Tag Archives: vulcanite

Restoring a James Upshall Handmade in England 6FH Sandblast Square shank Dublin/Lumberman

by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is one that we picked up in the lot from a seller in Barrington, Rhode Island, USA on 08/22/2024. The sandblast finish on this pipe and the Upshall stamping are what caught our eye. The pipe has something about it that reminds me of a Charatan pipe. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads James Upshall [over] Hand Made [over] In England. To the right of that is the shape stamp 6FH. It has a classic combination of Black and Brown stains on the sandblast finish that is a stark contrast to the vulcanite saddle stem. It is a long Lumberman or long shank Lovat shape square shank pipe with a vulcanite stem. The bowl is a tall Dublin bowl with a smooth rim top and a light cake in the bowl and spots of lava on the rim top. The inner edge and the top look very good other than that. The stem is lightly oxidized. It does not show any tooth marks or chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button. The James Upshall oval JU logo is stamped in white on the top of the stem and looks to be in good condition. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up. He took some photos of the rim top and bowl from various angles to give me a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. It a light cake on the inside of the bowl and the rim top is spotted with lava. He included photos that show the top and underside of the stem. It is as described above. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos showed some great grain in the sandblast around the bowl and shank. It is a great looking piece of briar. He took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above. He also took a photo of the oval JU logo on the topside of the saddle stem.Before I started my work on the pipe I looked up the Upshall listing on pipephil’s site to see what I could find (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-j1.html#jamesupshall).Artisan: Barry Jones learned his skill from the age of 15 at Charatan’s. In 1978 he joined Kenneth Barnes and established the James Upshall brand at Tilshead (Wiltshire). Production (2006): ~ 30 pipes/week

I turned to Pipedia to remind myself of the background on the brand Upshall brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/James_Upshall). I read through the article and found the section on Grading & Sizing Information really helpful. I have included that below. I have highlighted the pertinent text in red below.

James Upshall pipes are graded by various finishes, i.e. bark, sandblast, black dress and smooth etc. Then by cross grain, flame grain, straight grain and, last but not least, the perfect high grade, which consists of dense straight grain to the bowl and shank. The latter being extremely rare. In addition, the price varies according to group size, i.e. from 3-4-5-6 cm high approximately Extra Large. We also have the Empire Series which are basically the giant size, individually hand crafted pipes which come in all finishes and categories of grain. All our pipes are individually hand carved from the highest quality, naturally dried Greek briar. In order to simplify our grading system, let me divide our pipes into 4 basic categories.

It begins with the Tilshead pipe, which smokes every bit as good as the James Upshall but has a slight imperfection in the briar. In the same category price wise you will find the James Upshall Bark and Sandblast finish pipes, which fill and smoke as well as the high grades.
In this category we have the best “root quality” which means that the grain is either cross, flame or straight, which is very much apparent through the transparent differing color finishes. This group will qualify as the “S”- Mahogany Red, “A” – Chestnut Tan and “P” – Walnut. The latter having the straighter grain.
Here you have only straight grain, high grade pipes, which run from the “B”, “G”, “E”, “X” and “XX”. The latter will be the supreme high grade. Considering the straightness of the grain the latter category is also the rarest. Usually no more than 1% of the production will qualify.
Lastly, we have the Empire Series. These are basically Limited Edition gigantic individually hand crafted pieces, which again are extremely rare due to the scarcity of large, superior briar blocks.

Armed with that information I turned my attention to the pipe itself. Jeff had cleaned the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness that I really appreciate. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with good looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the rubber. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked very good. I took photos before I started my part of the work. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim top and stem to show how clean the pipe was. The bowl was clean and the rim top and the inner edge look beautiful. The stem was clean and did not show either tooth marks or chatter.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is faint in spots but still readable and read as noted above. I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts.I polished the smooth rim top with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pad – dry sanding it with the pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. It began to take on a deep shine. The exterior of the bowl look better after sanding. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar with my finger tips and a shoe brush to get into the nooks and crannies. 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 set the bowl aside and sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each pad with Obsidian Oil and it began to look very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. Once again, I wiped it down between each pad with Obsidian Oil. I further polished it with Before and After Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. It looked very good. I am excited to be on the homestretch with beautiful James Upshall Sandblast Square Shank 6FH Dublin. This is the part I look forward to when it all comes back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. 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 beautiful sandblast finish looks really good with the interesting patterns standing out on the shape. The dark stained sandblast and the polished black vulcanite went really well together. This James Upshall Long, Square Shank Dublin was another fun pipe to work on thanks to Jeff’s cleanup work. It really has that classic English Charatan look that catches the eye. The combination of various brown stains really makes the pipe look attractive. It is another comfortable pipe to hold in the hand. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 35 grams/1.23 ounces. This one will soon be on the British Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your rack. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Restoring a much loved Peterson’s of Dublin Kinsale XL25

