by Steve Laug

A week ago, or so, I received an email from Derek in Edmonton, Alberta about a pipe that he had. The shank had broken into several pieces and the photo below shows the damage on the pipe. It is a great looking apple shaped pipe that is stamped Vauen Mokka 5277. The finish is sandblast and stained dark brown or coffee coloured. The acrylic stem has a briar ring on it. It is a 9MM stem. He had done a repair and glued the pieces together. He did a good job of putting the parts together in a snug way. The only issue to my eyes was the longevity of the glue repair and the fact that the fit of the stem was loose. The following are photos that Derek sent to me to show the repaired shank on the pipe. The first photo shows overall look of the bowl. It is a great looking pipe. The photos after that show the repair shank and also the fit to the shank end. I did some work on the Vauen Mokka line before I started working on the pipe itself. I turned to the Vauen site (https://www.vauen.com/pipes/detail/collection/mokka/current-range.html). On the site there was a section on the Mokka line. I have included that information below.

The deep brown sandblasted surface creates a harmonious contrast to the natural briar wood that appears at the top of the bowl and at the end of the stem. The relief-like protruding grain ensures optimum heat dissipation.

Mouthpiece: acrylic black. Bitetype: Fishtail mouthpiece

Google sent me to the Pfeifen Shop and the listings on the Vauen Mokka 5277. I found a great photo of the pipe I am working on. Here is the link (https://www.pfeifen-shop-online.de/Vauen-Mokka-Pipe-5277).The site described the Mokka line as follows:

Coffee has been a part of the human culture for centuries. It hasn’t always been the quick drink, we see it as today, but solely a luxury drink. The combination with a pipe, creates a delightful experience like no other. The Vauen Mokka taste excellent even without coffee. Thanks to its sandblasting a greater surface are is created, so that the smoke can loose its heat more quickly, which is both more pleasurable and easier on the pipe itself. The bright accents on the rim and stem are pure, bright briar wood and contrast the deep brown colour of the pipe very well.

• Half-Bent: Ball
• Surface: Brown, sandblasted
• Drilling: 9 mm
• Stem: Acrylic
• Material: Briar
• Length: 140 mm
• Height of bowl: ca. 63 mm
• Drilling of the bowl: 20 mm
• Weight: ca. 60g

With that information I knew what I was working on. I turned to work on the pipe itself. I went through my nickel bands to find one that was deep enough to bind together the repairs. It was deep enough but did not hide too much of the stamping on the shank. I took photos of the parts. I fit the band on the edge of the shank end. I heated it with a lighter and pressed it onto the shank end by pressing it against a hard board. I heated and pressed, heated and pressed until it was even with the shank end. I restained the repaired areas with a Walnut stain pen to blend them into the surface of the briar. The match was a good blend. The exterior of the bowl look better after sanding. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar with my finger tips. I let it sit on the bowl for 10 minutes and then buffed it off with a paper towel and soft cloth. The product is a great addition to the restoration work. It enlivens, enriches and protects the briar while giving it a deep glow. It is a product I use on every pipe I restore. I polished the nickel band and put the stem on the shank to capture a sense of what the repaired pipe looked like. I sent the photos to Derek to show him the look of the pipe. He liked what he saw.I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I sanded out the tooth marks and chatter on the stem surface with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped it down with an Obsidian Oil Cloth after each sanding pad. It began to take on a rich shine.It was ready for the next step. I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the surface down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. It is really shining. I polished it further with Before & After Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil to finish this step. I am excited to be on the homestretch and look forward to seeing the Vauen Mokka 5277 Saddle Stem Ball put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together and lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish them. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe on the wheel with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The depths of the grain really pop with the wax and polish. The polished acrylic stem is a beautiful contrast to the combination of stains on the bowl and the band on the shank. This Vauen Mooka 5277 Ball was a bit of work to bring back to life. The pipe is light weight, comfortable in the hand and should feel great as it is warmed up when smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.05 ounces/58 grams. I will be sending it back to Derek early next week and it should give him some great smokes through the years ahead.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.