Tag Archives: vulcanite

What a Great Looking Peterson’s Dublin Made in the Republic of Ireland 999

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table was purchased on 03/08/2025 from a seller in Macon, Georgia, USA. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Peterson’s [arched over] Dublin. On the right side it is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) followed by the shape number 999. It was another pipe that was someone’s favourite. The bowl had been reamed and cleaned and there was no lava build up on the rim top. The finish looked good underneath all of the grime and oils that were ground into the bowl sides and heel. The vulcanite taper stem P-lip had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the P-lip and on the underside edge of the button. The “P” stamp on the left side of the stem was clear and just needed to be touched up otherwise it looked good. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on it. It is another pretty pipe! The next photos show the bowl and rim top as well as the stem condition. The bowl was quite clean and had been lightly smoked. The rim top and edges were also very clean in terms of tar. The stem looked good with some light tooth chatter and marks on both sides and the button. Jeff took photos of the sides and the heel of the bowl and shank to show the grain around the briar. It is unique and quite beautiful. I can’t wait to see it once it is cleaned and polished. The stamping on the shank sides was clear and very readable. It read as noted above.I am including the link to the Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson).

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s Dublin line. On page 298 it had the following information.

Dublin 1906-2003 Although Dublin appears under Peterson’s on many pipes over the decades, it has served mostly as part of the brand name. The word first appeared on pipes hallmarked 1906-11 Stamped Peterson’s over Patent over Dublin. The simpler Peterson’s over Dublin first appeared on pipes hallmarked 1912 after the expiration of the patent. Illustrations of pipes in the ’37 catalogue show a random dispersion of the stamp Peterson’s over Of Dublin together with the ordinary Peterson’s over Dublin on every model offered. Specimens of the former will either bear an Irish COM or London Made over England COM and almost certainly date from 1945-62. It was first mentioned in print as part of a model name in ’68 price list, as K&P Dublin, in ’92 for a Danish market line and in 2017.

With that information in hand I knew what I was dealing with in terms of the stamping on the pipe. It is a Republic era pipe. The three line Made in the Republic of Ireland stamp on the right side of the shank tell me it was made in 1981. It is a beautiful pipe in a popular shape – 999.

Now, on to the restoration of this beautifully grained Republic Era Peterson’s Dublin 999 Rhodesian. With that information at hand I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. He cleaned up the remnants of debris with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove as much of the oxidation and calcification as possible. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I started to work on it. I took close up photos of the bowl and the stem. You can see the bowl and it was lightly smoked and clean. The stem surface was clean but there is light tooth marks and chatter on both sides on and ahead of the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. There is also a “P” stamp on the right side of the stem. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to give a sense of the proportions of the pipe. It is really quite nice looking. I sanded the briar – bowl and rim top – with 320-3500 grit 2 x 2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. It was looking much better.I polished the briar and the rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. You can see the grain around the bowl and shank in the photos below. The bowl looks great and took on a shine as I finished the polishing. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes, then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine.I touched up the stamped P on the left side of the tapered stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. I applied it to the stem with the applicator and scraped off the excess material with a 1000 grit sanding pad. I wiped it down with an Obsidian Oil Cloth. It came out looking very good.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2 inch x 2 inch sanding pads. I wiped it down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad. It looked very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a cloth containing some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the stem. I don’t know how many times I have said this but I love it when I come to the end of a restoration. All of the parts come together and the pipe looks better than when we started the cleanup process. I put the stem back on the Peterson’s Dublin 999 Rhodesian and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I carefully avoided the stamping on the shank sides during the process. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad on the buffer. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is a real stunning example of a Republic Era Peterson’s Dublin 999 Rhodesian. Once again, the grain and the way the shape follows the grain is amazing. Give the finish pipe a look in the photos below. I can only tell you that it is much prettier in person than the photos capture. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.59 ounces/45 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will be putting this one on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for your time.

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.

Fresh Life for a Karl Erik Hand Made in Denmark Freehand Sitter

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is an elegantly shaped Dublin/Freehand. It came to us from a seller in Downey, California, USA on 08/12/2025. The finish had a combination of smooth and rusticated spots on the heel of the bowl and the shank – as well as two on the front mid bowl. Otherwise it has some great straight grain around the bowl and shank. It acts as a sitter on base as well as the forward angle of the bowl bottom. The rim top is unstained plateau while the shank end is smooth. The shank underside is stamped Karl Erik over Handmade in Denmark. The bowl had grime and oils ground into the sides. There was a moderate cake in the bowl and a light lava overflow and darkening on the inner edge and rim top. The fancy, turned saddle stem was lightly oxidized and there was tooth chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up. The next photo shows the rim top and the bowl. You can see the cake in the bowl and the light overflow of lava on the inner edge of the rim along with some darkening. The photos of the stem show the oxidation and calcification with light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took pictures of the bowl from various angles to show the condition and the overall look of the pipe. You can see the small rusticated patches in the photos. It was a beauty and elegant underneath the grime. The underside of the shank is stamped Karl Erik over Handmade in Denmark. It is clear and readable.I reread a blog that Robert M. Boughton wrote on rebornpipes on his “Grade O” Karl Erik to refresh my memory on the brand and the grading system (https://rebornpipes.com/2018/07/28/a-three-card-draw-for-an-inside-straight-with-an-old-karl-erik-hand-made-grade-o-freehand/). It was enlightening and from there I went on and looked up the brand on both Pipephil’s site and Pipedia to add some details to my knowledge.