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by Steve Laug

Sunday afternoon Auke stopped by with a pipe he wanted me to work on for him. It was obviously a favourite pipe of his. It was a Peterson’s shape that I have worked on before and one that was in the Sherlock Holmes series and labelled as a Strand. This one however was stamped on the underside of the shank in a smooth band and read Peterson’s [over] of Dublin [over] Kinsale. To the right of that it was stamped with the shape number XL25. It is a large rusticated pipe that is quite beautiful. This one was dirty with a moderate cake in the bowl smelling of the aromatics that Auke smoked. There was a lava build up on the rim top covering the smooth surface. The finish was a bitty sticky with the grime and dirt. Otherwise it was in good shape. The three stacked bands were a little tarnished on the shank end. The stem was very tight from the build up of tars and oils in both. Auke said the draw was quite constricted and was hard to pull air through – a symptom of a dirty, gummy airway in the shank and stem. The vulcanite stem is also very dirty. There was oxidation, calcification and some light tooth damage on both sides ahead of the button. The gold “P: stamp on the left side of the stem was in good shape – just a bit tarnished. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took a closeup photo of the rim top and bowl to give a sense of the dirty condition of the pipe and the thickness of the cake and lava on the bowl top. The rim top and edges look to be under the lava coat but the cleanup will reveal the facts. I also took photos of the stem to show the top and underside ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It was readable through the grime and debris. It read as noted in the above paragraphs. I also took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the look and proportion of the pipe.I turned to a Catalogue I have on the blog that has a section on the Classic Range Kinsale Smooth and Rustic finishes. It says that it is based on the Sherlock Holmes collections. A quality briar in a smooth burnt orange or rustic finish. Here is the link (https://rebornpipes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/peterson-cataloguecomp_page_30.jpg). I have included a copy of the page below.I started my work on the pipe by reaming the cake in the bowl. I used a PipNet pipe reamer with the second and third cutting heads to take back the cake. I used a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to scrape the remainder of the cake out of the bowl and clean up the bottom of the bowl. I sanded the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. With the bowl cleaned out I was able to see that the bowl walls and bottom were in great condition. There was no checking or damage. I cleaned the airway in the shank and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol. Many pipe cleaners later that airway was clean and once again wide open.I scrubbed the externals of the bowl and shank with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. I rinsed it with warm running water and repeated the scrubbing and rinsing process until the pipe was clean and looked better. I polished the rim top with micromesh sanding pads to clean up the darkening on the smooth surface and inner bevelled edge. It looked much better. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush 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 polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. Once again, I wiped it down between each pad with Obsidian Oil. I further polished it with Before and After Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. It looked very good. This Rusticated Peterson’s of Dublin Kinsale XL25 with an oval Taper Stem has a beautiful rusticated finish that has a new lease on life. The medium brown/black/mahogany finish gives depth to the rustication around the bowl and shank. It has a classic look of a Peterson’s pipe. The rebuilt and polished black vulcanite taper stem adds to the mix. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax 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 Peterson’s of Dublin Kinsale XL25 is quite nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.83 ounces/52 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. Auke will pick up his pipe on the weekend. I am looking forward to seeing what he thinks of it.

Spiffing Up a Handsome Brigham 2044 XL Billiard

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Here’s a terrific, rugged, and handsome pipe that I recently acquired from a local gentleman. I am pleased to report that he maintained his pipes very well and that makes my job easier. This particular pipe was no exception – in fact, I can’t imagine that this pipe was smoked more than a couple of times or so. This is an older Brigham 2044 XL system billiard – and what a monumental pipe it is! Let’s look at the markings. First, the stem has two brass pins – this is the classic way that Brigham identified their pipes. On the underside of the stummel, there is the shape number 2044. Then, off to the far right are the words Made in Canada and, next to that, Brigham.I was pretty sure I knew how old this pipe was, but felt it was best to check with Charles Lemon’s book, Brigham Pipes: A Century of Canadian Briar. I photographed a couple of pages and highlighted the relevant parts.Given that this pipe doesn’t include a size letter (like L), I think it is fair to conclude that this pipe dates from approximately 1964–69. We can see that the code 2044 translates as follows: the “2” corresponds to the two pins on the stem, indicating the “Select” level of pipe. The “04” corresponds to the shape of the pipe, which is listed in Lemon’s book as “Large Straight Billiard, Round Taper Stem”. Finally, the terminal “4” –repeating the last digit of the regular code – indicates that this is an oversize pipe. And it certainly is!

