Tag Archives: vulcanite

Really a Disappointing Mess… or was it?

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by Steve Laug

I entitled this blog “A Disappointing Mess…” because when I saw the stamp Connoisseur the brain dropped out and my wish was that this was an Ed Burak made pipe! Of course, it is not one of Ed’s pipes nor does it even look like one. However, in the heat of a pipe hunt it is easy to let the thrill of a find eclipse rational thought processes. It certainly did this time. When I got home and looked at the stamping on the pipe I knew I was probably dealing with an Italian made pipe for import to the USA. It really has all the marks of that including the Imported Briar stamp under the name. On the left side of the shank it is stamped Connoisseur [over] Imported Briar. On the underside of the shank at the shank/stem junction it is stamped Italy. The pipe really was a wreck and if I had been paying attention I probably would have left it in the antique mall where we stumbled across it. The finish on the bowl was a spotty, peeling varnish or perhaps worse and there were nicks and fills in the briar. The bowl had a heavy cake and the rim top was covered in lava. The outer edges of the bowl were a bit beat up and the inner edge was a mystery under the lava. The stem was dirty, oxidized and calcified and had deep tooth marks and chatter on the button surface and ahead of the button on both sides. Here are some photos I took before I started the cleanup. I took a photo of the stem surfaces and the bowl and rim to give a sense of 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. It is hard to know if there is any damage as the cake and lava is quite thick. The stem surface is very dirty and you can see the deep tooth marks and chatter covered by the dirt and debris.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable on all the shank sides as noted above. It also seems that there is a remnant of the C stamp on the side of the stem. It is not deep in vulcanite surface. I also took a photo of the bowl with the stem removed. It is a great looking pipe.I turned to Pipephil’s site to look for a Connoisseur that was not connected to Ed Burak. I found one that bears the same stamping on the shank sides and was made in Italy. The photo showed the C logo on the stem. The one I am working on is not to clear. I have included a screen capture of the pertinent information below (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c6.html). I have also included some information from the side bar below the photo below.Probably a brand of Hall & Fitzgerald. The “Connoisseur” name has also been used by Lorenzo or Kaywoodie for their pipe lines.

From there I did a Google search on Hall & Fitzgerald. I came across a link on vkpipes to a pipe made by them. There is no specific connection in the notes to the Connoisseur. It is interesting to note that they had quite a few brands in their stable (https://vkpipes.com/pipeline/hall-fitzgerald-straight-grain/). It is at least a very likely connection.

Hall & Fitzgerald is first mentioned in an 1878 Directory of Bristol as a ‘Fancy Goods Warehouse’. Within a few years the company is in the partnership of William Sydney Hall and Edward Thurston Davies trading as Hall & Fitzgerald, of 147 Temple Street, Bristol, Tobacconists and Fancy Goods Merchants. Silver hallmarks for pipe fittings are registered in London in 1899 and in Chester in 1901. Hall & Fitzgerald is making and selling smoking pipes until liquidation and closing in 1982 (except the World War II years). Known brands: Clifton, Dorchester, Excelsior, Hercules, Oxford, Craftsman and Wessex.

Now it was time to start working on the pipe itself. The bowl was thickly caked so I reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer using the second and third cutting head to trim the cake back. I used a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe knife to clean up the remnants leaving bare briar. I sanded the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. The bowl was significantly cleaner. I scraped the heavy lava coat on the rim top with the edge of the Fitsall knife. I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed the bowl and rim with the toothbrush. I rinsed it off with warm running water and dried it with a soft towel. It looked much better and the rim top looked clean. The grain under the heavy varnish coat shone clearly once the grime was removed. I wiped the bowl down with acetone to remove the finish from the bowl. It did not work very well. It made a bit of progress but the coat was very thick. I gently topped the bowl on a topping board with 320 grit sandpaper and worked over the rest of the briar bowl and shank with 320 grit sandpaper to break the varnish surface.I used some straight acetone and cotton pads to wipe the bowl down a second time. This time I had much better success. It removed much of the varnish coat. You can see the varnish and stain on the cotton pads. At this point I dropped the bowl in an alcohol bath that I have here. It is one that I have and refilled for many years. It is straight 99% isopropyl alcohol. I have soaked a lot of pipes in it and over the years it has picked up a bit of patina. I have found that when a bowl soaks in it the alcohol helps remove older varnish coats and also adds some of that rich patina to the raw briar like the rim top in this case.I let it sit in the bath overnight. I removed the bowl from the bath in the morning. I dried it off and took photos of the bowl at this point. Overall it looked much better. The varnish coat was basically gone and the rim top had picked up some patina from the bath. I sanded the briar rim top and bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I was able to remove the remnants of stain and also varnish on the bowl. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad using a paper towel and a drop of olive oil. I really liked the way the briar looked at this point in the process. I polished the briar with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with each pad and wiping it down with a damp cloth between pads. It took on a rich shine. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a shoe brush to get it into the twin rings around the cap. It works to clean, restore and preserve the briar. I let it do its magic for 15 minutes then buffed it off with a cotton cloth. The pipe looks incredibly good at this point in the process. I had an aha moment and realized I had not cleaned the mortise and shank so I paused in the process to do both the stem and the bowl. I turned the stinger out of the tenon so I could properly clean it. It was pressure fit so it was an easy removal. I cleaned up the metal stinger with a brass bristle wire brush so that the oils and tars were gone. I cleaned out the mortise, the airway in the shank and the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol. It was not a surprise that it was very dirty. With everything clean I turned my attention to the stem. I filled in the deep marks in the vulcanite stem with black rubberized CA glue. Once it hardened I flattened the repairs out with a small file. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the rest of the stem. It was beginning to look good. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad to remove the sanding debris and dust. The stem looked very good. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad.  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 reinserted the aluminum stinger in the tenon of the vulcanite saddle stem. It looks very good. It is easily removable should the new pipe man or woman chooses to remove it.This Connoisseur Imported Briar Bullmoose is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The brown stains really highlight the grain and the polished finish is stunning. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully 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 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 Connoisseur Imported Briar Bullmoose fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 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 50 grams /1.76 ounces. I will be placing it on the rebornpipes store in the Italian Pipemakers Section soon. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. 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.