Photo from Pipedia

From the Pipephil site I got a quick overview of the brand. (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-k1.html). I quote:

Brand created in 1965-66 by Karl Erik Ottendahl (1942–2004 †). In the best years he employed up to 15 craftsmen among which Bent Nielsen (see Benner) and Peder Christian Jeppesen. Former grading (ascending): from 4 to 1, and “Ekstravagant” (entirely handmade

From Pipedia here is a bit more detailed history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Erik). I quote from there below.

Karl Erik Ottendahl (1942–2004) was born in Aalborg (Jutland), just a few miles from the very northernmost tip of Denmark. He began smoking a pipe when he was 14 and upon leaving school he started an apprenticeship…as a lithographer at the age of 16.

While working as an apprentice he began hand carving pipes as a hobby. Many were given as gifts to his more senior colleagues. Upon completion of his apprenticeship he moved to Nairobi, Kenya to work as a lithographer during the 1962 war. While in that war torn country, he was unable to procure pipes for himself. In the face of such a predicament, he chose to continue to make pipes for his own use rather than go without.

Returning to Denmark after three years he couldn’t find a well paid… job, and so he began making a few pipes on the side to boost his income choosing his prenames “Karl Erik” – logo “KE” – for his label. When he managed to find some major Copenhagen pipe stores willing to sell his pieces his reputation grew little by little and he was finally able to purchase more and better machinery and began working full time as a pipe maker.

Pipedia also included a short description of the grading system that was used. From what I can discern the numbers ascended (6-1) and the letters ascended as well. There is no grade stamp on this pipe however.

KE’s new grading used numbers ascending from D to A. The unique “Ekstravagant” pipes C, B, A, AA to AAA. These superb pieces of remarkable quality were, almost certainly, the least expensive high- quality hand made pipes coming from Denmark today!

Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove as much of the oxidation and calcification as possible. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I started to work on it.

I took some photos of the rim top and stem. The rim top and bowl looked good. The cake and lava overflow were gone but the rim top and the inner edge looked clean. The closeup photos of the stem shows that it is a much cleaner and looks good. The very light tooth marks and chatter were still present on both sides.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank to show the condition after the cleanup. It was very readable and undamaged. I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the proportions of the pipe. I started my restoration work on this pipe by sanding the bowl and shank with 320-3500 grit 2 x 2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad. It began to look very good. I started my polishing regimen on the bowl. I used nine micromesh sanding pads and dry sanded the bowl with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. The bowl really shines by the final three pads. 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 photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned to the stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to remove the scratching and light tooth marks. I wiped the stem with Obsidian Oil down after each sanding pad to remove the debris. It looked much better.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped them down after each sanding pad with a cloth containing some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the stem. I don’t know how many times I have said this but I love it when I come to the end of a restoration and all of the parts come together and the pipe looks better than when we started the cleanup process. I put the stem back on the Karl Erik Handmade in Denmark Freehand Sitter and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I carefully avoided the stamping on the shank sides during the process. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad on the buffer. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is a real stunning example of a Danish Karl Erik Handmade Freehand Sitter. Once again, the grain and the way the shape follows the grain is amazing. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. I can only tell you that it is much prettier in person than the photos capture. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches wide x 1 ¾ inches long, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.72 ounces/78 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will be putting this one on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipemakers Section. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for your time.

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.

A Unique and Beautiful Sandblast Malaga Second on the work table now

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is an interesting Malaga Second Sandblast Dublin. Jeff saw it on eBay and purchased it on 08/22/2024 from a seller in Harrison Township, Michigan, USA. The grain on this pipe is quite nice beneath the oil cured finish. The pipe is stamped on the right side of the shank and reads Malaga [over] Second. It is a nice one in terms of the well-done ½ Bent Dublin. The bowl and shank were in good condition. The finish was in good condition though dirty with dust in the depths of the sandblast. The bowl had a thick cake that over flowed over the top of the sandblast rim in a lava coat. The rim top and inner edge of the bowl appeared to be in good condition under the grime. The saddle stem was vulcanite and was lightly oxidized and calcified. There were tooth marks and chatter on the top and the underside ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work.  Jeff took photos of the rim and bowl to show the cake and lava coat in the sandblast on the rim top and edges. The inner edge of the rim was caked and lava coated but seemed to be okay underneath. It was a dirty pipe but still a beauty. The vulcanite saddle stem was lightly oxidized, calcified and had some tooth marks and chatter on both side against the button. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show how the sandblast has followed the grain around the bowl and shank. The oil curing/finish makes the grain really stand out on the smooth panels on the sides of the bowl and underside of the shank. Jeff took a photo of the stamping on the right side of the shank and it is clear and readable as noted above. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the brand, I am also including the link to a blog that I wrote that gives some of the history of the Malaga brand and the Malaga Pipe Shop in Royal Oak, Michigan in the USA. Here is the link – https://rebornpipes.com/2013/02/09/george-khoubesser-and-malaga-pipes/. That blog also includes links to a catalogue and the history of the pipemaker George Khoubesser. If you are interested to learn more then I invite you to follow the link to get a feel for the brand and the pipemaker.

I am also am including a link to some printed material on the Malaga brand that came to me from the daughter of George Koch (we purchased George’s pipes from his daughter) to help identify the particular stamping on the pipe. The link takes you to the entire collection of materials that were sent to me. (https://rebornpipes.com/2019/02/27/malaga-pipes-catalogue-of-pipes-and-tobaccos/).