Anyway, both the stem and stummel were in very good condition. There were some minor tooth marks on the stem and a bit of oxidation. The rim of the stummel had what looked like a burn on it, but it turned out to be nothing of note. I used oil soap on a few cotton rounds and wiped the stem down to provide an initial cleaning before moving on. I cleaned the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in 99% lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was clean.The goal of the next step is the removal (or minimization) of oxidation. Going to my sink, I used cream cleanser, cotton rounds, and a toothbrush, and scoured the stem to remove as much surface oxidation as possible. As the photos show, the result is a hideous brownish mess – but better off the stem than on it.Once the stem was reasonably clean, I soaked it overnight in some Briarville Stem Oxidation Remover. This solution works to draw oxidation in the stem to the surface. This is a major aid and an important step in ensuring a clean stem. The following day, I drew the stem out from its bath and scrubbed the lingering fluid with a toothbrush.Now that the stem is clean and dry, I set about fixing the marks and dents in the vulcanite. This is done by filling those divots with black cyanoacrylate adhesive, impregnated with carbon and rubber. I left this to cure and moved on. The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. First, with my set of needle files, I reduce the bulk of the cyanoacrylate repairs. I want to remove the excess adhesive as near to the surface as possible, without cutting into the vulcanite. Following that, I use all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the vulcanite, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also apply pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done. Now that the stem is (nearly) complete, I can move on to the stummel. The first step for me is to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplishes a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleans the bowl and provides a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake is removed, I can inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there is damage or not. Not much to be removed from this pipe – it was pretty clean!My next step was to remove the so-called burn on the rim. For this, I took a piece of machine steel and gently scraped. The metal’s edge is sharp enough to remove what I need, but not so sharp that it damages the rim. This work revealed that the marks were on the surface only. There was no damage to the wood at all.Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in 99% lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. To tidy up the briar, I also wiped down the outside with some oil soap on cotton rounds (and a toothbrush). This does a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. The last step of the cleaning process is to scour the inside of the stummel with some soap and tube brushes. I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) on the underside of the stummel and the rim to finish it off. This sanding minimizes flaws in the briar and provides a beautiful smoothness to the wood. I rubbed some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 25 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed it with a microfibre cloth. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench buffer and carefully polished it with three coats of conservator’s wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.All done! This Brigham 2044 XL billiard looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘Canadian’ section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 6⅛ in. (156 mm); height 2¼ in. (58 mm); bowl diameter 1¾ in. (44 mm); chamber diameter 1 in. (26 mm). The weight of the pipe is 2⅓ oz. (72 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring a Rusticated Man Rhodesian African Meerschaum from the Isle of Man

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is the last of three sent to me by a fellow near Vancouver for restoration. It is a rusticated meerschaum from the Isle of Man. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Man [over] Isle of Man. The bowl was surprisingly clean with just a little cake. The rim top and inner edge of the bowl was very clean. There was an inset on the rim top that was smooth. There was an acrylic band on the end of the shank that served as a smooth face for the saddle stem. The finish was dusty and dirty but otherwise in great condition. The vulcanite saddle stem was lightly oxidized and had deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There was a circle with an arrow symbol on the left side of the saddle. It should be a straightforward clean up. I took photos of the pipe before I started my cleanup work. I took a close-up photo of the rim top to show the construction and the condition of the bowl and inner edge of the bowl and the stem. The bowl looks good with minimal cake on the bowl walls. The stem photos show the tooth marks on both sides 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. I removed the stem and took a photo of the parts of the pipe. I have to say it is one of the first Isle of Man pipes that I really like the shape. It reminds of the GBD 9438.Before I started working on it I turned to Pipephil to see what I could find out about the Man stamp (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-m1.html). I have included the screen capture of the information there. It has the same logo as the one I am working on. I also included the sidebar information below the photo.A brand of MANXMAN PIPES Ltd, The Quay, Old Laxey, Isle of Man, British Isles. The meerschaum used for these pipes usually was of Tanzanian origine (like Kiko or Twiga pipes).
See also: Manx Meerschaum, Pioneer

From there I turned to Pipedia and looked under the Laxey Pipes Ltd listing as they made all of the Manx pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Laxey_Pipes_Ltd.). I quote a pertinent portion below:

Laxey Pipes Ltd. resided in a historical 19th century four-storey Man stone building at The Quay, Old Laxey, Isle of Man, which thankfully has been preserved.

The company specialised in the production of meerschaum pipes using the Meerschaum mined by the Tanganyika Meerschaum Corporation in the Amboseli basin in Tanganyika (since 1964 part of the United Republic of Tanzania).

Please note: you may often find names like “Manx Pipes Ltd.”, “Man Pipe Co.” and others more, but there is no indication of another Isle of Man pipe producer other than Laxey Pipe Ltd. at any time!

Laxey Pipes Ltd. marketed own brands like “Manxpipe”, “Manxman”, “Manxland” e.c. Names like “John Bull”, “White Knight” (unwaxed), “Domino” (black, or lined) indicated some shapes / colours of Laxey’s own series. The stems either showed the astronomical sign for “male” or “man” (circle + arrow), or the crest of the Isle of Man, the 3-legged X in a circle. Manxpipes and Laxey’s other brands were available through pipe retailers in general, but also were sold (mainly) to tourists through their own shop in Laxey.

Furthermore Laxey Pipes Ltd. manufactured the meer bowls for Peterson, Barling, Nørding and others from the later 1960’s until 2001. Man Pipe e.g. was a brand distibuted by Comoy’s. The bowls usually showed no nomenclature indicating the orderer. “Genuine Block Meerschaum” was engraved frequently. Often, just the stems were different, while bowls were the same.

From the above I was able to discern that the pipe was indeed made by Laxey and that the Man Pipe brand was distributed by Comoy’s. That is something I was unaware of until reading this.