Recovery and Discovery with a Brigham-made Old Port Bulldog

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by Kenneth Lieblich

This pipe is for you. Yes, YOU. No doubt, when you’ve read my blog post about it, you’ll be charmed enough to want it for yourself. I received it in an auction lot and something about its look seemed vaguely familiar to me. I thought it was quite handsome, despite its tired appearance, so I figured I’d get it restored for whoever its next owner might be. There was beauty to be uncovered! The pipe’s markings were straightforward enough. On the side of the shank read the words, OLD PORT [over] MADE IN CANADA. The Made in Canada words did seem reminiscent of the markings on old Brigham pipes, so that suggested a clue to the pipe’s origin. Before I pursued that lead, however, I needed to dig into the Old Port name first.I remembered Old Port, not as a pipe maker, but as a brand of drug-store tobacco, as one might call it. In fact, I think my father used to smoke Old Port once upon a time – I’ll have to ask him. First, it’s time to go down the rabbit hole of Old Port.

It’s worth mentioning that Steve also restored a pipe with name of Old Port nearly ten years ago and I encourage you to read that article here – it will help flesh out the story. The markings of Steve’s pipe and my pipe were different, and I was not convinced that they were from the same company (spoiler: I was wrong). In any event, I did some digging through my usual sources for information on this brand – and I came up with nothing. So, I went searching through the weeds of various online pipe forums and I came up with a few tidbits. The following is a summation of what I found.

Old Port is, indeed, an over-the-counter pipe tobacco, produced for the Canadian market. There was also an Old Port line of cigarillos. It has been manufactured in Montréal since 1927 and was subsequently bought out by the Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) in 2000. A quotation from the STG website (which no longer appears) confirms this information:

The Canadian company offers a portfolio of cigar brands comprising Colts, Old Port, CAO, Café Crème and White Owl, as well as the Old Port, Sail and Erinmore pipe tobacco brands. STG Canada was previously called Old Port & Colts Cigar Company. Scandinavian Tobacco Group acquired the Canadian business in 2000 when Imperial Tobacco Canada sold off its cigar activities.

It turns out that Old Port pipes were voucher pipes. In other words, when you bought a tin of Old Port pipe tobacco, you received a coupon and when you collected enough, you could redeem them for a pipe. Many companies did this sort of thing, and I suppose this was one Canadian example. Through my searching, I found some images of a completed auction for an old 1970s tin of Old Port tobacco (as seen above). Two of these photos showed some detail of the brochure that came with the tin. In fact, the brochure shows an image of Steve’s very pipe. This demonstrated that Steve’s pipe and mine are from the same source.In turns out that my pipe was, in fact, made by Brigham, as part of a contract they took on with Old Port. Quite frankly, the pipe looks like a Brigham. One fellow on the pipe forums said that Brigham only made these for two years in the late 1960s, “so as a collectible pipe it might be worth having in your collection.”From the brochure I found above, I assumed that these pipes were also from the 1970s. However, the MADE IN CANADA logo on the shank corresponds to the Brigham logo of the 1956-69 period — so the late 1960s seems right. I learned this logo information thanks to Brigham expert, Charles Lemon’s book on Brigham pipes. Brigham produced these as a non-filtered pipe which was stamped “Old Port”. They featured an experimental aluminum tube which was small enough in diameter to regulate air flow. Supposedly, the concept didn’t work out and Brigham went back to doing their own thing. It then makes sense that Old Port went looking for other manufacturers to make their pipes into the 1970s. And the brochure mentions pipes from Lorenzo, Oppenheimer, among other companies. According to one of the forum posters, some or all of the above information was confirmed by Charles Lemon. So, Charles, if you’re reading this, please let us know in the comments below if this is accurate and if you have any further information!

On to the pipe itself. Fortunately, this would be a relatively easy restoration, as the pipe was in good condition. It must have been very seldom smoked, as the stem showed next-to-no tooth marks. The one thing I did notice, however, is that the stem was heavily oxidized. It probably sat in the sun for a long time. The stummel, too, was in great shape. A bit dusty and shabby perhaps, but nothing that I couldn’t resolve. First, I used oil soap on a few cotton rounds and wiped the stem down to provide an initial cleaning before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning comes next. 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. As the pipe was seldom smoked, this was a quick procedure.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 de-oxidation fluid. This solution works to draw oxidation in the stem to the surface. This is a major aid and 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. However, due to the severity of the oxidation, I then repeated the scrubbing with the cream cleanser for maximum effect. Unfortunately, some remnants of the oxidation will always live in this stem – but it is part of the pipe’s long story.The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. I used 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. I used a pipe knife, and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. These ensured that all the debris is removed – and I am pleased to report that there wasn’t much.Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in 99% lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. This time, it wasn’t too bad.I then decided to ‘de-ghost’ the pipe – that is to say, exorcize the remaining filth from the briar. I filled the bowl and the shank with cotton balls, then saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused any remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton.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 toothbrush especially helps to get into the nooks and crannies of the rustication. The last step of the cleaning process is to scour the inside of the stummel with some soap and tube brushes. This is the culmination of my work in getting the pipe clean.After that, I used some of my furniture pens (which is simply dye in pen form) to touch up and enliven the colours on the wood. Then, I rubbed some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 20 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 – first with a white diamond compound, then with three coats of conservator’s wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and stem glows.All done! This Old Port bulldog 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 5¾ in. (146 mm); height 1⅜ in. (36 mm); bowl diameter 1¾ in. (45 mm); chamber diameter ⅝ in. (21 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1¼ oz. (37 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I did 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 another of Gene’s pipes – an A. Jason 96 Saddle Filter Stem Billiard

