surface.Then, taking over with the 240 paper I sand away the excess patch material totally bring the patch flush with the vulcanite surface.  The second picture looks closer showing pitting in the patch.  This happens when air bubbles are trapped in the patch material and when they are sanded, they are exposed as pits.  I’ll address this later.Moving again to freshen the button lip I use the flat needle file and transition to 240 grade paper to erase the filing scratches and to smooth the stem.  I like the progress!To address the air pockets in the lower patch I first wipe the areas with a cotton pad and alcohol to clean it.  I then paint a fine layer of thin CA glue over the patch area with the CA glue filling the pockets.  After the glue cures, I then sand it with 240 paper.  The patch is patched, and I move on! Now addressing the entire stem, I wet sand using 600 grade paper followed by applying 0000 steel wool.To complete this phase of the stem restoration, I use Magic Eraser on the stem to cleanse it further and then I apply paraffin oil (a mineral oil) with a cotton pad to rejuvenate the vulcanite.  From where we started with this stem, its been through a lot! I put the stem aside.  This work day is ending and the last thing I do is to continue the cleaning of the stummel giving it a kosher salt and alcohol soak through the night.  I first fashion a ‘mortise wick’ by pulling and twisting a cotton ball.  I then stuff it into the mortise and airway with the aid of a stiff straight wire.  I then fill the bowl with kosher salt.  I use kosher salt because it doesn’t leave an aftertaste and the whole process, with the salt and alcohol, freshens the briar and it is much more pleasant for the new steward!  After putting the stummel in an egg crate for stability, I then fill the bowl with isopropyl 95% until it surfaces over the salt.  After a few minutes the alcohol recedes, and I follow by topping off the alcohol once more.  I then turn out the lights. The next morning, the kosher/alcohol soak had done the job.  Both salt and wick were discolored from the process of drawing out the residual tars and oils from the mortise and airway.  After tossing the expended salt I wipe the chamber with a paper towel, push shank brushes through the mortise and blow through the mortise.  To make sure all was cleaned, I utilized a few more cotton buds and a pipe cleaner wetted with isopropyl 95% to finish the cleaning.  Moving on.With the cleaning completed, I study the bowl and the grade of this block of briar is pushing up the New Era reputation stamped on its shank.  Who ever the pipe crafter was in the GBD factory in London was, cut the block beautifully.  The main orientation of the distinct straight grain is astonishingly vertical around most of the bowl.  Predictably, the heel and the rim show the striking results of the horizontal cuts that formed them – bird’s eye grain, the end or cross-section views of the vertical straight grain.  This presentation of bird’s eye carries through the shank as well.   After the cleaning of the surface, the heel already displays beautifully its patch of bird’s eye grain.  The rim’s damaged state at this point, masks the bird’s eye that I see faintly.  The challenge of the rim, but what also makes it attractive, is the tapered cant toward the chamber, so topping is out of the question.  The taper is also gently rounded.  The other thing I see is the thin finish.  The cleaning around the rim created a discoloration so that the upper bowl is lighter – and there’s a water line circling.  The pictures show the things I’m describing. The first thing I do is to wipe the stummel with isopropyl 95% to clean the older finish off so that I’m starting with a clean slate – as much as possible!  The alcohol did a great job, just what I wanted.  Interestingly, what I thought were water lines running around the circumference of the bowl were not caused by cleaning.  I discover that it is also part of the grain structure – fascinating.  With curiosity, I looked back at pictures from the eBay seller and yes, the line pattern was there!  The pictures below look at it again after the cleaning with alcohol. Next, I start addressing the rim damage and sanding.  My goal overall, is to remove the damage and tease out the bird’s eye on the rim so that it is more distinct.  The picture below shows that the bird’s eye is hidden for the most part.  To start conservatively, I use a coarse sanding sponge that will hug the contours of the rim and gently sand.  Let’s see what this does.  The first picture below shows the cleaning of the rim in general and you can still see a scorch mark on the forward rim (at 9 o’clock in the pictures).  The second picture is focusing more into this area and you can better see that the lower area is still darkened from burning.  I’m not satisfied with the results.  Becoming less conservative out of need, I use 240 grit paper and sand the rim – approaching it more like a bevel with the paper rolled and I press the paper with my thumb, conforming to the contours of the rim.  I leverage the fact that the rim is already canted and I simply go with it.  I do the hard work with the 240 sanding the entire rim and focusing on the lower circumference more to remove the charged, discolored briar. I follow the 240 with the same approach but with 600 grit paper.  Now I’m seeing what I want to see!  The briar is cleaner and more responsive.  We’re on the right track.After examining the briar surface of the entire bowl again, I see no fills needing attention, but I detect very small scratches and pitting through normal wear and tear of the years on this GBD.  To address this, I use a medium grade sanding sponge and work on the small imperfections on the briar surface.  After this, I utilize a light grade sanding sponge on the entire surface.  I’m very careful to avoid the thin nomenclature stamping on the shank flanks. I like working with sanding sponges and the results look good.The micromesh regimen is next.  First, I wet sand with pads 1500 to 2400, then dry sand with pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000.  Throughout, I’m uber cautious to avoid the thin nomenclature stampings on the shank flanks until the last couple of pads, which I run lightly over the stampings to clean it.  I love the pop of the grain after the micromesh regimen.  This GBD New Era is a very nice pipe. I put the stummel aside for the time and turn now to the waiting, short GBD saddle stem.  I run through the normal micromesh regiment wet sanding with pads 1500 to 2400 and dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000, applying Obsidian Oil after each set of 3, when it strikes me that this stem had looked like it was mauled by a dog…and now.  If one works hard enough putting the glare at the right angle, like I did in the pictures below, you can see the residual scaring on the vulcanite stem where the patches were applied, yet these for restored pipes are marks revealing that they’ve had rough spots, but this one will wear his scars proudly. While working on the stem, my mind considers the next steps of the restoration process.  The question is which direction to go with the finishing of the GBD New Era Pot stummel – or bowl – it truly can pack a lot of one’s favorite blend!   Leave the natural briar as it is now or apply a dye.  The guiding principle when restoring vintage pipes with distinctive nomenclature and age is to try as much as one can match the original color motif.  So, I looked for examples of New Era pipes.