Now it was time to work on the pipe. Since the bowl was only lightly dirty I decided to sand the bowl walls. I sanded the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper. It looked much better at this point.I moved on to clean up the internals. I cleaned out the airway and mortise with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. I cleaned out the airway in the stem at the same time. It was a dirty pipe but after this cleanup it was much better.I scrubbed the externals of the pipe with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime in the finish and on the rim top. I worked on it until it looked much better and then rinsed it off with warm water. I dried it off with a soft cloth. The exterior of the bowl looks after the cleaning. I worked some Clapham’s Beeswax/Carnauba wax mixture into the rusticated meerschaum with my fingertips and a shoe brush. I let it sit on the bowl for 10 minutes and then buffed it with a soft cloth. The product is a great addition to the restoration work. It really brought the meerschaum alive and it is an easy product to use as it is a soft wax. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift some of them. I filled in the remaining tooth marks with black rubberized CA glue. I set it aside to let the repairs cure. Once the repair cured I flattened it with a small flat file. I sanded the repairs smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to break down the oxidation on the stem. I scrubbed it with cotton pads and removed a lot of oxidation. The stem is looking much better at this point in the process.I touched up the Man logo on the left side of the saddle with white acrylic nail polish. I pressed it into the stamping with a tooth pick. I scraped off the excess and the logo looked very good. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped it down with Obsidian Oil to remove the sanding dust.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 to further protect the vulcanite surface. I finished the polishing with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped the stem down a final time with Obsidian Oil and a cloth. It really looks very good. I am always excited to finish working on a pipe. This Isle of Man Meerschaum Man Rhodesian is no exception. I put the pipe back 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 and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the black vulcanite taper stem. This Classic looking Meerschaum Man Rhodesian 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 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 54 grams/1.94 ounces. Since this is the third of the three pipes I worked on for the fellow here in Vancouver, I will be packing them up and sending them back to him this week. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Restoring a K & P Dublin Made in Ireland 216 Dublin with a P-Lip stem

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is the 2^nd of three pipes sent to me by a fellow near Vancouver for restoration. It is a Peterson’s Dublin shape with a Sterling Silver band. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads K&P [over] Dublin and on the right side Made in Ireland in a circle followed by the shape number 216. The silver band is stamped with K & P in shields [over] Sterling [over] Silver. The bowl had a light cake and a light overflow of lava on the rim top and inner edge. There was some darkening on the top and what looked like a fill on top at the back of the bowl. The finish was oily and light in spots on the left side near the top. The silver band was tarnished but should clean up well. The P-lip stem was a vulcanite taper that was lightly oxidized and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The stem did not seat properly in shank because of tars and oils in the mortise. It should be a straightforward clean up. I took photos of the pipe before I started my cleanup work. I took a close-up photo of the rim top to show the condition of the bowl and inner edge of the bowl and the stem. You can clearly see the cake in the bowl and the darkening and lava on the rim top. The stem photos show the light tooth marks on both sides 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. I removed the stem and took a photo of the parts of the pipe. It is a unique and strangely pretty little pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe. I reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer using the first and second cutting head. I took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to remove the remnants. I sanded the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper. It looked much better at this point. I moved on to clean up the internals. I cleaned out the airway and mortise with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. I cleaned out the airway in the stem at the same time. It was a dirty pipe but after this cleanup it was much better.I scrubbed the externals of the pipe with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime in the finish and on the rim top. I worked on it until it looked much better and then rinsed it off with warm water. I dried it off with a soft cloth. I smoothed out the inner edge of the bowl and worked on the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It was beginning to look much better. Once I had cleaned the top there was a darkened spot on the top toward the back that showed a small fill. I topped it on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down between pads with a damp cloth. It really began to take on a deep shine. The dark spot on the rim top is where the fill is still in place. Before going further with the sanding/polishing process I touch up the stain on the rim top and inner edge with a Cherry Stain Pen. It matched very well with the rest of the briar. Once it dried I finished the polishing process with the micromesh pads. The exterior of the bowl looks 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 set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. There were no deep marks or chatter so I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped it down with Obsidian Oil to remove the sanding dust.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 to further protect the vulcanite surface. I finished the polishing with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped the stem down a final time with Obsidian Oil and a cloth. It really looks very good. I am always excited to finish working on a pipe. This K&P Dublin Made in Ireland 216 Dublin is no exception. I put the pipe back 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 and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the black vulcanite taper stem. This Classic looking Peterson’s K&P Dublin 216 Dublin feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 31 grams/1.09 ounces. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly in the Irish Pipe Makers Section if you are interested in it. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Restoring an Odd Pipe Stamped Old England Genuine Briar

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is the first of three pipes sent to me by a fellow pipeman near Vancouver for restoration. It reminds me of the Caveman Pipes that I have worked on in the past. This one is basically a roughly cut Panel that is somewhat Dublin shaped. There is no real shank on the pipe but rather kind of a nipple that the stem was inserted into. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the bowl and reads Old England in an old English script [over] Genuine Briar. The bowl had a moderate cake in it and an overflow of lava on the rim top and inner edge that left it looking rough and out of round. The finish on the bowl was oily and there appeared to be a small hairline crack on the left side mid bowl. The stem was a long vulcanite taper that was oxidized and had some deep tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. Both the stem and bowl were dirty. It should be an interesting and straightforward clean up. I took photos of the pipe before I started my cleanup work. (I missed a photo of the heel of the bowl prior to cleaning). I took a close-up photo of the rim top to show the condition of the bowl and inner edge of the bowl and the stem. You can clearly see the cake in the bowl and the damage on the inner edge. The stem photos show the tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the bowl toward the heel. It is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the parts of the pipe. It is a unique and strangely pretty little pipe.I did a bit of hunting on the brand and did not find any information on it. I did find a Sasieni Second brand with this stamping but the stamping was quite different from that on this one. The similarity is in the name of the brand. Nothing definitive was found but this could be something.