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe using his usual process. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer and removed the rest of it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He cleaned up the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation and the calcification on the surface. He cleaned out airway in the stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol. It looked clean. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. I took a photo of the bowl, rim top and the stem to show their condition. Jeff was able to clean up the cake and the lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. The rim top was clean and the inner and outer edges of the bowl showed no burn damage. The stem looked better and the tooth marks are very visible on both sides ahead of the button. There was also a hairline crack in the topside of the stem mid blade.I took a photo of the stamping on the top side of the shank to show that it was clean and faint in spots but still readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of what the pipe looks like. The condition of the bowl was excellent after the cleanup. The only thing that look like it needed work were the smooth patches on the sides and underside of the shank. They showed sanding marks and scratching. I would need to smooth out the marks and polish the smooth portions. I used 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to smooth them out. It looked much better. I polished them further with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded with each pad and wiped the smooth spots down with a damp cloth to remove and sanding debris. While not flawless it looked much better. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I set the finished bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I examined it and found that the blade was cracked at the bend. It would need to be replaced. To replace the stem I need to find one that would work. I went through my stems and found one that look workable. It was a little larger in diameter at the saddle than the broken one but with some work it would fit well. I reduced the diameter of the tenon and the diameter of the saddle portions with a Dremel and a sanding drum. I needed to sand out the sanding marks and make the fit smooth to the shank and mortise. I took a photo of the fit of the stem at this point. It needed more sanding to get a smooth transition with the shank but it looked quite good. I set the bowl aside and worked on the tooth marks on the stem. I “painted” them with the flame of a lighter to lift them. They came up a bit and I filled in what remained with the extra strength rubberized Black CA glue. Once the repairs cured I flattened them out and redefined the button edge with small flat files. I sanded them smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the stem with 2 x 2 inch sanding pads – dry sanding with 320-3500 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I did a final hand polish of the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I put the new stem back on the Malaga Second Sandblast Dublin and took it to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the vulcanite. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in both. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. I am amazed at how well it turned out. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a beautiful Malaga Second Sandblast Dublin and the vulcanite saddle stem and smooth patches in the sandblast finish combine to give the pipe a great look. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.26 ounces/64 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the American Pipe Makers and Pipemaking Companies Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

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.

What a Wreck of a Pipe this Peterson’s of Dublin Kildare 408 Apple

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by Steve Laug

This is another pipe we picked up from a seller in Macon, Georgia, USA on 03/08/2025. It was a classic Peterson’s Apple shaped pipe. It was stamped Peterson’s [arched over] Dublin [over] Kildare. Mid shank on the right side it was stamped 408. It was truly a wreck of a pipe at the worst and at the best it was someone’s favourite. It was very dirty and was covered with tars and oils all around what must have been a natural coloured pipe when it started. The bowl had a thick cake that overflowed in lava onto the rim edge and top of the bowl. The inner edge of the bowl appears to have been poorly, if not infrequently reamed with a sharp knife. It was notched and damaged all the way around and was even visible with the lava coat. The stem was a vulcanite fishtail one that was very dirty, discoloured and there were deep tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. The fit of the stem to the shank showed that the internals of the shank were as dirty as the externals of the pipe. All in all, it was truly a mess that I was unsure would clean up well. Jeff took photos of the pipe so I could have a sense of what it looked like before he started his work on it. Jeff took photos of the stem and the bowl and rim to give a sense of the horrible condition of the pipe. You can see the thick cake in bowl and the lava overflow on the edges and rim top of the bowl. The damage on the inner edge of the rim is visible even under the lava. The stem surface is very dirty and you can see the tooth marks and damage. This will be a challenge! He also took photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel to show the beautiful grain that could not be totally hidden by the heave filth on the bowl sides. You can see the oils and debris ground into the finish and built up on the surface of the bowl and shank. He took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It is faint but still is readable as noted above.I reread Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I am quoting nothing specifically from that article but recommend you take time to read it.

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s Kildare Line. It has become my go to any time I want information on Peterson’s lines. Page 314 had the following information on the Kildare Line.

Kildare (1965-) First issue of line with matte-finish in Classic Range shapes, P-Lip and fishtail mouthpiece. Second issue C.1979 as Kildare Patch, with rusticated patches on pipe surface. Third issue 2010, matte-brown, P-Lip or fishtail mouthpiece, no band. Fourth issue 2011-, burgundy sandblast finish, nickel army mount, fishtail mouthpiece, exclusive to smokingpipes.com.

The information given above identifies the pipe as a First Issue of the line with a matte-finish. It would have been issued between 1965 and 1979. This line was issued in a brown finish with either a P-lip or a fishtail mouthpiece. This means that the pipe is an older issue Kildare. The 408 shape number is attached to a ¼ bent Apple.