While doing research on GBD New Era, I read the very interesting and helpful article reposted in Pipedia: Pieces From My GBD Collection, by G.L. Pease (re-published here by permission).  It’s a good read, I enjoyed it.  What was most helpful was the listing by GBD groups or lines of pipes that were part of G.L. Pease’s collection.  I eagerly looked and found his offerings for New Era.  Not only did he have New Era, but 4 beautiful long, round shank Pot shapes, shape number 9493 like the GBD that Todd has commissioned.  I cropped the picture below to focus on the patina of the 4 Pots and on mainly the smooth briars.  To me, all the pipes leverage toward a reddish hue even though in different shades.  The lower smooth Pot is redder, leaning toward Oxblood or burgundy.  The Pot on the top, is reddish but leaning more toward the browns.  After studying these New Era pipes, I remembered reading about the red leanings of the New Era line from Pipedia’s GBD Model Information. I clipped this description about New Era:This confirmed what I had observed.  The question remains, how to mix dyes and hit the right hue, or as close as one can manage?  As I’ve done before many times with Steve Laug (Rebornpipes) and Charles Lemon (DadsPipes) I reached out to Charles because I recently read one of his blogs, Stem Repairs and a General Freshening for a “Made by Millville” Full Bent, where he discussed his approach to staining.  It was helpful information, well worth reading.  My question to Charles was how he might approach the reddish hues and mixing dyes.  His answer was straightforward and helpful – trial and error!  Yep, I know how to do the latter part of that well.  He did say that he had had success mixing Fiebing’s Saddle Tan and Browns to achieve that general direction, and to mix and test to see how it looks. So, armed with Charles’ input, I went to work mixing the dyes. I ended up with what Charles calls a ‘wash’ – being more diluted (with alcohol with aniline dyes and water with water-based) it can be applied more times as needed to acquire an increasingly darker result.  This approach would necessitate that I improvise my usual approach to staining.  After mixing Saddle Tan and Light Brown, I diluted it with alcohol to lighten the wash.  I assemble my desktop dying components, and I am ready.  I first wipe the bowl down with alcohol to clean the surface.  Following this, I heat the stummel with a hot air gun to expand the briar resulting in it more effectively absorbing the dyes.  After heated, I apply the dye mixture to a portion of the stummel surface with a pipe cleaner that I had folded in half.  After applying the dye to a portion, I fired that portion by placing it quickly over the lit candle.  The flame immediately combusts the alcohol in dye and sets the dye pigment.  I do this several times to cover thoroughly the stummel surface.  After repeating the washing and firing process many times, the bowl has the right look, sufficiently dark that I think will hopefully point in the right direction! It’s time to turn out the lights letting the newly dyed stummel to rest and to set the dye.The new dye set through the night and has settled in.  Allowing this ‘rest’ time helps guard against new dye coming off on the hands during the first uses of the pipe when the bowl heats.  To unwrap the fired dye shell around the stummel I mount a felt cloth buffing wheel in the Dremel, setting the speed to the slowest to avoid scorching the wood.  Felt cloth is more abrasive than cotton.  Added to this, I apply Tripoli compound to ‘plow through’ the thick dye residue.  While applying the more abrasive compound, I purge the wheel often on the edge of the chopping block which is my work station.  Not pictured is that I follow the application of Tripoli with the felt buffing wheel with a cotton cloth buffing wheel and go around the stummel one more time applying Tripoli compound at an increased Dremel speed of about 40%.  This is to fine tune and make sure no dye clumps are left behind. Next, after rejoining the stem and stummel, I apply Blue Diamond compound using a cotton cloth buffing wheel at a 40% speed.  I apply compound to the entire pipe.  When finished I buff the pipe with a felt cloth to remove the residue compound dust.The final step is applying carnauba wax by mounting another cotton cloth wheel onto the Dremel, maintaining the same 40% speed and I apply the wax.  Following this, I use a microfiber cloth and give the pipe a final hand buffing.

This GBD New Era Pot has come a long way.  The stem was mauled and now it looks great.  The patches can be seen in the glare but from where we started….  The grain on this New Era is striking.  I love studying the vertical grain that is distinct and certainly a feast for the eyes.  There is no disappointment with the bird’s eye grain that was teased out so well by the compounds on the rim.  The bird’s eye is small, tight and subtle.  The heel view is equally a cornucopia of bird’s eye.  I think what makes this GBD shape so classically appealing is the (‘Lovat’) long shank stretching the look of the large Pot bowl, which has plenty of space for a slow enjoyable time of fellowship with one’s favorite blend.  Todd resides in the Big Apple as he practices law and this second pipe in the list of three he commissioned will fit well.  He has the first opportunity to acquire this GBD New Era Pot from The Pipe Steward Store.  As with all my pipes, this pipe benefits the work we do here in Bulgaria with the Daughters of Bulgaria – women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited.  Thanks for joining me!

Restoring a Rare, Limited Edition Brigham X-4

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a relatively new acquisition from a collection Jeff and I purchased from Michigan. It included a pipe cabinet and 21 pipes that is pictured below. There were some nice pipes in that collection and some that I have never seen before. This pipe was so unique that is I just had to tackle it next. It is shown in the photo of the rack above – the fourth pipe from the left side. Jeff showed me photos of the pipe on Messenger and I was intrigued. I had really no idea who had made it and I could not see the shank or stem markings to help with the identification. Jeff looked it over and could see no stamping on the shank that would help us out but it was undeniably unique. The carving reminded me of nautilus shell and Dal said it reminded him of a scorpion…nothing quite captured and accurate description of the shape and the carving on this pipe. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup process. I have included these below.  The next photo is a close up of the bowl. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and heavy overflow of lava on the rim top. You can also see the tars and grime in some of the carvings toward the top of the bowl. It was a dirty pipe and obviously it was someone’s favourite pipe because it is so dirty and caked.He also took photos of the side and bottom of the bowl to highlight the unique carving on the bowl sides. The shank itself had more a striped carving almost bark like that ran the length of the shank to the stem.The photos finally gave me my first clue about the pipe. The three vertical dots on the left side of the stem made me wonder if it was a Brigham. Usually Brigham will use those dots to signify particular lines of their pipes but I had never seen a bowl like this in all the years that I have been working on pipes so I had to wonder if it was on or if it had been a cannibalized stem that had been put into service on some other bowl. I would only know once I had it in hand and saw what it looked like off the pipe.The stem itself had a lot of deep scratches on the surface that looked like someone had scraped away the calcification that can build up under a rubber Softee bit. There were tooth marks on the stem surface on both sides near the button and some wear and tooth marks on the button itself. I have started to mention in the last few blogs that Jeff and I have established a habitual pattern that we both follow when we work on pipes. I include it here so you have a sense of that pattern. Jeff reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He was able to remove the lava build up on the rim top and you could see the damage to the flat surface of the rim and the inner edge on the right side and toward the front of the bowl. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. I took close up photos of the bowl and rim top as well as the stem. You can see the condition of the rim top and bowl in the first photo. Jeff was able to remove all of the tar and oils and all that remained was some darkening toward back of the rim top. The inner edge of bowl was slightly damaged toward the front side. The vulcanite stem had tooth chatter and some tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem near and on the button surface. Jeff had soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer and was able to get the stem really pretty clean. The tooth marks are quite prominent and will need to be addressed on both the stem surface and button. The three vertical brass dots on the side of the stem really stood out now that the stem was clean.At this point I took that pipe apart and I was pretty sure I was dealing with a very unusual Brigham pipe. I was not sure what it was or what era or even the stamping because even though I thought I saw some faint stamping Brigham over Made in Canada on the underside of the shank I was not sure because the rustication went right through the stamping. There was a number on the heel of the bowl in the cone bottom that was either 688 or 889 depending on the how the pipe was held. I really was mystified so I did what I usually do when I am dealing with a Brigham – I go to my resident expert in Eastern Canada. I wrote Charles Lemon of Dad’s Pipes a quick email to see what he could tell me. I am including his response and the copy of the Brigham pamphlet that he included with his email.