Now it was time to work on the pipe. I reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer using the first and second cutting head. I took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to remove the remnants. I sanded the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper. It looked much better at this point. I moved on to clean up the internals. The airway into the bowl was plugged so I broke it through with a paper clip. I cleaned out the airway and mortise with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. I cleaned out the airway in the stem at the same time. It was a dirty pipe but after this cleanup it was much better.I scrubbed the externals of the pipe with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime in the finish and on the rim top. I worked on it until it looked much better and then rinsed it off with warm water. I dried it off with a soft cloth. I smoothed out the inner edge of the bowl and worked on the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It was beginning to look much better.After I cleaned the bowl I found a small hairline crack on the left side of the bowl just below middle. I have circled it in the photo below. I put a bead of clear superglue on the crack to seal it. Once it cured I smoothed it out with 220 grit sandpaper.I sanded the exterior of the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to blend in the repair and clean up the surface of the bowl. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the sanding dust. I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down between pads with a damp cloth. It really began to take on a deep shine. The exterior of the bowl looks 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 set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks with the flame of a lighter to lift them. The heat helped lift them but not enough. I filled in the tooth marks with black CA glue put in place with a tooth pick. I set it aside to cure. Once the repair cured I used a file to flatten out the repair and clean up the edge of the button. I sanded it further with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the surrounding vulcanite. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped it down with Obsidian Oil to remove the sanding dust.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 to further protect the vulcanite surface. I finished the polishing with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped the stem down a final time with Obsidian Oil and a cloth. It really looks very good. It was great to finish the repairs and reshaping on this Old England Genuine Briar Freehand Panel Sitter. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl 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, taper stem was beautiful. This Old England Panel Sitter 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 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 29 grams/1.02 ounces. It is the first of three pipes sent to me by the fellow near Vancouver. I have two more of his pipes to finish before I send them back to him.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog and following this restoration. 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 Damaged Julius Vesz Hand Made circle 6 Calabash 97

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is one that we picked up in the lot from a good friend in Barrington, Rhode Island, USA on 08/22/2024. The smooth finish on this Canadian made pipe and the Julius Vesz stamping are what caught our eye. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Circle 6 [over] 97 followed by Julius Vesz [over] Hand Made. It has a rich reddish, brown stain on the smooth finish that is a stark contrast to the well shaped Bent Vulcanite Stem. It is a great looking Bent Calabash shape. The bowl was clean and appears to have been recently reamed. It was a lightly smoked and well cared for pipe. The inner edge and the top look good and were clean. The stem is another issue. The shank appears to have been reshaped a bit and was rough in its fit to the shank. The left side was particularly rough. The stem itself has a poorly finished repair on a bite through on the underside ahead of the button. The white circle logo of Vesz pipes was on the left side of the stem and looks to be in good condition. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up. He took a photo of the rim top and bowl to give me a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. It is quite clean and the inside of the bowl is very clean and shows that the pipe has been lightly smoked. He included photos that show the top and underside of the stem. It is as described above. The final photo below shows the repaired bite through in the underside of the stem ahead of the button. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos showed some great grain around the bowl and shank even with the grime in the finish. It is a great looking piece of briar. He took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It was clear and readable as noted above. He also captured the white circle logo on the left side of the bent taper stem. Before I started working my part of the restoration I spent some time trying to place the hand cut line in the Vesz hierarchy. I turned to rebornpipes to have a look at some of the pieces I had written previously on the brand. The first was a catalogue I had picked up on Vesz pipes from a friend. It was an older catalogue from the time period that the brand was called Craft Pipes (https://rebornpipes.com/2016/09/13/an-older-julius-vesz-catalogue/). In going through the catalogue there was nothing that referred to the newer lines of the Vesz pipes that showed up in other places.

A piece I wrote on a Vesz Zulu gave a lot of historical background on the brand so I reread that (https://rebornpipes.com/2014/10/04/a-review-a-julius-vesz-shape-76-zulu/). I quoted a part of the article that applied to the pipe I was working on now.

My first Vesz is stamped on the left side of the shank Julius Vesz Hand Made Canada with a circle 4 stamp. I learned from correspondence with Julius’ son Rob that his dad’s Hand Made pipes were graded (in ascending order): 2 – 4 and this one is a grade 4 stamped pipe. It also bears a shape number of 76 which is the Zulu shape. The stem bears a white circle inlay that is common on his pipes.