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by Steve Laug

In January Jeff found out about an estate sale in Pocatello, Idaho, USA. It turned out that the sale was for a fellow Jeff and I had purchased pipes from in the past, Gene. He had been the owner of Outwest Tobacco in Pocatello (long closed now) and I bought tobacco and other smoking items from him in the past. As I think about it now, it seems that I had known Gene for over 30 years Jeff and I had been to his home and enjoyed coffee and a few pipes together. I have no idea how many pipes we bought on those visits as well as to the antique shop of his daughter. I know that there were many pipes. When we heard that it was Gene’s personal collection that was for sale and that he had passed away we decided for Jeff to go to the house and have a look. He went on January 25, 2024 to scope it out as we had seen his personal collection of pipes and there were definitely some among those well smoked old warriors that would be great to pick up. Perhaps there would even be one that could join my own collection in memory of Gene.

Jeff went to the house and looked through the racks, pipe bags, tobacco both bulk and tinned as well as a variety of pipes. All the pipes were well smoked and needed serious cleaning. Another one of the pipes he picked up was this A. Jason Billiard with a well fitting vulcanite saddle stem. It was very dirty and was a reddish, brown coloured pipe when it started. The smooth finish around the bowl was dirty and had hand oils ground into the grooves. The bowl had a thick cake that overflowed in lava onto the rim edge and top of the bowl. The stem was vulcanite that was very dirty and had the marks of a rubber Softee Bit on the end. It was also a very dirty 9mm filter stem. It had become discoloured and there was a line where the debris from smoking had accumulated along the edge and under the bit protector. The good news was that there were some deep tooth marks and chatter under the calcification and grime. The rest of the stem was dirty and had lost the characteristic shine. The pipe was stamped on the left side of the shank and read A. Jason in script in an oval. On the underside of the shank it is stamped with the shape number 96. 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 surfaces and the bowl and rim to give a sense of 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. It is hard to know if there is any damage as the cake and lava is quite thick. The stem surface is very dirty and you can see the area on the end of the stem where the Softee Bit had protected it from chewing though there were some previous deep tooth marks covered by the dirt and debris. He also took photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel to show the interesting grain that went around the bowl. The grain is beautiful and you can see the oils and debris in the surface of the briar. He took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable on all the shank sides as noted above.I did some searching on Google and could not find any pipe makers with the name A. I did a search in Washington and Oregon as well as Idaho and Utah all states within reach for Gene to have either visited or ordered a pipe. There was nothing that I could find in terms of a US pipe maker. I did a search on Google for A. Jason tobacco products and came across a cigar label and cigar cutter with the same stamp as the pipe – A. Jason. Further searching took me to a German tobacco supplier called A. Jason-Hanse Hamburg, Germany. They are a small tobacco shop located at Barmbeker Str. 17-19, 22303 Hamburg, Germany that sells cigars, humidors, cigar cutters, pipes and pipe tobacco. They were some pictures of the label on a humidor and a cigar label with the same stamp.I posted a question about the brand on Facebook pipe groups and Sascha Martens answered and did a bit of research on the brand and sent a link to the Hanse Tobacco Company in Hamburg who was a cigar cutter and tobacconist. Thank you for the information Sascha. Here is the link (https://www.northdata.com/Hanse%20Tobacco%20GmbH,%20Hamburg/HRB%20109995). I have included the information from the link below:

Hanse Tobacco GmbH

Heinrich-Hertz-Str. 139 – 139 a, 22083 Hamburg, Germany

Norderstedt, Germany

Corporate purpose – The object of the undertaking is the trade in goods of all kinds, insofar as they are not subject to authorisation, in particular tobacco products and smoking supplies. In addition, the company is engaged in the operation of catering, beverages and restaurants, with the dispersing of alcoholic beverages.

I knew from the above information that I was working on a German made pipe or at least one made for the German market. I also knew that originally it had come from the A Jason-Hanse shop in Hamburg. How it got to Pocatello, Idaho in the US is truly anyone’s guess. Was it a gift from a customer to Gene or did he pick it up on a trip to Europe? I suppose we will never know. Now it was my turn to work on the pipe.

Jeff had done an amazing cleanup of the pipe. He reamed the 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. 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 with Soft Scrub to remove any oxidation that was still on the stem. The pipe looked very good when I received it. 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 is clean. The rim top and the inner edge had a few issues. The top had some pitting and nicks and the inner edge had some burn damage toward the front of the bowl. The stem came out looking clean. There were some tooth marks and chatter on both sides.I took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. It is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe parts to show what I was working with. The first is a side view and the second is showing the 9mm filter tenon on the stem. I worked over the rim top and inner edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to minimize the damage. I followed that by using a wooden ball and some 220 grit sandpaper to give the inner edge a light bevel to take care of the burn damage on the front inner edge of the bowl. A benefit of the sanding with a sphere is that it also cleaned up the damage on the rim top. The top looked better. The bowl is a little out of round but it is much better. I sanded the surface of the bowl and rim top with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. They well to remove the surface scratches and nicks in the briar. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. 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. 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 turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift many of the marks significantly. I filled in what remained with black CA glue (rubberized and carbonized). It is a great product that has some elasticity and cures hard but not brittle. Once it cured I used a flat file to smooth out the repairs. I finished blending them in with 220 grit sandpaper. I moved on to further smooth out the surface of the repairs to the vulcanite. I sanded them smooth with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further blend them into the surface of the stem.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. It really took on a shine and I knew that once it was buffed it would look amazing. I fit the stem with a 9mm filter. I used some Vauen Dr. Perl Junior Filters when I am replacing 9mm filters. The fit was perfect and the draught very good.I put the stem back on the A. Jason Billiard 96 with a vulcanite saddle 9mm filter stem and took it to the buffer. I worked it over with Blue Diamond to polish out the remaining small scratches. 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. The pipe polished up really well and the rim top looked good. I was happy with the look of the finished pipe. The photos below show what the pipe looks like after the restoration. The German made A. Jason Saddle Stem Billiard 96 is a beautiful and unique take on a classic shape. The polished vulcanite saddle stem looks really good with the browns of the briar. 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 1.80 ounces/52 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Pipes from Various Makers Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. The pipe looks and feel great in the hand. This one should be a great smoker. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