Hi Steve. I think you have a real find there!

I was out when your email came through but dug into my Brigham material when I got home. I think what you’ve got is a Brigham X4 – one of their “experimental” shapes from the 60s.

I’ve attached a close up pic from the Brigham brochure titled “Brigham Pipes – Makers of Fine Pipes Since 1906”, published circa 1960s. Same nautilus carving pattern, same stem. All the X shapes in the brochure are marked with the 3-dot vertical pattern.

These originally sold for the princely sum of $14.95 & Up! 😁

This is the first time I’ve seen an example of the X shapes outside of a brochure. They are very rare, limited edition pipes made in small numbers. Kind if Brigham’s way of testing new designs on the market…

Is it yours? If it’s for sale I’d love to add it to my collection.   — Charles

The brochure that Charles included is below. The blow up of the pipe he is referring to is in the first photo. The only difference with the one in my hands is a tapered rather than a saddle stem. So it appears I am dealing with a bit of a rare, limited edition Brigham X4 – one of their “experimental” shapes from the 60s. I wondered when I first took it apart if that was not the case but it is always good to be able to ask someone who knows more about a particular brand than I do. Thanks Charles. We will see if I let this one go.

I decided to address the damage to the rim top and the inner edge of the bowl first. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper give the inner edge a light bevel to minimize the damage to the inner edge of the rim. I also lightly sanded the darkened areas on the back side of the rim top.I polished the rim top and edge with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the rim off after each sanding pad to remove the dust. The damage on the rim is pretty much invisible after polishing and the rim top really looked good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the rusticated and the smooth surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. It took some time to really get it into the grooves and valleys of the rustication but I was able to work it in. I used a cotton swab to work it into the smaller divots in each ring around the bowl. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The following photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. The reworked rim top looks really good and matches the colour of the rest of the pipe. I am very happy with the results. Before calling it a night I cleaned out the tooth marks and reshaped the button on both sides of the stem. I wiped them down with alcohol on a cotton swab. I filled them in with Black Super Glue and set the stem aside to let the repairs cure overnight. There was morning and there was evening and it was good!The next morning after the repairs had cured I sanded the stem surface with 220 grit sandpaper to blend the surface of the repairs into the stem. I further reshaped the button with a needle file to sharpen the edges.I polished the stem with Denicare Mouthpiece Polish to remove some of the scratches. The gritty substance that makes up this polish makes it work really well as an intermediary step after sanding out the repairs and tooth chatter. (I used it because I have three small tins of it to go through before it dries out and is useless.)Some of you might have notice the Brigham Hard Maple Filter in the long aluminum tenon in all of the above photos and the ones that follow. I forgot to mention that I put one in the tenon when I worked on the stem to protect the aluminum from accidental damage. The Maple filter is a hollow tube made of hard maple that fits in the metal tenon. The metal tip is at the end of the tenon and actually extends all the way down the shank and sits against the opening of the airway into the bowl. It thus provides a distillator to pick up the moisture from a smoke while allowing uninhibited airflow through the pipe. One benefit of the design is that you can easily slide a pipe cleaner down the stem and into the bowl through the wooden filter/distillator tube. It is a pretty unique and effective design and one that is worth a try if you have never smoked one.

Back to the restoration… I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit sanding pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish and wiped it down with a last coat of Obsidian Oil. I set it aside to let the oil dry. This is one of the most uniquely carved Brigham pipes that I have ever worked on and I have worked on many of them. The unique spiral rustication with slots in the spiral bands and the smooth rim top is really nicely. The striated, barklike rustication on the shank works well with the rest of the shape. I polished stem with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The spiral rustication and the smooth edges and rim top began to almost take on life with the buffing. The rich contrasting brown colour works well with the polished black vulcanite stem. The finished pipe has a rich look that is quite catching. Have a look at it with the photos below. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem are very well done. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 5/8 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. I will be hanging on to this pipe for the time being but may well one day pass it on to Charles. Time will tell. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this unique Brigham X-4.

A Special Gift for Her Grandfather in the People’s Republic of China – A Sculpted Rose Billiard of Italy

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Blog by Dal Stanton

You need to first hear the story then the restoration of the pipe will come. Let me first tell you about the granddaughter.

Chrystal, age 30, came to Bulgaria for two weeks from the People’s Republic of China.  My wife and I hosted her in our home.  She has a master’s degree and teaches in an English language department in a university near Beijing.  Her keen interest in the well-being of people was the catalyst in becoming aware of the issues of human trafficking and the devaluation and exploitation of women.  Through foreign acquaintances she has in her role as a teacher, she heard about Daughters of Bulgaria – the work here in Bulgaria seeking to help trafficked and sexually exploited women.

Cross cultural adventure – our Bulgarian friend Ellie, translating Bulgarian menu using English for Chrystal, so that Chrystal can call ordering Chinese in Mandarin, with the hope of surprising the Chinese restaurant worker who speaks Bulgarian and Chinese! It worked!

Chrystal’s aspirations to know and understand more about this issue both intrigued her and struck a chord in her own core experience that prompted her to throw caution to the wind and reach out to the Daughters of Bulgaria staff via email about coming to Bulgaria and to learn about the issue and what tangible things are being done to help women coming off streets and out of brothels.   Her email was received with surprise and question – someone from China desires to come to Bulgaria to learn from us!  In the communications with Chrystal that followed, her deep and sincere concern for people in general and in her home, China, was very evident.  She came to Bulgaria during her annual January break from teaching at the university.  We were amazed at how quickly her visa to enter Bulgaria was approved!

During her visit, we had the privilege of learning about the path of her life in China.  As Westerners, we were anxious to learn about Chinese culture and customs and we were also interested in her personal story.

She, like most Chinese women while growing up, personally experienced the effects of the enduring custom of valuing sons over daughters.  With China’s strict one child per family law to control population which recently changed to allowing two children, Chinese families were faced with pressures to have a son – which is the greater honor for the family in a culture where honor is profoundly important.

During the one child per family period, Chrystal’s

Serenaded at a restaurant in Sophia, Bulgarian style!

parents had a baby and it was a girl – the opposite of honor became Chrystal’s experience as she grew up with this subtle sense of shame.  She recounted remembering the acute feeling of self-guilt that she wasn’t a boy and her presence brought dishonor to her family – she wasn’t what her parents wanted.  Growing up, she understood that her parents had to settle for a girl.

To counteract this sense of having lesser value, Chrystal’s smile was pained while looking down recounting how she sought to excel in everything she did as she emerged from childhood into womanhood – trying especially to earn her father’s love and acceptance.  Her passion to excel did have its benefits. It propelled her growing up, in her studies and eventual appointment as a teacher in the university, being observed and appreciated by her supervisor in the professional and academic university environment.  Yet, Chrystal has discovered that even this accomplishment was not enough to reverse the underlying, unspoken sense that she did not measure up – that she would always be the daughter for which her parents had reluctantly settled.  Chrystal confided that this perhaps, is why she was so drawn to learn more about the Daughters of Bulgaria and the profound effects of devaluing of women resulting in human trafficking – it so resonated in her heart and to some extent, in her experience of feeling the impact of not being valued by others – even by those closest to you.