The pipe I was working on was stamped Julius Vesz [over] Hand Made and had a circle 6 stamp. That appears to be the grade stamp though it is higher than the 2-4 listed above. It also bears the shape number of 97 which is a Calabash. The stem also has a white inlay circle on the stem.

In the previous blog about I quoted from Pipedia in the piece and have included that and the link below and the information on Vesz. The picture and the material is taken from this link http://pipedia.org/wiki/Vesz_Pipes

“Born and raised in Hungary, Julius Vesz was first exposed to pipe making through his grandfather. Although his grandfather died when Julius was only 9 years old, he can still picture his grandfather making pipes. It made a lasting impression that matured years later.

After immigrating to Canada at age 23, Vesz worked as a mechanical draftsman, but ever since a child had wanted to do something on his own. Remembering his grandfather’s pipe making and repairing, he thought perhaps he should try his hand at that also. He sought out Charlie Dollack, who had a repair shop in downtown Toronto, but while Charlie encouraged the young Vesz, he did not offer any help or instruction.

Julius continued on his own, setting up a modest shop in his own home, and was soon fixing and making pipes for several department stores, as well as United Cigar, which later turned into his main source of work. He discovered he had a unique skill, which he practiced and nurtured on his own. Like his grandfather, Vesz is motivated by a desire to create pipes that approach perfection.”

Over the years I have followed Julius Vesz’ pipes and kept an eye out for one that caught my eye. Julius Vesz is a Canadian pipe maker who has been controversial in his claim to use dead root briar. Many have argued about his choice of terms regarding the briar that he uses. But regardless of your take on that issue he makes beautiful pipes that smoke exceptionally well. His unique raindrop shaped pipes may be how many people know him. He had a shop in the Royal York Hotel, 100 Front Street West in Toronto. He now has moved out of the shop and into his home…”

Now I knew that the Hand Made pipe I had was the top of the lower line of Vesz Pipes below the Hand Cut line. It was graded 6 which is close to the top of the line. It is a beauty and it is now time to work on it!

Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The rim top and the inner edge of the bowl are in excellent condition. The bowl walls looked very good. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with shank brushes, pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. The stem looked very good. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim top and stem to show how clean the pipe was. The bowl was clean and the rim top and the inner edge look beautiful. The stem was clean and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides. You can also see the poor repair on the underside of the stem.I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It is very clear and readable and read as noted above. I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts. I started my work on the pipe by dealing with the roughness at the shank stem junction. I sanded it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to smooth out the transition. It looked and felt much better. I touched up the sanded areas on the shank with a Walnut Stain Pen. The colour matched the bowl stain very well. I polished the bowl and shank with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pad – dry sanding it with the pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. It began to take on a deep shine. The shank reshape and reworking blended in very well and the colour is more and more rich with the polishing. The exterior of the bowl looks 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. It was ready for the next step. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to sand out the poorly done repair on the underside of the stem. I flattened it out and cleaned off the surface of the stem. I filled in the area with black CA glue put in place with a tooth pick. I set it aside to cure.Once the repair cured I used a file to flatten out the repair and clean up the edge of the button. I sanded it further with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the surrounding vulcanite.I polished the sanding repairs on the shank end of the stem and the repair of the bite through by sanding it with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded them with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil to further protect the vulcanite surface. I finished the polishing with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped the stem down a final time with Obsidian Oil and a cloth. It really looks very good. It was great to finish the repairs and reshaping on this Julius Vesz Hand Made Circle 6 Calabash 97. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl 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, taper stem was beautiful. This Julius Vesz Hand Made 97 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 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 43 grams/1.48 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one that I will hold onto for awhile. I always have enjoyed Julius’ pipes and this one is a great shape.

A Pair of Pretty Petes for your Perspicacious Perusal

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by Kenneth Lieblich

I have a couple of Peterson pipes that came my way recently and I decided to clean them up and get them ready. Not much of a restoration story on these – just some beautiful pipes. I gave them a quick (and thorough) once over and now it’s time to turn them over to you. Both have been hardly used (once, maybe twice) and they are very handsome. If you’re interested in adding one or both to your collection, be sure to drop me a line.

First is a Peterson K&P Irishmade 106 billiard with nickel military mount. Gorgeous pipe. If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the “Irish” pipe section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the Peterson Irishmade 106 are as follows: length 6 in. (152 mm); height 2 in. (51 mm); bowl diameter 1½ in. (40 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (20 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1⅝ oz. (48 g). Have a look below. Thanks. Next is a Peterson System Standard 1307 (same as 307) bent billiard. Another lovely pipe. If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the “Irish” pipe section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the Peterson System Standard 1307 are as follows: length 6½ in. (165 mm); height 2⅛ in. (54 mm); bowl diameter 1½ in. (40 mm); chamber diameter ⅞ in. (21 mm). The weight of the pipe is 2⅜ oz. (67 g). Have a look below. Thanks.