Restoring a Charatan’s Make London England Special 12 Smooth Billiard

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen to work on was purchased on 03/21/2024 during a pipe hunt from a shop in Oregon City, Oregon USA. I have worked on a lot of Charatan pipes through the years and many of them have been smooth finished pipes. This nicely shaped Billiard is very nice with grain around the bowl. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Charatan’s Make [over] London, England [over] Special. Low on the left side of the shank near the bow shank junction it is stamped with a cursive L in a circle identifying it as a Lane Era Pipe. On the right side near the shank/bowl junction is the shape number 12. The stamping is faint in spots but still readable. The taper stem also bears the CP logo on the left side. The bowl had a thick cake and there was a light spotty lava overflow on the inner edge of the bowl and top. The outer edge looked very good. The stem is lightly oxidized and has tooth marks and chatter on both sides at the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up. Jeff took photos of the bowl, rim top to show the thickness of the cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top. The bowl had a thick cake that overflowed in lava on the inner edge of the bowl. I am hoping that the thick lava coat protected things underneath it from damage to the edges and top. He took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter and marks and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the briar. You can see the interesting grain around the bowl even through the dirt and debris of many years. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. You can see that it is faint in spots but still is readable as noted above. An added part of pipe restoration for me is to try to gather as much background on a brand and maker as I can find. With Charatan that is an enjoyable web to try to untangle. There is a lot of information and it can lead to understanding what era a pipe was made in. To try to figure out the era of the Charatan’s pipe I was working on I turned to the Pipephil website, Logos and Stampings (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-charatan.html). There is some really helpful information on each of the lines of Charatan’s Make pipes that entered the market. There was a smooth Special with stamping like the one in hand. The photo however was not present. The site did give a short history of the brand. I quote the portion that is most pertinent. The brand was founded in 1863 by Frederik Charatan. When his father retired in 1910, Reuben Charatan took over the family business. All the pipes were handmade until 1973. The brand name has been overtaken by Dunhill in 1978 and sold in 1988 to James B. Russell Inc. (NJ, USA). During the period 1988-2002 Charatans were crafted by Butz Choquin in St Claude (France). Dunhill re-purchased Charatan brand name in 2002 and Colin Fromm (Invicta Briars, Castleford) followed up on freehand production. L in circle denotes a pipe imported into USA by Lane Ltd between 1955 and 1988.

Next, I turned to Pipedia to see if I could find more information on the brand and possibly a link to a sandblast finished Dublin (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Charatan) but once again in the general article it was not listed. It did give a little more historical information. I quote the pertinent parts that give information on this particular pipe.

In 1950 Herman G. Lane, striving to expand his business in Great Britain, made contacts with the Charatan family. Apparently, Lane got a certain influence soon, but it was not until 1955 that Lane Ltd. became the sole distributor for Charatan’s in the United States superseding Wally Frank. This can be documented in a “biography” written for Herman G. Lane titled “Leaves from a Tobaccoman’s Log”.

Thanks to Herman G. Lane’s dedicated labor Charatan became hugely popular in the States. As reported by Ken Barnes in an interview with Rick Newcombe, Reuben Charatan passed away in 1962, and his widow sold the firm to Herman Lane 1 or 2 years after his death.[1] In the early 1960s Charatan pipes were the first to overstep the $100 Dollar line in US pipe sales. In 1978 Lane’s heirs sold the Charatan company to Dunhill. The Prescot Street factory was closed in March 1982. Thereafter the fame and quality of the make declined.

The pre-Lane period (prior to 1955) and the Lane era pipes (1955 to until sometime between 1979 – 1984) are of primary interest the collector. The Lane era is often quoted as beginning about 1950.

Charatan records are almost non-existent before Lane due to a factory fire, making it difficult to date pre-Lane pipes. Charatan used 4 basic grades prior to 1950: Supreme, Selected, Executive, and Belvedere. After 1950 Herman Lane’s influence began, and the grades started to expand. In 1955 Lane took over sole distributorship of Charatan in the US. In 1957 he introduced the Supreme S. Most of his other introductions were from the 1960s and early 1970s.

From this I am fairly certain I am dealing with a Lane pipe made after 1955. There is also a circle L script mark that is a Lane stampings on the pipe which also supports this.

I continued digging further into the dating of the pipe, but what I had found above was a good start for me. If some of you would like to try your hand at dating it more accurately as to the time period it came out you might want to check out the article on Pipedia on Dating Charatans (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dating_of_Charatans).

I also reread the article on Pipedia by the Italian fellow who contributed some really helpful information on the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Charatan_-_Milan_2014). I quote the section on the Second period: Reuben Charatan 1910 – c. 1962. I have highlighted a portion of the section on the shank in red to point out some more helpful dating information.

– In 1962 Herman Lane took over the business from the Charatan family, although he had already influenced production from the 1950s.

– The pipes were mostly larger than the previous ones and corresponded in size to Dunhill group 5. These are slightly less rare, but still difficult to find.