Now it was my turn to work on the pipe. Jeff had done an amazing cleanup of the pipe. It was such a wreck that I wondered what it would look like after his work. He reamed the heavy cake with a PipNet reamer and cleaned up that with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals of the bowl and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the externals with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed the bowl off with running water. The scratches in the briar stood out once clean. There were some on the heel of the bowl. The rim top was clean but badly damaged on the inner edge. He scrubbed the dirty stem with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. Once it had soaked he rinsed it off with warm water to remove the residual solution. He dried it off and rubbed it down to remove any oxidation that was still on the stem. Overall the pipe looked better but would be a challenge to bring back to life. I took a photo of the rim top to show the condition. You can see the clean bowl. The bowl is in excellent condition and the rim top shows the heavy damage on the inner edge of the bowl. The stem came out looking quite good and the tooth marks and chatter were visible on the surface ahead of the button.I took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The photo clearly shows the faint stamping though it is actually more readable in person. The stem is also faintly stamped with a Peterson’s P logo. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe parts to show what I was working with. It really does have some beautiful grain on the bowl and shank. It was time to work on the pipe. I started by trying to clean up the inner edge bevel with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It was too far gone for that to work. I changed course to use various wooden spheres I have here along with 220 grit sandpaper to try to rescue the rim edge and bevel. Once finished it definitely looked better. I filled in the deep road rash on the heel of the bowl with clear CA glue, working it into the deep pits with a tooth pick. Once it cured I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth it out and blend it in.I sanded the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the scratching and marks on the bowl surface and top and underside of the shank. I wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth and by the end the bowl really began to show some promise. I carefully avoided the stamping on the shank sides. I used a Cherry stain pen to restain the inner edge and rim top to match the rest of the briar before I started sanding it. Once it had been sanded the match should be perfect. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. By the final pads the briar really had a shine. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips to work it into the finish. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I set the bowl aside and worked on the tooth marks on the stem. I “painted” them with the flame of a lighter to lift them. They came up a bit and I filled in what remained with the extra strength rubberized Black CA glue. Once the repairs cured I flattened them out and redefined the button edge with small flat files. I sanded them smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I touched up the P stamp on the left side of the taper stem with some white acrylic fingernail polish. Once it cured I scraped off the excess and worked over the surface with a 400 grit sanding pad to clean up the stamping. It is clear and readable.I sanded the stem and tenon with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. Each successive pad brought smoother shape and definition to the stem. I wiped it down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad and by the end it was starting to look very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped them down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil and set aside for the product to absorb into the vulcanite. It was great to finish this older (1965-79) Republic Era Peterson’s 408 Apple. It was a question if it could be reborn but I think it looks good.  I put the bowl and the stem together and buffed it with Blue Diamond 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 the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with deep sandblast all around it. Added to that the polished black vulcanite stem was beautiful. This Peterson’s Kildare 408 Apple is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. 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 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 58 grams/2.05 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will soon be on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipe Makers Section. If you want to add it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Breathing New Life into a Royal Danish 903 Made in Denmark Billiard

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the worktable is an obvious Stanwell shaped pipe. It has a mixed finish – sandblast on the bowl and shank with smooth panels on the left and right as well as the underside of the shank. The sandblast finish is quite beautiful even through the grime. It was purchased on 08/12/2025 from a seller in Downey, California, USA. The shape of the pipe a classic Billiard with a saddle stem pinched on the sides. There is a Crown logo stamped in the left side of the saddle stem. It was stamped on the underside of the shank on a smooth panel. It reads Royal Danish [over] Made in Denmark. The shape number 903 is stamped near the heel of the bowl. The finish was dirty with dust and grime ground into the nooks and crannies of the sandblast finish. The smooth panels on each side were dirty with oils and grime. There was a thick cake in the bowl and lava overflow on the rim top. The inner edge of the rim was covered so thickly in lava it was hard to know what was underneath. The vulcanite fancy saddle stem was calcified, oxidized and had tooth marks and chatter ahead of the button on both sides. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started to work on cleaning it up for us. Jeff took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe when we received it. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and the heavy coat of lava filling in the blast on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. The damage on the top front and outer edge is also visible. The stem is calcified and oxidized with light tooth chatter and marks on both sides near the button. He took photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel to give an idea of the shape and the condition of the briar around the bowl. It has a great sandblast with smooth patches on the bowl sides. The next photo Jeff took shows the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. The Crown logo is also visible on the left side of the saddle stem. Regardless of when this specific briar was made, the shape is very much a 1960s Danish one. I turned to Pipephil’s site and quickly scanned the article on Stanwell getting a great overview of the history. I went through the photos and did not find the shape of the pipe that I was working on (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-r6.html). There was one that showed the mixed finish of the Royal Danish line – sandblast with smooth patches on each side of the bowl. I have included a screen capture of that section below.I then turned to Pipedia and found that the Royal Danish was also listed as a second or a sub-brand made by Stanwell (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell#Sub-brands_.2F_Seconds). I have included the list of seconds from the site below. I have highlighted the Royal Danish in blue in the text.

Sub-brands / Seconds – Bijou (discontinued), Danish Quaint, Danish Sovereign, Danske Club,    Henley (discontinued), Kong Christian (discontinued), Majestic, Reddish (discontinued),  Royal Danish, Royal Guard, Royal Sovereign, Sailor (discontinued), Scandia, Sorn (discontinued), Svendson.

There was also an interesting advertising page on the Danish Briars by Stanwell. The first one on the list was the Royal Danish. The description of the line is clear and concise, be sure to read it below.Jeff had cleaned up the pipe following his normal cleaning process. In short, he reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the smooth bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the lava and debris on the rim top and was able to remove it. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and cotton pads to remove the debris and oils on the stem. He soaked it in a bath of Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. He rinsed it with warm water and dried it off. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. It really looked good. I took close up photos of the stem and the rim top to show both how clean they were and what needed to be addressed with both. The rim top and bowl edges look better. The stem looked better and the tooth marks and chatter was very light.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. You can see from the photo that it is clear and readable. I also captured the stamping of the crown on the left side of the saddle stem. I removed the stem from the bowl and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the beauty of the pipe. I polished the smooth patches on the bowl sides and the inner edge of the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to remove the debris. The smooth portions took on a rich glow. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar with my finger tips and into the blast with a shoe brush. The product works to clean, revive and protect the briar. I let it sit on the pipe for 10 minutes then buffed it off with a soft cloth. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks and chatter on the surface of the vulcanite with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift them. I was able to raise the majority of them with the heat. I filled in the remaining the tooth marks with a strong rubberized and carbon Black CA glue. Once it cured I flattened the repairs with flat files to start blending them into the surface. I sanded out the repairs with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to finish blending them into the surface. I applied some acrylic white nail polish to the stamping on the stem left side.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil Cloth to remove the sanding debris. It really began to look very good.I polished out the sanding marks on the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it 1500-12000 pads. I wiped it down with some Obsidian Oil each pad to remove the dust and polishing debris. I 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 is another pipe that I am really happy about the look of the finished restoration. This reborn Royal Danish 903 Sandblast Billiard turned out really well. I think that it really is a great looking pipe with a great shape and grain. The polished black of the stem works well with the briar. The briar really came alive with the buffing. The rich brown stains of the finish make the grain really pop with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Royal Danish 903 Sandblast Billiard really feels great in the hand and it looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 38 grams/1.34 oz. The pipe will be going on the rebornpipes store soon. It will be in the Danish Pipe Makers Section if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. It was a fun one to work on!