Even though this part of her story is ongoing and unfolding, Chrystal’s concern for others and her simple joy in living (she always seemed to be laughing and smiling!) confirmed to me that she had found a good place in her life – at her core.  The serendipitous trip to Bulgaria, of all things, revealed to me that she’s taking life as it comes and living to the fullest as she is able – growing as a person and seeking to help others in need.  How will she use what she is learning in Bulgaria in China?  She confessed with a smile, she doesn’t know exactly but she believes it will be used in some way that will be evident in time – like a seed planted in soil.

Chrystal with her Grandfather and cousin. Can you guess?

When Chrystal started asking us questions about our life in Bulgaria, she found out that I do something she had never heard of before – restore pipes!  She was fascinated.  And when she heard that I sell restored pipes worldwide to benefit the Daughters, she decided to do her part in helping the Daughters as well.  The first thing she did was post some pictures and information about The Pipe Steward to her friends in China on social media available there.  For the next several days, the stats for www.ThePipeSteward.com launched because of ‘hits’ coming from China – yes, I can see the countries of those looking at the website!

Secondly, and most important in helping the Daughters, was to choose a pipe as a special gift for her grandfather.  I asked her why the gift for her grandfather?  I found out that February is Chinese New Year and it is customary to give gifts or money to family.  I asked her why a pipe?  She said that as a farmer – a common man, her grandfather is considered near the bottom of the social strata and her thoughts of him are of his life as a farmer and that he liked to smoke.  She described him smoking thick cigarettes with strong tobacco and said that he also had an old, long metal pipe that he liked, but she said there was nothing special about it.  (The answer posed in the picture to the right is on the ‘Left’ 😊)

After she methodically explored many ‘Help Me!’ baskets and scrutinizing MANY pipes, she found the special one (or, did it find her? 😊) she would give to her grandfather.  I asked her, out of all the pipes she had studied, why she had chosen the pipe she did?  She smiled as she looked down thoughtfully.  She described the ‘rose’ carving in the briar and said that it reminded her of the rose that forms the logo for the Daughters of Bulgaria – the rose is beautiful but also, fragile and strong.  The ‘rose’ sculpted in the pipe also formed a hope that revealed to me the depth of love that resides in Chrystal despite everything.  She said that when her grandfather smoked this pipe that she hoped that it would remind him fondly of her – that she would be carved in his heart like the rose on the pipe.

With Chrystal’s return to China coming soon, I quickly went to work on the chosen pipe she planned to give her grandfather after returning to China.  Just before her departure from Bulgaria, my wife loaded Chrystal with gifts from Bulgaria for her and her family (but a special jigsaw puzzle for Chrystal!).  I also presented her the restored ‘Rose Pipe’ ready for her grandfather. Her first reaction to seeing it and holding it in her hands was how it had changed!  The second was some concern that her grandfather may not appreciate its value.  She struggled a bit considering keeping it for herself because now it meant so much to her, not to smoke, but to cherish as a reminder of her time in Bulgaria.  It was gratifying to pass this pipe on which I had purchased from a seller in the US New England state of New Hampshire in 2016, brought to Bulgaria and was patiently waiting for Chrystal to come to Bulgaria so it could choose Chrystal and make its way to its new steward, a common man – a farmer in China, Chrystal’s grandfather.

When Crystal left Bulgaria on her trek back to China (on Aeroflot via Moscow and Peking!) she knew that I was writing her story in this write up of the restoration of her grandfather’s pipe.  I agreed to wait to publish this blog after Chrystal promised to send me pictures of her with her grandfather and after she presented the Rose Pipe to him.  True to her word, the pictures arrived less than a week after her departure with these words:

My grandpa really likes your pipe!!! My dad said it is so special and valuable. My mom said it is like an art. Yes, they are happy. My dad even didn’t know my grandpa likes pipe. But it turns out that my grandpa does like it!!  So, my dad is happy. I look forward to your writing [blog write up]. I feel so blessed and so loved to know you!!  By the way, what kind of wood is the pipe made of?With a deepened appreciation for the granddaughter and her love for her grandfather, and for the pipe man in China who has become the new steward of the Rose Pipe, I now tell the story of the restoration of the Sculpted Rose Billiard that was on my worktable but now in China.   First, to answer Chrystal’s question: Briar 😊. The only marking on the pipe is the COM, ITALY, on the underside of the shank.  The pipe has been well loved and used much by examining the chamber and rim.  The chamber shows very thick cake and the rim is gummed up with lava.  Both need to be addressed through reaming and cleaning.  The bowl itself is dark from oils and grime.  The reddish or Oxblood hue is dull and tired.  There are small dents on the surface from normal bumps and at least one small fill that I see that needs checking.  The vertical fire grain beneath the finish is very attractive – showing much, much potential, which I like.  The shank is slightly bent with a nice-looking saddle stem which shows some oxidation but hardly any tooth chatter.  I think this gift for Chrystal’s grandfather will turn out very nicely!  I take a few close-ups to show these issues. To begin the restoration of this special gift for Chrystal’s grandfather, I clean the stem’s airway with a pipe cleaner dipped in isopropyl 95% then I drop it in an OxiClean bath to soak to loosen and raise the oxidation.  After it soaks through the night, I take it out (and realize that I forget to take a picture of it!) and take the stem to the sink and wet sand using 600 grade paper.  This does very well in removing the oxidation.  To hydrate the vulcanite, I then apply paraffin oil (a mineral oil) to the stem and put the stem aside to absorb.  The pictures show these steps. Next, I tackle the thick cake in the chamber.  I take a starting point picture and then employ the Pipnet Reaming Kit blade heads to cut through the cake to give the chamber a fresh start.  I use 3 of the 4 blades available.  I then fine tune the reaming using the Savinelli Fitsall Tool. I follow this by sanding the chamber using 240 grit paper wrapped around a Sharpie Pen.  This gives me leverage to apply pressure and to reach down into the chamber.  I finish by wiping the chamber with a cotton pad wetted with isopropyl 95% to clean the carbon dust. After an inspection of the chamber showing no problems, I move on. I clean the externals of the stummel with undiluted Murphy’s Oil using a cotton pad.  I also use a bristled tooth brush on the sculpting.  I’m anxious to see how this Oxblood hue cleans up.  I also utilize a brass brush on the rim.  Brass brushes do not harm the surface.  The cleaning did a good job on the rounded rim as well as the stummel surface.  The old finish is thin and raw briar is left on the rim. I decide to check the condition of the two small fills on the left upper side of the stummel.  Using a sharp dental probe testing showed that the fills weren’t solid, so I dig out the old fill with the probe.  I see no other fills needing attention, so I decide to address these now. I wipe the area with alcohol to clean it and then I mix a small about of briar dust putty using thick CA glue.  Using an index card, I shovel some briar dust in a small mound.  I then drop some CA glue close to the mound.  Using a toothpick, I then pull briar dust into the CA glue mixing as I go.  As the two mix, it thickens.  When it reaches the thickness of molasses, I apply the mixture to the pits with a small mound of excess to be sanded after it the putty cures.After the briar dust patch sets up, I clean the internals of the mortise and airway using pipe cleaners and cotton buds. I also use a dental spatula to scrape the tars and oils from the mortise wall.  After some effort, the internals are cleaning up and the cotton buds are coming out clean.Turning back to the stummel, the patch has cured and using a flat needle file I file down the briar dust patch to almost flush with the briar surface.  I then use 240 and 600 grit paper to sand it down further to the briar surface and blending the patch.  Amazingly, a face appears for a while as captured in the second picture! I then wipe the entire stummel with alcohol to remove the thin finish and to clean the stummel.  Taking a very close look at the condition of the surface.  I see a lot of nicks, cuts and very small pitting.  The surface is in rough shape. I decide to employ sanding sponges to work on the rough briar surface as well as the rounded rim that has seen better days.  I start with the coarse sanding sponge sanding the smooth surface – I pass over the sculpted areas.  I then graduate from the coarse sponge to the medium grade sponge, then to the fine sanding sponge.  These pictures chronical the progression – starting with the coarsest sponge: Medium sponge: Fine sponge: Moving from sanding sponges, I fine tune further using the micromesh pads.  First, I wet sand using pads 1500 to 2400, then dry sand using pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000.  The pictures show the progression. Well, it’s been a productive day!  To finish my ‘pipe work’ day, I’ll continue the internal cleaning of the stummel by allowing it to clean stealthily in a kosher salt and alcohol soak.  To do this I twist and pull a cotton ball to form a wick that I insert and push through the mortise and into the airway.  I then fill the bowl with kosher salt (you can use any kind of non-iodized salt – iodized salt leaves an aftertaste) and give the bowl a shake to settle the salt.  After I place it in an egg crate for stability, I use a large eyedropper and fill the bowl with isopropyl 95%.  After a few minutes, the alcohol is absorbed, and I top off the alcohol once more.  Putting it aside, I shut off the lights. The next morning, the salt and wick have both darkened from drawing out the oils and tars from the internal briar.  I toss the expended salt and wipe the chamber with paper towel making sure to remove left over salt crystals.  To make sure all is clean I run one pipe cleaner and cotton bud wetted with alcohol. Internals are clean!  Moving on. As I’ve reflected on the original reddish, Oxblood hue of the pipe, I think this was partly why Chrystal was drawn to the pipe – with its sculpted rose.  I will apply a dye to the stummel combining Fiebing’s Dark Leather Dye and Oxblood Leather Dye.  I’m envisioning a subtler Oxblood embedded in the darker brown, but leaning more toward the brown than red.  I will mix the two dyes in equal parts and see what happens!  I assemble all the desktop components of my staining process.  I first wipe the stummel with a cotton pad wetted with alcohol to clean it. I insert a shaped cork into the mortise to act as a handle.  After mixing the Dark Brown and Oxblood in a shot glass, I then warm the stummel using a hot air gun.  This expands the briar grain allowing it to absorb the dye more effectively.  After the stummel has been warmed, I apply the dye mixture to the briar surface with a folded over pipe cleaner.  After thoroughly covering the surface, I ‘fire’ the surface using a lit candle.  The alcohol in the aniline dyes immediately combusts when lit and sets the dye pigment in the briar grain.  I repeat this process a few minutes later and set the newly stained bowl aside to rest through the night. With the newly stained stummel resting, I return to the stem waiting in the wings. There are minor tooth chatter and bites on the button. I first freshen the button lips using a flat needle file.  Using 240 grit paper I quickly sand out file scratches and chatter. I then use 600 grit paper on the bit area, erasing the coarser paper scratches and follow by using 0000 steel wool on the entire stem.Moving next to the micromesh phase, I wet sand using micromesh pads 1500 to 2400, then dry sand using pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000.  After each set of 3 pads I apply Obsidian Oil to the stem to revitalize the vulcanite.  The stem looks good. I love this part of the restoration process – unwrapping the fired stummel.  After making the decision to dye, often the grain makes its own decisions regarding how the dye is received – I’m never sure how dye mixtures will look in the end.  To unwrap the flamed stummel shell, I mount a felt cloth buffing wheel into the Dremel and set the speed at the slowest RPMs and apply Tripoli compound.  After completing the cycle with Tripoli, to further blend the dye I wipe the stummel lightly with a cotton pad wetted with alcohol.  Before moving to the application of Blue Diamond compound, I use a fine point Sharpie Pen and give a little highlighting to freshen the sculpting on the stummel.  Next, I rejoin stem and stummel and mount a cotton cloth wheel to the Dremel, increase the speed to about 40% full power and apply Blue Diamond compound to the stummel.  Blue Diamond is less abrasive and continues to tease out the natural sanded gloss of the briar.  The briar grain is responding with a smile on its face – oh my! After wiping the pipe down with a felt cloth to clean off the compound dust left by the Blue Diamond, I mount another cotton cloth buffing wheel onto the Dremel, maintain speed at 40% full power and apply a few coats of carnauba wax to stem and stummel.  When completed, I give the entire pipe a hand buffing using a microfiber cloth to raise the brilliant shine and finish up the restoration of Chrystal’s gift for her grandfather.

In Bulgaria, the rose is special.  Even though is a beautiful flower, here in Bulgaria it is not primarily known as a beautiful flower, but as a rugged producer of fine oils and perfumes known and exported world-wide.  This is one of the reasons why the rose became the logo of the Daughters of Bulgaria – but not only a logo, but a symbol of profound value, strength and beauty.  Women who have been trafficked and sexually exploited are treated as valueless property to be used and then discarded.  All people are endowed with intrinsic value – even those that are not treated as Daughters, but are daughters, with identities, stories and value.  When Chrystal chose this ‘Rose’ pipe, she wanted it to be a special gift to her grandfather for the Chinese New Year – a gift that would remind her grandfather of her – not a rose carved in wood, but that she would be carved in his heart.

Chrystal could see the beautiful value and potential of this pipe when she chose it from among many to be her special gift.  She is truly a special young lady – truly a rose.  Thanks for joining me!    

 

The Gauntlet Thrown: Restoring a ‘New’, Never Smoked RJ ERGI Grand Luxe Horn Stem Billiard

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Blog by Dal Stanton

When this pipe came onto my worktable my assumption was that it was French made.  This assumption was formed by it being part of the ‘French Lot of 50’ which I acquired off the French eBay auction block.  Many of the pipes in this Lot bore horn stems which seemed to be the ‘French’ characteristic that formed my assumption that it too, was manufactured in France.  But on my worktable, the only marks stamped onto the Billiard were the ERGI [over] Grand Luxe on the left flank of the shank and an encircled ‘RJ’ stamped on the stem.  Here are the initial pictures of this attractive RJ Billiard with a horn stem and the nomenclature stampings: Intrigued by the question of this pipe’s COM and ‘RJ’ and ‘ERGI’, I went to all my usual places – Pipedia and Pipephil both came up totally empty.  I broadened the search to other blog threads and then to a wide-open Google search campaign.  Nothing.  I posted pictures of the nomenclature on Facebook groups, Gentlemen’s Pipe Smoking Society and Tobacco Pipe Restorers, and received only one response from Mike on GPSS who had this anecdotal information:

Mike: This pipe was made in Paris

Dal: Mike, Thanks. Do you know what RJ is? Company?? Thanks!