– Stem: Usually in ebonite, saddle shaped or tapered, bearing a fine “CP” stamp, underbore system (see below) used when necessary.

– Shank: The shape code is stamped on it together with the nomenclature “CHARATAN’S MAKE LONDON ENGLAND” arranged in two lines. From 1955 onward on the models marketed for the USA there is also a serif and circled capital “L” (but not all models bear this) which resembles the pound sterling symbol. The “L” is for Lane, the importer.

From 1958, Lane changed the nomenclature for models marketed for the US to clarify the message: “MADE BY HAND”.  In this period the underbore was introduced. Its manufacturing period ranged between 1920 and c.1930. This model was equipped with a duralumin plunger trap fitted in the stem, which served to clean the residue more easily. This particular model bore a special stamp on the stem, and also had its own catalogue…

QUALITY GRADES…The stem did not only display the stamps mentioned above. Another stamp that can help dating is the one referring to the quality of the pipe. Until Herman Lane arrived on the scene there were four quality grades. Starting with the lowest: Belvedere, Executive, Selected, and Supreme. Lane went on to add higher grades from time to time: Supreme S, Supreme S100, S150, S200, S250, S300, Coronation, Royal Achievement, Crown Achievement, and Summa Cum Laude; these last three are extremely rare and almost impossible to find. He also invented other, different grades, even changing the previous pipe classification standards. We will not go into detail here, but it means that if we find an S100 or Coronation the pipe was manufactured following Herman Lane’s acquisition. In particular, the FH mark, or Freehand pipe was commissioned to the famous Danish craftsman, Preben Holm.

Nomenclature

The Lane Trademark serif and circled L indicates the pipe is from the “Lane Era” (approx. 1955 to 1979 -1984?), however it appears that both the English factory or Lane themselves sometimes, or perhaps even often forget to stamp the L on a pipe. The Charatan factory was known for inconsistencies, especially in stampings. Therefore, although an L on the pipe definitely defines it as a Lane Era pipe, the lack of it could simply mean the pipe missed receiving the stamp from the factory. The lack of the trademark could also mean the pipe was destined for the European market.

Charatan pipes were not well distributed prior to the Lane Era, so very few pre-Lane pipes exist today. Herman Lane greatly grew the brand in the U.S., which caused corresponding growth in Europe…

This confirmed that I was working on Lane Era pipe which actually means it was between 1955 and 1988 as shown by the stamping. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned it thoroughly. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer and cleaned that up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He had scrubbed the exterior of the briar with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. He removed the shiny coat on the briar with acetone on cotton pads. He cleaned out the interior of the shank, sump and airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation and calcification on the surface. He soaked it in Briarvilles Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. He removed it from the Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my part of the work. I took close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what an amazing job Jeff did in the cleanup of the rim top. The rim top was and inner edge were in good condition. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the vulcanite. It was clean but there were tooth marks and chatter on the stem ahead of the button on both sides.One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. The stamping on this one had faint spots on the edges so I was worried that it would worsen with the cleanup. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. The photo is a little blurry but the stamping remains the same. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. I would like to encourage all of us to be careful in our work to preserve this as it is a critical piece of pipe restoration! I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe to capture the look of the pipe as a whole. I sanded the bowl with 320-3500 sanding pads tom smooth out the small nicks and scratches in the rim top and bowl sides. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The bowl really began to look good. I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. After each sanding pad I wiped the bowl down with paper towel and a drop of olive oil to remove the debris from the sanding process. It really took on a shine. I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. I touched up the faint white CP stamp with white acrylic nail polish. I worked it into the stamp with a flat blade. Once it hardened I scraped off the excess and sanded it. It is faint toward the ends of the letters but is still recognizable as the CP stamp. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. The stem began to take on a shine by the final pads.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil to give the sanding pads some bite. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. I set it aside to dry. Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Lane Era Charatan’s Make London England Special Billiard is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and the replacement stem with Blue Diamond. 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 grain really pops with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl. This Charatan’s Make London England Special Billiard was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while 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 1.62 ounces/46 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

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.

Breathing Life into a LHS Certified Purex Imported Briar 97 Bulldog

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen to work on was purchased from an online auction on January 22, 2024 in Jordan, Minnesota, USA. I have worked on a lot of LHS pipes through the years and many of them had the LHS Certified Purex stamp on the shank. This large flat Bulldog is very nice with great grain around the bowl. There are a few worm trail rustications on the sides of the bowl. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads CERTIFIED PUREX arched over a diamond the LHS in the centre. Underneath that is stamped Imported Briar. On the left underside of the diamond shank it is stamped with the shape number 97. The stamping is clear and readable. The saddle stem also bears the silver (inlaid) diamond logo on the left side. The bowl had a thick cake and there was a lava overflow on the rim top. The inner edge of the rim thickly covered with lava so it was hard to know the damage at this point. The outer edge and rim cap showed nicks and light damage. The stem is oxidized, calcified and has tooth marks and chatter on both sides at the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up. Jeff took photos of the bowl, rim top to show the thickness of the cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top. The bowl had a thick cake that overflowed in lava on the inner edge and rim top of the bowl. I am hoping that the thick lava coat protected things underneath it from damage to the edges and top. He took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching, calcification and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the briar. You can see the beautiful shape of the bowl even through the dirt and debris of many years. You can also see the nicks in the rim cap and the side of the bowl. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. You can see that it is clear and readable as noted above. Jeff took photos of the pipe taken apart. It shows the shank insert that is screwed into the shank end. You can also see the threaded stinger/tenon apparatus as well.I turned first to Pipephil’s site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-lhs.html) and found a pipe with the same stamping as the one that I am working on. There was a brief history of the brand at the top of the page. It read as follows:

The L&H Stern Inc. was established by Ludwig Stern (1877-1942) in 1911. His brother Hugo (1872-?) acted as vice-president & secretary. The firm moved to 56 Pearl St. Brooklyn in 1920. It closed down in the 1960s. LHS was one of the main pipe supplier for US soldiers during WWII.