New Life for an Edwards Algerian Briar EF1 Handmade Pebble Rusticated Dublin

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a Pebble Rusticated Dublin that Jeff picked up on 03/08/2025 from a seller in Macon, Georgia, USA. The finish is pebble rusticated on the rim top and around the bowl and shank. There is a variegated purple twisted shank extension on the end. The bowl had rich mixed browns stain all around it. There is a smooth ring around the outer and inner edge of the rim top. It is a great looking pipe. It is stamped on the heel of the bowl and the underside of the shank and reads Edwards in script [over] Algerian Briar [followed by] CF1. It is stamped Hand Made at the shank stem junction. The finish was dirty and had a lot of grime and grit ground into the rustication around the bowl. The rim top and inner edge of the bowl is dirty with a heavy lava flow on the edge and in the rustication of the top. There is a thick cake in the bowl. The rose-coloured acrylic saddle stem is dirty and there were tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. It showed a lot of promise. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show this thick cake in the bowl and heavy lava coat in the rustication of the rim top. Hopefully the cake and lava had protected the inner and out edge of the rim. The photos of the stem show the chatter and tooth marks on both sides. The next series of photos show the condition of the finish on the bowl. The pebble, or coral rusticated finish that Edwards put on the pipe was worn but quite unique. The rim top showed some different style of rustication. There was a smooth ring around the shank end ahead of the acrylic shank extension. The next photos show the stamping on the underside of the shank of the pipe. All of it is clear and readable. Across the board Edwards pipes were all Algerian Briar and all were unstained waxed or oiled briar. I remember reading that actually oil curing was a feature of their pipes. I did a quick look on Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Edward’s) and found that I was correct. I quote:

Edward’s pipes were originally produced in St. Claude France when France actually was a world-class pipe maker with longstanding business & political connections to Colonial Algeria that allowed them to obtain the finest briar.

During the tumultuous 1960’s, Edward’s created a business model to offer the finest briar available in both Classic and Freehand shapes – all at a fair price. They bought the company & equipment and cornered the market on the finest, choice Algerian Briar just before the supply vanished in political turmoil of Algeria’s independence. Edward’s packed up both machinery and briar-treasure to America, safely caching the essentials to create a new pipe-making dynasty. This was a coup, for the 70’s and 80’s were grim years for pipe smokers as quality briar all but disappeared.

All of Edward’s pipes are Algerian Briar – a fact very few pipe companies can claim, and all are oil-cured utilizing natural finishes – no strange concoctions are used to interfere in your tastebud’s dance with the briar. Algerian, Calabrian, Sardinian, Corsican – take your pick, but Algerian Briar is generally considered the finest smoking briar ever used. When combined with oil-curing, Algerian takes on a magical quality that even Alfred Dunhill recognized as far back as 1918 as the choice for both his Bruyere and Shell.

With that information on the brand in hand I turned to the pipe. Jeff had cleaned the pipe well which I really appreciate because of the freedom it gives me in dealing with pipes. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. The stem was scrubbed with Soft Scrub to remove the grime. Once it was rinsed off, it came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I brought it to the table. I took a close up photo of the rim top to show how clean it was. You can see the rustication on the rim top and the ring around the inner and outer edge of the rim. The rose acrylic stem looked good just some light tooth chatter and marks near the button. Overall the pipe is a beautiful looking piece.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It read as noted above. It is clear and readable. I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to give a sense of the proportions of the pipe.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar with my finger tips and a horsehair shoe brush. 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 set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. I sanded out the light tooth marks and chatter with 220 grit sandpaper to remove them. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to smooth out the scratching and remaining tooth marks and chatter. I wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. The stem is looking very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I buffed the stem with a soft cloth to raise the shine. I gave it a final wipe down with Obsidian Oil to protect the stem from UV and slow down future oxidation. I don’t know what it is about finishing a restoration but I have to tell you that it is my favourite part of the process. It is the moment when everything that I have been working on comes together. I can compare it to where I started and there is always the satisfaction that it does indeed look better than when Jeff and I picked it up. I put the Edwards Algerian Briar Pebble Rusticated Dublin back together and carefully buffed it with Blue Diamond 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 and hand buffed it to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished uniquely shaped Edward’s Rustication looks like along with the polished fancy rose coloured acrylic stem. This is an interesting Pebble Finish Edwards Dublin and I am sure that it will be comfortable in hand when smoking as it is light and well balanced for a pipe of this size. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 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 1.87 ounces/53 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This one will be going on the rebornpipes store in the Pipes from American Pipe Makers Section shortly if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for your time.