Mike: I know that the company closed down in 1998. As for the ERGI I believe it was an abbreviation for where the briar itself was harvested I picked one up years ago while in Paris.  I also remember paying the equivalent of 120 US dollars for it back about 20 years ago.  A really nice smoker. Dense briar.

Armed with Mike’s information about the Paris connection and encouraged by his experience, I Googled more (and a lot!) and also switched over to use Google of France hoping to get different responses.  This did help and I found one other piece of information about another RJ of Paris pipe – formerly on the Worthpoint auction block a Torpedo shape with this scant information.

WONDERFUL VINTAGE TORPEDO PIPE BY RJ PARIS WITH THE MAZE MORTONS PATENT DAMPER

This auction is for a super pipe in a torpedo shape made by RJ Paris (marked to the briar with name) and to the end is a mechanism that allows the damper to open and close – which is marked The Maze Morton’s Patent – a very good and interesting pipe.

An interesting pipe!  Again, a horn stem.  The French must like horn stems or at least ‘RJ’ did.  This confirmed that there was at least one other RJ of Paris pipe out there, but it was also advertised with the “Maze Mortons Patent Damper’.  I then searched again adding this to the search parameters and came up with no additional information – bah!  I’ll keep researching while I work on the pipe and I’m open to anyone reading this write-up to send me a note with more information to add to the scant information I have!

Todd saw this pipe along with two others in the For “Pipe Dreamers” Only! collection – a Ben Wade Hand Model and a very nice GBD Pot with uber grain potential!  Todd is a regular commenter on Rebornpipes and different Facebook pipe groups.  In the past he had offered encouraging words for restorations I had published, so it was great dialoging with him while he chose pipes to commission!  As he whittled his Dreamers list down from 5 pipes to the 3, we discovered we both have 2 grown children living in Denver, a parent living in Florida and connections in the Atlanta area – a small world sometimes in the pipedom community!  Most interesting to me was to discover that Todd is a lawyer and fluent in Mandarin Chinese and who practices both commercial law for corporations and also political asylum cases for individuals.  ‘Political asylum’ cases got my attention and appreciation, especially given our work here in Bulgaria among trafficked women.  Todd’s final three Dreamer’s choices: a Ben Wade, GBD Pot and the RJ on the worktable.With the limited information about the pipe before me and an appreciation for the pipe man who commissioned it, I now look closer at the pipe’s condition.  The interesting thing about this pipe is that it appears to be unsmoked and newish.  The metal tenon appears to be threaded and I’m assuming will take a 5mm filter if one chooses.  The chamber is virgin even though the external briar has some nicks and miniscule pits at places.  The pipe is very attractive, but what strikes me is that the grain of the smooth briar is subdued, even for an unsmoked pipe!  The rim is not marred, but the appearance is sharp and chopped.  Softening the rim presentation would help. The horn stem is in pristine condition and simply needs to be polished.  This ‘restoration’ is primarily a freshening, but my challenge is to show that generally (notice, qualifier!) a good restoration of a ‘new’ pipe will turn out better results than a factory manufactured new pipe.  This is the gauntlet that I’m laying down for myself, and we’ll see! Even though the pipe is unsmoked, I use undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and clean the stummel using a cotton pad. Afterwards, I rinse the stummel with cool tap water.  Doing this not only cleans the briar, but I also watch to see how the finish reacts.  As you can see from the results below, the cotton pad picks up some grime.Next, to soften the rim’s ‘cut off’, block look, I introduce both an internal bevel and a gentle external bevel.  At the end, these bevels will soften and will appear simply to be rounded edges, not distinct bevels.  To do the initial shaping, I pinch a tightly rolled piece of 120 grit paper between my thumb and the rim edge and rotate around the circumference.  I follow the 120 with rolled pieces of 240 and 600 grit papers.  In the same way, I introduce a lesser bevel on the external rim edge.  There are some wandering scratches on the rim top that micromesh should erase.Next, to clean up the minor surface imperfections and to tease out the grain, using micromesh pads 1500 to 2400 I wet sand the stummel. I follow by dry sanding using pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000.  The grains emerge more distinctly during the micromesh process and I study the patterns.  The block was cut with a primary horizontal cross grain orientation that emerges on the front right and back left bowl quadrants.  On the opposite quadrants, front left and back right – the cross section of the grain emerges in tight bird’s eye patterns.  Very nice – I love the grain!  Decision time.  As I proceeded through the micromesh process, the question I was mulling over in my mind was whether to leave the finish as it is and move on to the compounds and waxing?  Or, to apply a dye and employ the felt buffing wheel technique that will result in heightened grain contrast?  After conferring with my stylistically superior, my wife, I decide to go in the latter direction.  I use Fiebing’s Saddle Tan Pro Dye to do this – an aniline dye.  My aim is not to darken the overall stummel appearance, but to create more contrast in the grains.  I first wipe the bowl with a cotton pad wetted with alcohol to clean it. Then I heat the stummel using the hot air gun which helps expand the briar allowing the grain to be more receptive to the dye.  After heated, using a folded over pipe cleaner, I apply the Saddle Tan dye to the stummel and then fire it with a lit candle.  The alcohol in the dye combusts and sets the pigment in the briar.  After a few minutes, I repeat the process of applying and firing the dye.  I then put the stummel aside to rest for several hours. With the stummel on the resting allowing the dye to fully set, I study the horn stem.  It’s a beautiful piece of horn and the only thing I can do is simply spruce it up.  In the past, I benefited greatly by Steve’s essay on horn stem repair working on my first horn stem, A First Horn Stem on a Throw Away Pipe.  The key thing in repairing horn is to fill the gaps to keep the horn from drying and splintering as horn is very porous.  This stem needs no repairs, but looking closely, I do see normal miniscule porous texture.  The tighter or smoother the horn surface is, helps to guard against the decay of the horn.  I take a few closeups to show this. I treat the horn stem like a vulcanite stem but with greater gentleness 😊.  I run the stem through the micromesh regimen, and I will apply compounds afterward.  I wet sand with micromesh pads 1500 to 2400 and follow by dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000.  After each set of three pads, I apply Obsidian Oil to the horn and the horn drinks it up! I’m pleased with the results – even more gloss! While working on the stem, I kept seeing the nickel tenon and thinking that I needed to work on that a bit.  I clean it initially with 0000 steel wool.  After a bit of shining, that’s more like it! The newly stained and fired stummel has been resting for several hours and it’s time to unwrap the fired crust.  I mount a felt cloth buffing wheel to the Dremel and set the speed to the slowest possible, so I don’t scorch the wood with too much friction.  I then apply Tripoli compound to the briar surface which takes quite a bit of time. As the wheel ‘plows’ the crusted dye it loads up quickly requiring me to purge the wheel often.  When finished with Tripoli compound, I wipe the stummel with a cotton pad wetted with isopropyl 95%. I do this to lighten the aniline dye as well as to blend it.  Following this, I mount a cotton cloth buffing wheel to the Dremel, and increase the speed to about 40% full power.  After rejoining the stem and stummel, I apply Blue Diamond compound to both the horn stem and stummel.  When finished, I then wipe the pipe down with a felt cloth to clean it of compound dust before the application of the wax.  The pictures show the process. Before moving to the waxing of the pipe, I apply a mixture of activated charcoal and yogurt (sour cream works too) to form a protective layer for the chamber.  This mixture hardens in the chamber and provides a good starter layer for a cake to develop which protects the briar.  First, I put some natural yogurt in a small dish and then while mixing, I add activated charcoal.  As I add charcoal it thickens.  I want it thick enough, so it doesn’t run after applied to the chamber and I don’t want it so thick that it clumps.  When it looks good, after inserting a pipe cleaner through the draft hole to keep the airway open, I use a cotton bud and paint the chamber wall with the mixture.  With this done, it is late, and I turn out the lights allowing the charcoal/yogurt mixture to cure through the night. The next morning, the chamber coating has cured and I’m ready now to apply the final wax. One more thing to do before applying wax.  I have not seen any other RJ branded pipes that would provide a model informing me about the stem stamp.  The oval-encircled ‘RJ’ appears to have had some color in it, but it’s not clear which.  I decide to dress it up by applying Rub’n Buff European Gold to the stamp.  I apply some over the stamping with a toothpick and after a few minutes, simply scrape most of the excess off using the hard side of a tooth pick and then finish it up by wiping it clean of excess with a cotton pad.  It works exceptionally well and the subtle gold stamping blends well with the horn stem brown and tan hues.  Wow!  I’m liking this. I mount the Dremel with another cotton cloth wheel, maintain 40% full power speed, and apply several coats of carnauba wax to the stummel and horn stem.  After this, I give the entire pipe a good hand buffing with a microfiber cloth to raise the shine.