I turned to Pipedia to try and place this pipe in the timeline of the brand and was able find some helpful information which I have included below (https://pipedia.org/wiki/LHS). Again it had a brief history. It read as follows:

Ludwig Stern, a successful pipe manufacturer since 1893 and closing around 1960, reorganized his company along with his brother Hugo Stern, opening a factory in 1911. They named the company L&H Stern Smoking Pipes & Holders. The newly formed company was moved into a six story building on the corner of Pearl and Waters street Brooklyn, NY…

There were also Notes from Geyer’s Stationer on the page below this. It read as follows:

Thoroughly organized in all departments, and housed in a well-lighted and ventilated modern office and manufacturing building, the firm of L&H Stern Inc. is located near the first arch of the Manhattan bridge, near the river and convenient to the Brooklyn bridge, which makes it accessible from all the hotels in the metropolis for visiting buyers. The structure is six stories with a seventeen-foot basement, with light on three sides through prismatic glass windows, the first floor being seven feet above the sidewalk. Light enters the upper floors from all four sides.

L&H Stern is known to every important wholesaler and jobber in the country. LHS manufactures a complete line of briar pipes. Ginmetto wood pipes are also made, as well as Redmanol goods, the man-made amber. The first substitute for amber. Everything, even down to the sterling silver and other metal trimmings are made under one roof.

LH Stern was a fascinating company that literally covered the manufacture of all the pipe parts. I was not able to pin down the date on it with the information but it was a nice piece of briar. Now on to the pipe.

Jeff carefully cleaned the pipe. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and then cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals of the shank, stem and shank extension 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 lava on the rim top. The finish looks much better and has a deep richness in the colour that highlights grain of the briar. The rim top had some darkening and there was some damage to the inner edge of the bowl. The aluminum on the shank end and on the stem were slightly oxidized but clean. Jeff soaked the stem in bath of Before & After Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the rubber. He worked it over with Soft Scrub All Purpose Cleaner to remove any remnants of oxidation. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver and I finally started my work on it I was amazed it looked so good. Here are some photos of what I saw. I took some close up photos of the rim top and the stem surface. The inner edge of the rim was nicked around inner edge of the bowl. The rim cap was nicked and damaged as well. I took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the surface and button. There was some remaining oxidation near the shank and the tooth marks and chatter were evident near the button on both sides.I took a picture of the stamping on the shank sides and it was all clear and readable as noted above. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe with the stem. It is a good looking pipe and very unique. The stinger apparatus and integrated tenon were a single unit.I started my work on the pipe by addressing the damage on the inner edges of the bowl. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to work over the inner edge to clean up the damage. I also worked over the rim top and outer edges at the same time.I sanded the nicks and scratches in the rim cap and bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down between sanding pads with a damp cloth. By the last pad the pipe began to take on a shine. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. The grain real shone through with the polishing. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the bowl and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. 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 gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil. With the bowl and the stem finished I put the LHS Certified Purex Imported Briar Bulldog 97 back together and buffed it on the wheel using Blue Diamond to give it a shine. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the wheel and then buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It really a nice looking sandblast. The dimensions of the pipe are – Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of this large pipe is 2.01 ounces /57 grams. This LHS Certified Purex Imported Briar Bulldog was a great find. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the American Pipe Makers Section soon. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. This is another pipe that has the possibility of transporting the pipe man or woman back to a slower paced time in history where you can enjoy a respite. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me.

A New Home for a Brebbia Bent Pocket Pipe

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by Kenneth Lieblich

A young gentleman came to me with the desire for a small pipe he could use on the go. We ultimately settled on a charming little pipe made by Brebbia. It’s a black, sandblasted bent billiard pocket pipe. Despite its diminutive size, it’s a very handsome pipe and promises to be a good smoker. It will serve this fellow very well for a long time to come. Only two words constitute the entirety of this pipe’s markings. On the underside of the stummel are the words Brebbia [over] Italy. I’ve worked on some Brebbia pipes before, so I went and looked up my previous articles. I learned from Pipedia and Pipephil that the Brebbia pipe company was named after the locality of Bosco Grosso di Brebbia in Lombardy, Italy. The company was founded by Enea Buzzi and Achille Savinelli in 1947, but they parted ways in 1953. Mr Savinelli went on to form his eponymous company, while Mr Buzzi kept the factory and created Maniffatura Pipe Brebbia – they produce MPB and Brebbia pipes. Mr Buzzi’s family still run the company today. Let’s this pipe cleaned up! On the whole, the pipe is in good shape. Nothing major is wrong with either the stem or the stummel. Great news!First, I used oil soap on a few cotton rounds and wiped the stem down to provide an initial cleaning of filth before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning comes next. 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 de-oxidation fluid. This solution works to draw oxidation in the stem to the surface. This is a major aid and 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.Once 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. In this case, there was none. I used a reamer and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensure that all the debris is removed.The inside of the stummel needs to be cleaned thoroughly. Similar to the stem, I then cleaned it with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in 99% lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. Fortunately, it wasn’t too dirty.I then decided to ‘de-ghost’ the pipe – that is to say, exorcize the remaining filth from the briar. I filled the bowl and the shank with cotton balls, then saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused any remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton.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. This is the culmination of the work in getting the pipe clean.No sanding needed for a sandblast. So, I rubbed some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 20 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 – first with a white diamond compound, then with three coats of conservator’s wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and stem glows.This Brebbia bent billiard pocket pipe is very handsome and will provide many years of smoking pleasure. I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe as much I as I did restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 3⅔ in. (93 mm); height 1⅜ in. (36 mm); bowl diameter 1⅛ in. (30 mm); chamber diameter ⅔ in. (17 mm). The weight of the pipe is ⅞ oz. (25 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I did 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.