New Life for an Israel Made Long Canadian

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a great looking long Canadian that Jeff picked up on 12/17/2020 from an auction in Cramerton, North Carolina, USA. The finish is smooth around the bowl and shank with some leaves carved into the finish. There is one on the left side of the shank and there are three on the right side with one of them on bottom right and front. The bowl had been coated with a varnish coat that was spotty in places and would need to be removed. It is a great looking pipe. It is stamped on the underside at the shank/stem junction it reads Israel. The finish was dirty and had a lot of grime and grit ground into the rustication and the smooth portions. The rim top and inner edge of the bowl is dirty with a heavy lava flow on the edge and the top. There is a thick cake in the bowl. The taper stem has an X logo on the top. It is lightly oxidized and there were tooth marks and chatter on the surface. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. It showed a lot of promise.He took close up photos of the bowl and rim top from different angles to show the condition of the bowl and the rim top. You can see the lava on the rim top and on the inner edge of a caked bowl flowing onto the top. He took photos surface of the vulcanite stem which is lightly oxidized and dirty. It has tooth marks on both sides as well as chatter. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the rich reddish finish and the carved leaves around the right side and shank. There is great grain peeking through the grime on the shank and the sides of the bowl. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank to capture it. It was clear and readable as noted above. He also took a photo of the X logo on the stem top. I turned to both Pipephil and Pipedia to see if I could find any information on the stamping on the pipe. There was nothing stamped with both Israel on the shank and X on the stem top. I am pretty convinced that the pipe was made by the Shalom Pipe Company in Israel and the makers of Alpha pipes. The shape and the conformation of the pipe remind me of other Shalom pipes. While I will never know the maker for certain I am fairly confident it as noted above. It is a neat looking pipe.

When I received it from Jeff it did not look like the same pipe. It was clean and the finish had life. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. It was in good condition. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and soaked it in Briarville’s Stem Deoxidizer. He rinsed it with warm water and dried it off with a soft cloth. It came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I unpacked it.  I took some photos of the rim top and stem to show the condition of them both when the pipe arrived. Overall it looked good. There is some damage and darkening to the inner edge of the bowl. The stem looked good even with the tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank and reads Israel. It is clear and readable and in great condition. The X stamp on the topside of the stem is faded but readable. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe to show the look of the pipe.I cleaned up the inner edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. To remove the damage on the inner bevelled edge I used a wooden sphere and 220 grit sandpaper. It looked much better. I touched up the stain on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl with a Maple stain pen to match the rest of the briar.I sanded the sides of the rim top and bowl with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to remove the varnish coat. I wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth. It really began to have a more natural shine. I polished the bowl and the high points on the plateau with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the briar down after each pad with a damp cloth. The bowl is starting to look very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and into leaf patterns with a horsehair shoe brush 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 photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I filled in the deep tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem ahead of the button with a rubberized/carbon extra strength Black CA glue. Once it cured I used some small flat files to blend the repairs into the surface of the vulcanite. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to finish blending it into the stem surface. I touched up the X stamp on the topside of the stem with some white acrylic fingernail polish. I let it harden and then scraped off the excess and went over it with a 1000 grit sanding pad. It looked very good at this point.I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem with 2 x 2 inch sanding pads – dry sanding with 320-3500 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. This beautiful mixed finish Israel Long Shank Canadian with carved leaves, probably made by the Shalom Pipe Company with a slightly bent vulcanite stem has a great look and feel. I polished the 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 rich combination of browns and blacks in the smooth and carved leaves took on life with the buffing. The rich colour of the briar works well with the polished vulcanite stem. I like the grain and finished look of this Israel Long Shank Canadian. 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: 7 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 52 grams/ 1.83 ounces. This Israel Long Canadian is a real beauty. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This one will be going on the rebornpipes store in the Pipes from Various Makers Section shortly if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for your time.

New Life for a Malaga Long Oval Shank Volcano Sitter

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is an interesting long oval shank Malaga Volcano. Jeff saw it on eBay and purchased it on 11/04/2025 from a seller in Orlando, Florida, USA. The grain on this pipe is nice beneath the oil finish stain. But what makes it different is that the pipe is etched with lines breaking up the bowl sides and long shank into various quadrants. The rim top and heel of the bowl were smooth. The pipe is stamped on the top side of the shank and reads “MALAGA”. It is a unique one in terms of the shape and the etching style rustication. The bowl and shank were in excellent condition. The finish was in good condition with no damage. The bowl was clean with some darkening on the bowl walls and also some raw briar. It was a lightly smoked pipe and other than dirty was quite clean. The rim top and inner edge of the bowl looked very good. The taper stem was vulcanite and was lightly oxidized. There were light tooth marks on the top and the underside ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work.  Jeff took photos of the rim and bowl to show clean bowl and rim top and edges. The inner edge of the rim looked good. The grain on the rim top is quite nice. It was a dirty pipe but still a beauty. The vulcanite stem was lightly oxidized and had light tooth marks and some chatter on the top and underside of the stem. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show some stunning and unique grain and etching rustication around bowl and shank. The oil curing/finish makes the grain really stand out. Jeff took a photo of the stamping on the topside and it is clear and readable as noted above. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the brand, I am also including the link to a blog that I wrote that gives some of the history of the Malaga brand and the Malaga Pipe Shop in Royal Oak, Michigan in the USA. Here is the link – https://rebornpipes.com/2013/02/09/george-khoubesser-and-malaga-pipes/. That blog also includes links to a catalogue and the history of the pipemaker George Khoubesser. If you are interested to learn more then I invite you to follow the link to get a feel for the brand and the pipemaker.