Earlier, I threw down the gauntlet and made the statement that a well-done restoration has better results than most new, manufactured pipes.  I’ll let you make your own judgement below as I begin with a ‘Before & After’ picture.  John, my fellow GPSC Facebook group member, observed that the RJ pipe he acquired in Paris some years ago had dense briar.  I would say that this ERGI Grand Luxe, if it too is Parisian, displays a grain that could be described the same way.  The bird’s eye is beautiful, tightly wound, and gratuitously showcased throughout the briar landscape – very appealing.  Complementing this beautiful display of briar is the rustic, earthy horn stem with its softly woven brown and tan hues.  I also like the gold embossing of the RJ stamp – it fits well this striking straight Billiard.  This is the first of 3 pipes that Todd commissioned and he will have the first opportunity to acquire it from The Pipe Steward Store.  This pipe benefits our work here in Bulgaria, with the Daughters of Bulgaria – helping women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited.  Thanks for joining me!  Now, ‘Before & After’.  What do you think?

 

The Second of a Foursome – A JR Handmade Canadian

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Blog by Steve Laug

My brother Jeff picked up four pipes in classic shapes at an auction in Nampa, Idaho. All four pipes are stamped JR Handmade. Beside the Bulldog there were two Canadians and an Apple. All were stamped the same on the left side of the shank JR over Handmade and on the right side Algerian Briar. I have been researching the brand on the web. I came across a potential pipemaker with the JR initials on Pipedia named J. Rinaldi but from what I can see he did not make classic shaped pipes. He pipes are very well made and have more of a freehand/freeform shape with shank adornments so it makes me wonder if these are his. I enlarged each photo on the Pipedia article but I was unable to see the stamping on his pipes for comparison sake. This leaves me with a lot of questions about the brand. The foursome came from the Boise, Idaho area like the House of Robertson pipes that I worked on last year. Those came from a pipe shop in Boise, Idaho and I wonder if it is not possible that the JR Handmade brand was also a pipe shop brand from a small shop in that area or even somehow connected with the House of Robertson brand. Perhaps I will never know… if any of you readers have any idea about the brand your help would be greatly appreciated.The above photo shows the foursome after Jeff had cleaned them. But before he cleaned each of them he took photos of the pipes as they came to him. I already wrote about the restoration of the Bulldog (https://rebornpipes.com/2019/01/28/the-first-of-a-foursome-a-jr-handmade-bulldog/). The next pipe is the first pipe on the right side of the above photo – a classic Canadian with a beveled rim top. I have included the photos of the Canadian before cleanup. The pipe is very well made and follows the classic shape of an oval shank Canadian perfectly. The bowl was stained with a dark brown/black and a medium brown stain over it. It is a well-shaped pipe that captures the mixture of flame and straight grain around the bowl sides and shank. The top of the bowl had some damage on the top and inner and outer edge. There were some chips from the briar on the outer edge on the right and the left side. There was a little darkening at the front outer edge. The inner edge had some knife marks on the right side at the top that left damage. The bowl had a very thick cake in the bowl. There was an overflow of lava onto the rim top. The stamping on the top side of the oval shank read JR over HAND MADE. The stamping on the underside read Imported Briar. The black vulcanite stem had light tooth dents and chatter on the top and the underside of the stem. Otherwise it was in very good condition. It was also lightly oxidized. Jeff took two close-up photos of the bowl and rim with different lighting to capture the condition of the pipe pre-cleanup work. The rim top had some lava overflow and a lot of damage to the inner and outer edges of the bowl. The pipe is dirty with thick cake and damage around the beveled rim.He also took photos of the sides of the bowl and shank to show the various grains on the bowl and shank. The first photo shows the large chip out of the top edge of the bowl. It was quite large and deep. Even though there is damage to this pipe the photos also show the rich colour of the stain that makes the grain just pop. The finish is very dirty but this is another beautiful pipe. Jeff took a photo to capture the stamping on the topside of the oval shank. The photo shows stamping JR over HAND MADE. On the underside it reads Imported Briar.  The next two photos show the stem surface. There are tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. There is also some wear on the sharp edge of the button. As mentioned before, Jeff and I have developed a pattern of working on the pipes that has become habit to both Jeff and me. I include it here so you have a sense of that pattern. Jeff reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He was able to remove the lava build up on the rim top and the rim top damage and the damage around the edges – both inner and outer is quite extensive. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it.   I took close up photos of the bowl and rim top as well as the stem. You can see the condition of the rim top and bowl in the first photo. Jeff was able to remove all of the tar and oils but you can now see the damage to the inner edge of the bowl. The vulcanite stem had tooth chatter and some tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem near and on the button surface.I took photos of the stamping on both sides of the oval shank. You can see that the stamping on both sides was light toward the front of the pipe. It was still readable but faint nonetheless.I decided to address the damage to the rim edges first. I wiped down the outside of the bowl with an alcohol dampened pad and filled in the chipped areas around the edge with clear super glue and briar dust to build up the chips to match the bowl sides.I decided to leave the side repairs for a bit to harden and turned to the rim top. I had to handle the rim repairs a bit differently on this pipe since it had a rim top that was beveled inward. I topped the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on a topping board to remove the damage to the outer edges of the rim top. I worked the beveled edge to match the outer edge of the bowl and smooth out the transition. I also needed to take care of the inner edge so I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the knife marks there and minimize the damage.   I sanded the repairs smooth and blended them into the rest of the bowl. It took a bit of work but soon they were blended in. I would need to stain the bowl repairs but first I want to polish the sanding marks out. I polished the rim top, the edge and exterior of the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the rim off after each sanding pad to remove the dust. The damage on the rim edges and top looked really good after polishing. I stained the rim top and bowl sides with a Cherry stain pen. I gave the sanded edges and repairs several coats of stain and let it cure.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the smooth surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little wall and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The following photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. The reworked rim top looks really good and matches the colour of the rest of the pipe. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. There were some tooth marks on the top and underside at the button that needed to be addressed. I sanded the tooth marks and chatter out of the surface of the stem and shaped the button with 220 grit sandpaper.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit sanding pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish and wiped it down with a last coat of Obsidian Oil. With this second JR Hand Made pipes from the Nampa, Idaho auction I am even more certain that there is some connection to the House of Robertson Pipe Shop in Boise, Idaho. Even with the fills and the repairs to the pipe this is another nice pipe. The two of the four JR Hand Made pipes that I have to restore are really well made and shaped. The stain job was done to highlight the mix of grain on the bowl. I polished stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The contrasting grain really began to stand out; it seemed to take on life with the buffing. The rich contrasting brown colour works well with the polished black vulcanite stem. This finished pipe has a rich look just like the Bulldog and it is also quite catching. Have a look at it in the photos below. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem are very well done. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 7/8 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/8 inches, Chamber diameter: 3/4 of an inch. I will be putting this newly finished JR Hand Made Canadian on the rebornpipes store shortly if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over the second of the foursome from JR Hand Made pipes.