New Life for a Peterson’s System Standard 303 Smooth Apple with a 9mm Filter P-lip Stem

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is another smooth finished Peterson’s System – this time a System Standard shape 303. It came to us from our source in Copenhagen, Denmark on 01/29/24. It had a P-lip stem. The finish was smooth with some nice grain around the sides and shank. It was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [arched over] System [over] Standard. On the right side of the shank it was stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) over the shape number 303. It was dirty with grime ground into the finish around the bowl and shank. There was a moderate cake in the bowl and some light lava spots on the inner bevelled rim edge. The nickel ferrule was in good shape but had some scratches that would need to be polished. It is stamped as well and reads K & P [over] Peterson on the left. The vulcanite P-lip stem was unstamped and there was some light oxidation and light chatter near the button that would polish out. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started my work. He took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is moderately caked and the rim top looks good. The bevelled edges have a spotty lava overflow. The stem looks good but it has light tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the grain that was very visible around the bowl and shank. He took photos of the stamping on the shank sides and the ferrule. It read as noted above and was clear and readable. I am including the information from 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 have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

1950 – 1989 The Republic Era – From 1950 to the present time, the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

During the 1950’s and 60’s the Kapp & Peterson company was still in the ownership of the Kapp family. However 1964 saw the retiral of the company Managing Director Frederick Henry(Harry) Kapp.

Pipedia also included a section of information on the System pipes including a diagram of the systems look (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson#Republic_Era_Pipes). I quote a section of the article in part and include a link to another article on Pipedia on the System pipe.

The Peterson System pipes are the standard bearers of the Peterson pipe family, famous for the excellent smoking pleasure they provide. Often imitated but never equalled, the Peterson System smokes dry, cool and sweet, thanks to the scientific effectiveness of the original design. The heart of the System is the unique graduated bore in the mouthpiece. This makes the suction applied by the smoker 15 times weaker by the time it reaches the tobacco chamber. The result is that all the moisture flows into the reservoir and, thus cannot reach the smoker’s mouth. The Peterson Lip further enhances the effectiveness of the graduated bore by directing the flow of smoke upwards and away from the tongue. This achieves a uniquely even distribution of smoke and virtually eliminates any chance of tonguebite or bitterness. Furthermore, the shape is contoured so that the tongue rests comfortably in the depression under the opening. Each “PLip” mouthpiece is made from Vulcanite. For the Peterson System pipes to work properly, the stem/tenon has to have an extension, the tip of which will pass by the draft hole from the bowl and into the sump. Upon the smoker drawing in smoke, this extension then directs the smoke down and around the sump to dispense a lot of the moisture before the smoke enters the extension and stem. On the System Standards and other less expensive systems, this extension with be made of Vulcanite turned integrally with the stem. On the more expensive System pipes this extension will be made of metal which screws into the Vulcanite stem. This extension on the earlier pipes will be of brass and the newer pipes will be of aluminium. Most smokers not knowing this function of the metal extension, assumes that it is a condenser/stinger and will remove it as they do with the metal condensers of Kaywoodie, etc. Should you have a System pipe with this metal extension, do not remove it for it will make the System function properly and give you a dryer smoke (https://pipedia.org/wiki/A_closer_look_at_the_famous_Peterson_Standard_System_Pipe).

With that information in hand I knew what I was dealing with in terms of the stamping and the age of this pipe. I knew from the information that the pipe was made during the Late Republic Era between 1950 and the present day. Personally, I think this is probably a 60s-70s pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual thoroughness. 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 soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. Somewhere along the way as it sat here it picked up some stickiness on the top of the stem that looks a lot like what is left behind by a gummed label. I took photos of the pipe 3 years later when I finally got around to working on it. As you can see it is another beautiful looking pipe. I took photos of the rim top and bowl as well as the stem to give a sense of the condition of both. The rim top and the inner edge looked very good and the bevelled edge showed no damage. The stem was clean but had light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. They are clear and readable as noted above. I took the stem out of the shank and took a photo of the overall look of the pipe. It is another beauty. There are a few small dings from the journey of the pipe that will remain as a part of its story. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I polished the stem 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. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I fit the stem with a Vauen 9mm filter and took photos of it in place. This was a first for me – I have not ever seen a 9mm filter P-lip stem until this one.This Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 303 Bent Apple with a vulcanite, P-lip saddle stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The stem is a 9mm filter stem. The beautiful grain that shines through the polished finish is stunning. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully 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 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. I polished the nickel ferrule with a jeweller’s cloth to protect it and raise the shine. The finished Peterson’s System Standard 303 fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe 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 44 grams/1.55 ounces. I will be putting this pipe on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

New Life for a Peterson’s System Standard 301 Smooth Pot

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by Steve Laug

We received the next pipe from our source in Copenhagen, Denmark on 01/29/2024. It is another fitting New Year’s restoration. It is a Peterson’s 301 Bent Pot. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Peterson’s [arched over] System [over] Standard. On the right side it is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines) [over] the shape number 301. The nickel ferrule on the shank is lightly oxidized and stamped K&P [over] Petersons. The pipe is dirty, obviously another favourite smoker. There is grime ground into the finish. There is a thick cake in the bowl and a thick overflow of lava on the inner edge and the smooth rim top. The nickel ferrule is lightly tarnished and stamped as noted. The stem is dirty, very oxidized but does not have tooth marks of chatter on either side. Jeff took photos of it before he started his clean up work. I have included those below. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is heavily caked and there was some darkening and a lava overflow on the rim top and the inner edge. The stem looks amazingly good for a pipe of this age. Jeff took photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the look of the sandblast that was around this bowl. The blast really highlights the grain underneath and is quite beautiful around the sides of the bowl and shank. It is another nice looking pipe. He took photos of underside of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is clear and readable in the photos below and is as noted above. The stamping on the nickel ferrule is clear and readable as noted above. I have included a link to the Pipedia article so that you can read the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). Take some time to read through it as it is a great read.