I am also am including a link to some printed material on the Malaga brand that came to me from the daughter of George Koch (we purchased George’s pipes from his daughter) to help identify the particular stamping on the pipe. The link takes you to the entire collection of materials that were sent to me. (https://rebornpipes.com/2019/02/27/malaga-pipes-catalogue-of-pipes-and-tobaccos/).

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe using his usual process. He cleaned up the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove oxidation and cleaned the inside with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water when he removed it. It looked quite good. The photos below show it well. I took a photo of the rim top and the stem to show their condition. Jeff cleaned up the grime and debris in the briar and rustication. The rim top was clean as were the inner and outer edges of the bowl. The stem looked better and the light tooth marks are visible on both sides.I took a photo of the stamping on the topside of the shank to show that it was clear and readable. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of what the pipe looks like.It was time to start my work on the pipe. I sanded the scratches and marks on the rim and bowl sides with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth. It really began to shine. I polished the bowl sides and shank with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit micromesh pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad. It really began to be beautiful. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I sanded the stem with 2 x 2 inch sanding pads – dry sanding with 320-3500 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I did a final hand polish of the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the “Malaga” Etched Oval Shank Volcano Sitter and took it to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the vulcanite. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in both. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. I am amazed at how well it turned out. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a beautiful “Malaga” Etched Volcano Sitter and the hard rubber taper stem and smooth finish combine to give the pipe a great look. I honestly have no idea why it is labeled a second as there are no fills or flaws in the briar. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ¼ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.66 ounces/47- grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the American Pipe Makers and Pipemaking Companies Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

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.

New Life for a Svendborg Danish Hand Carved Sand Blast Bent Dublin with a 9MM filter saddle stem

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is one that has travelled much in its life. It went from Denmark to the Philippines and then to the US and now here in Canada. We picked it up in a batch of pipes we purchased from John Mags, a pipemaker in Lapaz, Philippines on 04/24/2025. The sandblast finish around a fluid Danish style Dublin works well to make this a great looking pipe. The pipe was stamped on a smooth panel on the underside of the shank and read P [over] Svendborg [over] Danish [over] Hand Carved. The rich dark brown/black stain on the sandblast finish looked very good. It had a lot of dust and debris in the valleys of the sandblast. The bowl had a moderate cake in it and it overflowed as light lava into the sandblast rim top. It was dirty but very interesting looking. The stem was quite oxidized but still had the Svendborg infinity looking logo on the left side of the saddle. It is a 9MM filter stem. There were light tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the bowl before his clean up work to give a sense of its beauty even with the grime in the finish. He took photos of the rim top and bowl to show clearly the cake in the bowl and the overflow of lava in the sandblast rim top. The condition of the stem is also visible as noted above. The next photos capture the sandblast in the briar on the sides and heel of the bowl. It is a beautiful blast that shows the grain around bowl sides and the heel of a well shaped Dublin. He captured the stamping on the underside of the shank and the shape of the stem in the next photos. The stamping is faint in spots but still readable and reads as is noted above. Before I started working on the pipe I did a bit of research on the brand to remind myself of what I knew of the maker. I turned to Pipephil’s site first (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s14.html). I did a screen capture of the information on the site. I did a screen capture of the pertinent information and have included it below.I copied and pasted the side bar information below:

Brand founded in 1970s by Henrik Jørgensen, Poul Ilsted and Tao Nielsen. They bought an old factory (Nordisc Pibefabriker) in Svendborg on Funen Island. Poul and Tao gradually bow out from machine manufactured pipes (1982) and Henrik Jørgensen manages the brand until its takeover by Design Berlin (D) in the late 90ies. Kaj C. Rasmussen jointed the firm for several years. 17 employees worked for this brand under Henrik Jørgensen direction.

That link gave me a bit of information on the brand – a joint venture of Henrik Jorgensen, Poul Ilsted and Tao Nielsen. I could see from the information that usually the carvers stamped their names on the shank of the pipe. In the case of the one I have there is no name stamp. I wonder if the P stamp above the name would point to possibly Poul Ilsted as the carver. If so it would put the date of the carving before 1982 when Ilsted and Nielsen left. It is stamped Hand Carved which also points to a pre-1982 date.

I then turned to Pipedia and found that an article on the brand that was helpful and interesting to read (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Svendborg). I have included the first part of the article below.

Jens Tao Nielsen and Poul Ilsted Bech met each other when working together for Erik Nørding and soon became close friends. Both felt a bit tired to make nothing but bizarre fancy shapes and agreed they wanted to produce pipes of more style and more classicism. They decided to establish their own brand “Tao & Ilsted” – But how to do it?

A good fortune brought them in contact with Henrik Jørgensen, a passionate pipe lover and a wealthy Copenhagen banker who was willing to retire from bank business and change his career to become a pipemaker. The trio joined in 1969 and decided to start a new pipe brand together. Nielsen and Ilsted started to search for a suitable workshop while Jørgensen took care of the finances. In early 1970 the partners found an old, closed down pipe factory in Svendborg on Funen, and bought it shortly after for a mere 16.500 Danish Kroner. It was the earlier Nordic Pipe Factory – Nordisc Pibefabriker – maybe the oldest Danish pipe factory. And now it became the home of Svendborg Piber.