Restoring a Marxman Jumbo C Long Apple that Combines Rustication and Smooth Finishes

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I chose to work on was a unique one in many respects. It was a mixed finish – rusticated and smooth long shank Apple with a saddle stem. It was purchased on 09/09/2021 from an auction in East Greenville, Pennsylvania, USA. The pipe was clearly stamped on the heel of the bowl and reads Marxman (a logo stamp with an arrow going through it), followed by a “C” [over] Jumbo. It has a unique style of rustication that I have become accustomed to on Marxman Jumbo pipes. It includes Tracy Mincer style worm trails but in all different directions with a lot of cross hatching inside the trails. On this pipe the rustication is on the back of the bowl, spots around the front and sides and on the shank. It is flat bottomed so that it was a sitter. There was a thick cake in the bowl and an overflow of lava on the rim top. The condition of the inner and outer edges was hard to know with certainty because of the lava and burn marks. It had a vulcanite saddle stem that was oxidized and calcified. It had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. Jeff took close up photos of the rim top from various angles to show the general condition of the bowl and rim. The first photo shows the thickness of the cake in the bowl and the lava build up on the inner edge. The edges look like they have been protected by the thick cake so they will probably be fine once the bowl is reamed. The stem was oxidized and had light tooth chatter on both sides. Jeff took a photo of the sides and heel of the bowl to give an idea of the beauty of the grain on the smooth portions of the bowl sides and the condition of the bowl. The stamping on the heel of the bowl is clear and readable but faint on the right side. It reads as noted above.I wanted to refresh my memory of the brand so I turned to Pipephil first to get a short summary of the history (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-m2.html). The site had a side note that the brand was created in 1934 and merged with Mastercraft Pipes in 1953.I then turned to Pipedia to find out more information on the brand and the maker of the pipe (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Marxman). The site quote from Pipes, Artisans and Trademarks, by José Manuel Lopes. I include a portion of that information below.

Marxman (Marxman Pipe Company) was created by Robert (Bob) L. Marx in 1934, when he was 29, and after he had worked for the William Demuth Company. His pipes were not outstanding because of the quality of their wood (probably Algerian), but Bob started making unique sculpted pieces, which brought the brand fame in the World of Hollywood cinema. Actors like Zachery Scott, Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, Alan Hale, Joel McRae, and Ronald Reagan were some of the faces that appeared on the bowls.

Bob knew how to innovate and took full advantage of marketing and press advertising in order to sell the brand–one of his slogans being “Relax with a Marxman”.

From the information on the two sites I learned that the pipe was made between 1934 when the company started and 1953 when the company was taken over by Mastercraft. I have included an advertisement for the Marxman Jumbo that was included on the article (1946 Ad, Courtesy Doug Valitchka). It includes the following information. “A rare treat for the pipe connoisseur is the Marxman Jumbo, distinguished by a carved bowl that is in perfect balance for easy, comfortable smoking. From the thousands of pieces of briar that flow into our factory we select the perfect and unusual. These are reserved only for the Marxman Jumbo – and are fashioned into truly elegant pipes of exclusive designs – unique in appearance and superior in smoking qualities. Each pipe is an individual artistic creation following the natural shape of the briar. No two pipes are alike. They are priced according to size.”

From the leaflet above I knew that I was working a Size “C” pipe – one of the larger ones. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had done his usual thorough clean up of the pipe. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer and finished with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and the interior with isopropyl alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He worked on the vulcanite stem with Soft Scrub then let it soak in Before & After Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. It has light tooth marks and chatter on both sides. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work. I took some close up photos of the bowl/rim top and the stem to show the condition they were in at this point. The rim top and edges looked good and the bowl was clean. There was some darkening on the top toward the back of the rim and the damage to the inner edges. The stem had light chatter on both sides near the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the heel of the bowl. It is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank to give a sense of the pipe.
I worked on the darkened rim top and the inner edge of the rim. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. After working on it the rim top and bowl edge looked much better.I polished the smooth portions of the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. The finished bowl and shank look very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips and a shoe brush to get into the valleys and crevices of the rustication. The product is amazing and works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let it sit on the briar for 10 or more minutes and then buff it off with a soft cloth. It really makes the briar come alive and look quite rich. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. There were some tooth dents on the topside and underside of the stem surface. I painted them with the flame of a lighter and was able to lift them. I sanded out the remnants and the remaining oxidation with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the surface down after each pad with some Obsidian Oil and it was beginning to look very good.I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a cloth and Obsidian Oil. I finished the polishing with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil. I put the Marxman Jumbo Long Shank Apple “C” back together and buffed it on the buffing wheel with Blue Diamond. It raised a shine on the briar and the stem and gave some depth to the look of the carved grooves. I gave both the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the wheel 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. The pipe turned out to be a unique beauty in its own rugged way. Flat bottom Apple shape make it very different from most of the other Marxman Jumbos I have worked on. I like the look of the rusticated shank and saddle on the stem. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outer diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.76 ounces/50 grams. It really is a uniquely beautiful pipe. I will soon be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the American (US) Pipemakers Section. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me. Cheers.

