Blog by Steve Laug

Not long ago I worked a trade with a fellow for these five pipes in exchange for one that I had here. He sent me photos of the pipes and the deal was struck. The pipes he sent are as follows from bottom to top. There is a W.O. Larsen sandblast oval shank Brandy with a hairline crack in the shank and with tooth marks on the button on both sides, a Bertram Cutty that I had traded with him earlier, a Kriswill sandblast Canadian with a cracked shank, a Viby pencil shank Billiard and a Stanwell Royal Briar wide oval shank Dublinesque Freehand with burn damage on the rim edges and top around the bowl and deep tooth marks on the stem.The next of these I chose to work on today is the Viby 018 Pencil Shank Billiard. It is the second pipe down from the top of the photo above. It is a great looking sandblast piece with a very thin shank and normal sized bowl. The blast reveals some interesting grain patterns around the bowl and the shank. The rim top was in good condition and there was some darkening and burn damage on the front inner edge. The outer edge of the rim is in good condition. The bowl had a light cake in the bowl and smells of good Virginia tobacco. There was some grime and grit ground into the surface of the finish. The stamping on the underside of the shank reads 018 (shape number I believe) followed by Viby. That is followed by Handmade Denmark. The stain is medium/dark brown and goes well with the thin taper stem. Once it is cleaned up and polished the grain around the bowl and shank will shine. The stem is in good condition with some tooth marks on it. The surface just ahead of the button is worn on both sides. The button edge looks good on both sides. I have included a photo of the pipe that was included in the exchange of emails while we struck a deal. It is good looking pipe.I took photos of the pipe before I did my clean up work on it to show its condition. The photos confirm what I noted above regarding the condition of the bowl and the stem. It a nice looking pipe that will look better with a bit of work on the stem and bowl.   I took close up photos so that I could have a clearer picture of the condition of the bowl, rim edges and top. The rim top photos confirm my assessment above and show that while there is some darkening and burn damage on the front top and inner edge. The cake in the bowl is quite moderate and smooth. You can also see the condition of the outer and the inner edge. They appear to be in great condition. The bowl is slightly out of round on the front inner edge. The issues with the stem are visible in the photos on both sides. The sharp edge of the button is worn down and will need to be recut. This is what I look for when assessing a pipe. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is a little faint but readable as noted above.I took the stem off the bowl and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of proportion of the pipe. You can also see shape of the pipe and some interesting grain around the bowl and shank. Before I started my work on this pipe I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-b4.html) to the section on Benni Jørgensen. I knew that the Viby pipe was made by Benni and it was a matter of question whether it was a Benni second or another line by Benni. I quote from the section on Pipephil below.

Artisan: Benni Jørgensen is a professional pipemaker since 1980. He worked for W.O. Larsen for 25 years. He sells his pipes under his own brand (Benni Pipes) since 2000. Lasse Skovgaard Jorgensen is his son.

I turned then to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Benni_Pipes) and read the brief history of Benni’s craftsmanship. It is a great read and is full of connections between and the big name Danish carvers who worked in W.O. Larsen’s workshop. Give the article a read as it is well worth the time. There was no specific information on the Viby Line of pipes. The one I am working on is a handmade pipe and looks very good.

Now it was time to work on the pipe itself. I started my work on this one by reaming the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I followed that up by sanding the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel.  I cleaned the internals of the shank and the stem with 99% isopropyl alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I scrubbed it until the shank was clean and the smell was much cleaner smelling. Before scrubbing the bowl exterior I decided to clean up the darkening and the burn damage on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper give the bowl a light inward bevel and remove the darkening and the damage as much as possible. It looks much better.I scrubbed the external surface of the briar with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed it until the finish was clean and then rinsed it off with warm running water to rinse off the soap and the grime from the finish. I dried it off with a soft cloth and took photos of the pipe. I applied some Before & After Restoration Balm to the briar. It is a paste/balm that is rubbed into the surface of the briar. The product works to deep clean finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and a shoe brush. I let it sit for 10 minutes to do its work. I wiped it off with a soft cloth then buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine and the grain shone through. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. It is a gorgeous pipe. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the issues with the vulcanite stem. I used a small file to reshape the button edge redefine it. I sanded the file marks smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and started the polishing with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. The stem surface and button looked much better. I continued polishing the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and water to wet sand the stem. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil on a cotton rag after each sanding pads. But I find it does two things – first it gives some protection to the stem from oxidation and second it give the sanding pads bite in the polishing process. After finishing with the micromesh pads I rub the stem down with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine stem polish as it seems to really remove the fine scratches in the vulcanite. I rub the Fine Polish on the stem and wipe it off with a paper towel and then repeat the process with the Extra Fine polish. I finish the polishing of the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set the stem aside to let the oil absorb. This process gives the stem a shine and also a bit of protection.The final steps in my process involve using the buffer. I put the Benni Jorgensen Handmade Viby Pencil Shank Billiard back together and lightly buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the finish. I polished the vulcanite stem at the same time to polish out the scratches. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservative Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I have found that I can get a deeper shine if I follow up the wax buff with a buff with a clean buffing pad. It works to raise the shine and then I hand buff with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is always fun for me to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished stem. It really is a nice pipe. The finish around the bowl sides and shank looks great with the rich combination of brown stains. The Viby Pencil Shank Billiard feels great in my hand. It is a well balanced pipe. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is .95 ounces/27 grams. It is a beautiful pipe that functions as a sitter due to the wide heel on the bowl. I will soon be adding to the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipemakers section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. It should be a great smoking pipe. 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.