The article also included this set of pages from a catalogue that were interesting. The philosophy that drove the brand is also there to read. It is well worth the time to pause and read about that passion.Now it was my turn to work on the pipe. Jeff had done an amazing cleanup of the pipe. He reamed the light cake with a PipNet reamer and cleaned up that with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals of the bowl and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the externals with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed the bowl off with running water. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe stem Deoxidizer and once it had soaked rinsed it off with warm water to remove the residual solution. He dried it off and rubbed it down to remove any oxidation that was still on the stem. The pipe looked very good when I received it. I took photos of the bowl and the rim top as well as both sides of the stem to show the condition of the pipe before I started my work. The rim top looked remarkably good. The next photos show the condition of the stem and how clean it came out.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank and the left side of the saddle stem. The photo of the stamping is faint but still readable. I also removed the stem and took a photo of the parts of the pipe.I went over the rim top with a brass bristle wire brush to knock off any debris in the shallow blast. Some came out and it looks quite good.I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I touched up the infinity style Svendborg logo stamp on the left side of the saddle stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. I worked it into the stamp with a tooth pick. Once it dried I sanded the excess off with a worn 1000 grit sanding pad. It looks significantly better.I sanded the surface of the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to smooth the tooth chatter out and remove remnants of oxidation. When finished the stem looked much better.I fit the tenon with a 9MM filter. The fit was perfect as expected and the airflow was unrestricted.I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This Svendborg Danish Hand Carved Dublin P with its fancy, vulcanite 9MM saddle stem is a beautiful sandblast pipe with a flowing shape that looks great. The rich browns and blacks of the contrasting stain makes the grain come alive with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Svendborg Danish Hand Carved Dublin really is a beauty and fits nicely in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.76 ounces/50 grams. This pipe will soon be on the Danish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Restoring a 1969 Dunhill Shell Briar 59 F/T Billiard

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is one that came to us from a seller in Ogden, Utah, USA on 05/04/2025. It is a Dunhill sandblast that is in decent condition. It is stamped on a smooth panel on the underside of the shank with the shape number 59 F/T followed by Dunhill [over] Shell Briar. Next to that it is stamped Made in [over] England with the date number 9 after the D in England with an 11 below and to the right of the 9. After that it is stamped with a 4 in a circle [followed by] S for Shell Briar. The stamping is clear and readable as noted above. The finish was dusty and oily around the nooks and crannies of the sandblast but otherwise looked good. The bowl had been recently reamed but was dirty and there were some light lava spots on the sandblasted rim top or edges. The edges looked to be undamaged with some rounding on the outer edge. The taper stem was lightly oxidized, dirty and had light tooth marks and chatter ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe to show what it looked like before he started working on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the general clean condition of the bowl and the light lava spots on the rim top. The photos of the stem to show the condition of both sides of the stem as noted above. He took photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel to show the beautiful grain in the sandblast around the bowl. It really is a beautiful piece of briar that has a shape that follows the grain. The finish is nice but it also dirty with dust ground into the finish. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the heel of the bowl and underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above.I turned to the dating key on Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/cledat-en1a.html) to establish a date for the pipe. I drew a red box around the pertinent information below. It fits the criteria of a Sandblast with a year suffix and a Non-possessive form Dunhill. The suffix is the number 9 same size as the D which puts in the section below which notes 1960 + suffix 9 to establish a date. In this case it is 1960 + 9 making the pipe a 1969. The 11 stamped right and below of the 9 would point to the possibility that pipe was retailed in 1971.

I turned to Pipedia to verify this date on the pipe and have included the link and the post for that below (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Pipedia_Dunhill_Dating_Guide#Post-Patents). It verifies that date is 1969. I have included further information that was on the site for this time period. I have highlighted the pertinent information in red below:

[1955 up to 1969] Only a single suffix number.

The date code is just after ENGLAND: 1950 +: 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 for the 50s and 0 for 1960 (they are smaller and underscored) then, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 for the 60s (they are equal in size to the “D” in the word “ENGLAND”).

  • Sometimes two suffix numbers (one after the other), but it’s an additional stamp for warranty control (see more here).
  • From 1961 up to 1964 we can find numbers without underscore – the code is a raised and smaller than the preceding “D”.
  • Sometimes the numbers 6, 7, 8 and 9, in the 50s, are roughly equal in size to the “D” in the word “ENGLAND”.
  • DUNHILL over finish stamp (BRUYERE or ROOT BRIAR). On sandblasted DUNHILL followed by the name of the finish (DUNHILL SHELL, etc).

Now it was my turn to work on the pipe. Jeff had done an amazing cleanup of the pipe. He reamed the light cake with a PipNet reamer and cleaned up that with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals of the bowl and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the externals with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed the bowl off with running water. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe stem Deoxidizer and once it had soaked rinsed it off with warm water to remove the residual solution. He dried it off and rubbed it down to remove any oxidation that was still on the stem. The pipe looked very good when I received it. I took photos of the bowl and the rim top as well as both sides of the stem to show the condition of the pipe before I started my work. The rim top looked remarkably good. The next photos show the condition of the stem and how clean it came out.I took a photo of the stamping on the shank. The photo of the stamping is clear and readable. I also removed the stem and took a photo of the parts of the pipe.I went over the rim top with a brass bristle wire brush to knock off any debris in the shallow blast. Some came out and it looks quite good.I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I sanded the surface of the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to smooth tooth chatters out and remove remnants of oxidation. When finished the stem looked much better. I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This 1969 Dunhill Shell Briar 59 F/T Group 4 Billiard has a beautiful, unique Dunhill Sandblast finish that is not as deep as the older ones. The rich brown/black finish highlights some great grain around the bowl and shank. The polished vulcanite taper stem adds to the mix. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. It is critical to avoid buffing the stamping and to have a lighter touch on the sandblast briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Dunhill Shell Briar 59 F/T Billiard is quite stunning and feels great in my hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.38 ounces/39 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I am going to add it to the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. Thanks for your time.