Restoring a beautifully grained Dunhill Bruyere 41041 Taper Stem Bulldog

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is one that we picked up in the lot from our contact in Copenhagen, Denmark on 08/09/2024. The Bruyere finish and the Dunhill stamping is what caught our eye. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads 41041 next to the bowl/shank union followed by Dunhill [over] Bruyere. On the right side it is stamped Made in [over] England²¹. It has a classic Bruyere smooth finish that is a stark contrast to vulcanite, diamond taper stem. The finish has some scars that are a part of the pipe’s story particularly on the rim cap. The bowl appears to be moderately caked. The inner edge and the top show some lava overflow and what looks like knife damage from reaming on the inner edge. The stem is very oxidized and tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button and on the button surface itself. The classic white spot is on the left top side of the taper, diamond stem and looks to be in good condition. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up. He took some photos of the rim top and bowl from various angles to give me a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. You can see the lava on the rim top and edges as well as part of the cake in the bowl. He included photos that show the top and underside of the stem. It is as described above. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos showed some great grain around the bowl and shank. It is a great looking piece of briar. He took some photos of the stamping on the sides of the bowl and shank. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above. As is my regular practice, before I started my work on the pipe, I turned to Pipedia’s section on Dunhill Bruyere Pipes to get a refresh the information I know regarding the Dunhill finishes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill_Bruyere). I quote:

Initially, made from over century-old briar burls, classified by a “B” (denoted highest quality pipe); “DR” (denoted straight-grained) and an “A” (denoted first quality), until early 1915. After that, they became a high-end subset to the Dunhill ‘Bruyere’. The DR and B pipes, a limited production, they should be distinguished as hand-cut in London from burls as opposed to the Bruyere line which was generally finished from French turned bowls until 1917, when the Calabrian briar started to be used, but not completely. Only in 1920 Dunhill took the final step in its pipe making operation and began sourcing and cutting all of its own bowls, proudly announcing thereafter that “no French briar was employed”.

Bruyere pipes were usually made using Calabrian briar, a very dense and hardy briar that has a modest grain but does very well with the deep red stain.

“Before the 1950s, there were three possible finishes for Dunhill pipes. The Bruyere was a smooth finish with a deep red stain, obtained through two coats, a brown understain followed by a deep red. The Shell finish was the original sandblast with a near-black stain (though the degree to which it is truly black has varied over the years). Lastly, the Root finish was smooth also but with a light brown finish. Early Dunhill used different briars with different stains, resulting in more distinct and identifiable creations… Over the years, to these traditional styles were added four new finishes: Cumberland, Dress, Chestnut and Amber Root, plus some now-defunct finishes, such as County, Russet and Red Bark.”[1]I turned to Pipephil’s dating guide to show how I arrived at the date of manufacture for this pipe (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/cledat-en1a.html). I am including the chart that is provided there for the dating a pipe. I have drawn a red box around the section. Since the pipe I am working on has a superscript suffix ²¹ after the D in England it points to the 1960 line on the chart below. To date it just add 1960 +21 for a date of 1981. I have drawn a red box around the pertinent section in the chart.I now knew that I was working on a Bruyere that came out in 1981. The shape of the pipe is called a smooth straight Bulldog with a 41041 Shape number on the left side of the shank/ bowl.

I turned to Pipephil’s shape list (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/shapes.html). At the bottom of the list of shapes (with the 04 being a Billiard) is a key for interpreting the digits in the stamp I have included that below.

Dunhill pipes are stamped with a four digit code.
Digit 1: (from 1 to 6) denotes the size of the pipe (the group).
Digit 2: denotes the style of the mouthpiece (0,1=tapered, 2=saddle)
Digit 3 and 4: denote the generic pipe shape (in yellow in the chart on top)

Example: 5102
(5 = size | 1 = tappered stem | 02 = Bent)

When 5 digits occur, the meaning of the 4 first remain the same

The 41041 was thus a Group 4 size, with a taper mouthpiece, and in an 04 or straight Bulldog shape.

Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The rim top shows some damage on the top and the inner edge of the bowl. The bowl walls looked very good. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. Now the damage to the stem was very clear. Overall, the pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim top and stem to show how clean the pipe was. The bowl was clean and the damage to the rim top and the inner edge is very visible in the photo below. The stem was clean and the light tooth marks and chatter can be seen in the photos.I took a photo of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is very clear and readable and read as noted above. I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts. I started my work on the pipe by addressing the damage to the rim top. I used some 220 grit sandpaper and a round wooden sphere to clean up the bevel on the inner edge of the bowl. It looked much better once finished. I touched up the sanded inner edge and top with a cherry stain pen to match the surrounding briar. It is looking very good.I polished the Bruyere bowl and shank with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pad – dry sanding it with the pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. It began to take on a deep shine. 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. The stem surface looked good other than some deeper oxidation. It showed up in the bright lights of the photos. There were some deep tooth marks in the middle of the button surface on both sides of the stem. I filled them in with black CA glue and set it aside to cure. Once it had cured I recut the button edge and flattened it with a small file. I sanded it with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I continued the sanding process with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. The repairs began to disappear into the surface of the vulcanite and the stem began to take on a smooth new look. Progress for sure.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 1981 Dunhill Bruyere 41041 Bulldog 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 repaired and polished vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the combination of stains on the bowl and shank. This Dunhill Bruyere 41041 Bulldog was a lot 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: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.34 ounces/38 grams. I will be putting this one on the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Section soon. Let me know if you wish to add it to your collection.

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.