The First of a Foursome – A JR Hand Made Bulldog

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Blog by Steve Laug

My brother Jeff picked up four pipes in classic shapes at an auction in Nampa, Idaho. All four pipes are stamped JR Handmade. Beside the Bulldog there were two Canadians and an Apple. All were stamped the same on the left side of the shank JR over Handmade and on the right side Algerian Briar. I have been researching the brand on the web. I came across a potential pipemaker with the JR initials on Pipedia named J. Rinaldi but from what I can see he did not make classic shaped pipes. He pipes are very well made and have more of a freehand/freeform shape with shank adornments so it makes me wonder if these are his. I enlarged each photo on the Pipedia article but I was unable to see the stamping on his pipes for comparison sake. This leaves me with a lot of questions about the brand. The foursome came from the Boise, Idaho area like the House of Robertson pipes that I worked on last year. Those came from a pipe shop in Boise, Idaho and I wonder if it is not possible that the JR Handmade brand was also a pipe shop brand from a small shop in that area. Perhaps I will never know… if any of you readers have any idea about the brand your help would be greatly appreciated.The above photo shows the foursome after Jeff had cleaned them. But before he cleaned each of them he took photos of the pipes as they came to him. I have included the photos of the Bulldog before cleanup. The JR Handmade straight Bulldog with a vulcanite stem is next on the table. The pipe is very well made and follows the classic shape of the straight bulldog perfectly. The bowl was stained with a dark brown/black and a medium brown stain over it. The pipe has twin rings around the cap on the bowl. It is a well-shaped pipe that captures the mixture of swirling grain around the bowl sides and shank. The top of the bowl had some damage on the top and inner edge. The bowl had a very thick cake and cobwebs in the bowl. There was an overflow of lava onto the rim top. The stamping on the left side of the diamond shank read JR over HAND MADE. The stamping on the right side read Algerian Briar. The black vulcanite stem had tooth dents and chatter on the top and the underside of the stem. There was some damage to the top and bottom edges of the button. It was also oxidized and had some calcification on the top and underside near the button. Jeff took two close-up photos of the bowl and rim with different lighting to capture the condition of the pipe pre-cleanup work. The rim top had a thick lava overflow. There appeared to be some rim damage on the inner edge at different points around the bowl but it was hard to know for certain with the lava coat. The pipe is dirty with thick cake and cobwebs in the bowl. He also took photos of the sides and bottom of the bowl and shank to show the various grains on the bowl and shank. The photos also show the rich colour of the stain that make the grain just pop. The finish is very dirty but this is another beautiful pipe.Jeff took a photo to capture the stamping on the top left side of the diamond shank. The photo shows stamping JR over HAND MADE on the left shank and ALGERIAN BRIAR on the right shank. The next two photos show the stem surface. There are tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. There is also some wear on the sharp edge of the button.Over the past years Jeff and I have developed pattern of working on the pipes that has become habit to both Jeff and I. I include it here so you have a sense of that pattern. Jeff reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He was able to remove the lava build up on the rim top and you could see the damage to the flat surface of the rim and the inner edge on the right side and toward the front of the bowl. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. I took close up photos of the bowl and rim top as well as the stem. You can see the condition of the rim top and bowl in the first photo. Jeff was able to remove all of the tar and oils but you can now see the damage to the inner edge of the bowl. The vulcanite stem had tooth chatter and some tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem near and on the button surface. I decided to address the damage to the rim top first. I topped the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on a topping board to remove the damage to the flat surface of the rim top and also to try to minimize the damage to the inner edge of the rim.I worked over the inner edge of the rim with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage. I gave it a slight bevel to hide the damage on the inner edge of the rim. The photos tell the story. The damage to the rim top is gone and the inner edge looks far better with the light bevel. The damage to the front edge is quite hidden.I polished the rim top, the edge and exterior of the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the rim off after each sanding pad to remove the dust. The damage on the rim is pretty much invisible after polishing and the rim top really looked good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the smooth surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little wall and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The following photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. The reworked rim top looks really good and matches the colour of the rest of the pipe. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. There were some tooth marks on the top and underside at the button that needed to be addressed. I also needed to do some work on the surface of the button on both sides. I filled the damaged areas in and build up the surface with clear super glue and set the stem aside until the repairs cured.I sanded both sides smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and 400 grit sandpaper to blend the tooth chatter and the repair into the surface of the stem. As I sanded and reshaped the button and stem surface the repaired areas and the tooth chatter disappeared.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit sanding pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish and wiped it down with a last coat of Obsidian Oil. The more I work on the JR Hand Made pipes from the Nampa, Idaho auction the more I wonder if there is some connection to the House of Robertson Pipe Shop in Boise, Idaho. This is the nicest one of the four JR Hand Made pipes that I have to restore. It does not have any fills in the briar and the stain job was done to highlight the swirling grain. I polished stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The contrasting grain really began to stand out; it seemed to take on life with the buffing. The rich contrasting brown colour works well with the polished black vulcanite stem. The finished pipe has a rich look that is quite catching. Have a look at it with the photos below. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem are very well done. The dimensions are Length: 5 1/2 inches, Height: 1 7/8 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/4 inches, Chamber diameter: 3/4 of an inch. I will be putting this newly finished JR Hand Made Bulldog on the rebornpipes store shortly if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over the first of the foursome from JR Hand Made pipes.