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s System Line. On page 314 it had the following information.

Peterson’s over System – Pipes stamped Peterson’s System have been documented as early as 1920. A ’20 brochure is the earliest printed reference to the Peterson System. The pipe came in three quality grades (no mark, 2, or 3) until 1959, thereafter as De Luxe (no mark), Premier (the old 2) and Standard (the old 3).

Peterson’s over System over Standard (c1945-)

I learned previously that the shape 301 was not introduced until 1975. Considering the Republic stamp, this one would likely date between 1975 and 2000. My guess is that the pipe was made somewhere between 1975 and mid-80s. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

With that information at hand I turned to work on the pipe itself. 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 Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe before I started to work on it.  I took close up photos of the bowl and the stem. You can see the reamed bowl and the clean rim top and edges. It looks good. There is a bit of darkening on the inner edge at the back. The stem surface was clean but there are light tooth marks and chatter on both sides on and ahead of the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is faint in spots but readable as noted above. 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 polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down between pads with a damp cloth to remove any sanding debris. The briar really took on a rich shine. 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 a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped it down with a cloth and Obsidian Oil to remove the debris. It began to take on a rich shine.I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This nice looking Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 301 Bent Pot with a classic Peterson’s P-lip vulcanite stem looks much better now that it has been restored. The rim top and edges cleaned up very well. The dark brown stains on the bowl came 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 multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax 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. I left a few of the wounds in the briar left by the journey as they do not detract. The finished Peterson’s System Standard 301 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 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 59 grams/2.01 ounces. I will be putting it in the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section soon. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Restoring a Republic Era Petersons System Standard 301 Sandblast Bent Pot

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by Steve Laug

We received the next pipe from our source in Copenhagen, Denmark on 11/21/2023. It is another fitting New Year’s Day restoration. It is a Peterson’s 301 Bent Pot. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Peterson’s [arched over] System [over] Standard next that is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines) [over] the shape number 301. The nickel ferrule on the shank is stamped K&P [over] Petersons. The pipe is dirty, obviously another favourite smoker. There is grime ground into the finish. There is a thick cake in the bowl and a light overflow of lava on the inner edge and the sandblast rim top. The nickel ferrule is lightly tarnished. The stem is dirty, but is shiny and well cared for. Jeff took photos of it before he started his clean up work. I have included those below. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is heavily caked and there was some darkening and a lava overflow on the sandblast rim top and the inner edge. The stem looks amazingly good for a pipe of this age. Jeff took photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the look of the sandblast that was around this bowl. The blast really highlights the grain underneath and is quite beautiful around the sides of the bowl and shank. It is another nice looking pipe. He took photos of underside of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is clear and readable in the photos below and is as noted above. The stamping on the nickel ferrule is clear and readable 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 System Line. On page 314 it had the following information.

Peterson’s over System – Pipes stamped Peterson’s System have been documented as early as 1920. A ’20 brochure is the earliest printed reference to the Peterson System. The pipe came in three quality grades (no mark, 2, or 3) until 1959, thereafter as De Luxe (no mark), Premier (the old 2) and Standard (the old 3).

Peterson’s over System over Standard (c1945-)

I learned previously that the shape 301 was not introduced until 1975. Considering the Republic stamp, this one would likely date between 1975 and 2000. My guess is that the pipe was made somewhere between 1975 and mid-80s. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

With that information at hand I turned to work on the pipe itself. 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 Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe before I started to work on it. I took close up photos of the bowl and the stem. You can see the reamed bowl and the clean rim top and edges. It looks good. The stem surface was clean but there are light tooth marks and chatter on both sides on and ahead of the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is faint in spots but readable as noted above. 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.The briar was in such good condition that 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 and a shoebrush to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped it down with a cloth and Obsidian Oil to remove the debris. It began to take on a rich shine.I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This nice looking Peterson’s System Standard 301 Sandblast Bent Pot with a classic Peterson’s P-lip vulcanite stem looks much better now that it has been restored. The rim top and edges cleaned up very well. The dark brown stains on the bowl came 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 multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax 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 Peterson’s System Standard 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 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 45 grams/1.62 ounces. I will be putting it in the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section soon. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Decided to work on a carving kit today and see what I could do with it

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by Steve Laug

When Kenneth and I visited a fellow pipe repair guy near Vancouver, Washington this past Fall he gave us a bunch of pipe parts and some pre-drilled partially shaped pipe kits that needed a lot of work to finish. Mind you, the shaping was roughed in and the drilling was finished. Some of them it was not too bad and some were drilled high or off to the side of the bowl bottom. Anyway you looked at it they would be fun to fiddle with. Kenneth and I both took several of them to add to the “to do list”.

This afternoon I chose a block to work on as the internet was giving me fits with poor connections. It was making blog writing downright frustrating. I was not in the mood for an unshaped block so I chose a partially shaped Billiard with a stem made to give a hint of a military bit. The bowl was smooth externally with one small flaw on the right-side mid bowl toward the front. The inside of the bowl had a dark bowl coating – maybe water glass. The shank had been roughly shaped with a file and knives. The shape of it pointed toward being oval. The shank was not long enough to be a Canadian so I called it a Billiard. The corners of the shank end had been knocked off or partially rounded and the stem was an oval taper to help the person who took on the project go the right direction with it. I liked the inward bevel of the rim top and the grain on it was nice. The bowl looked good. The shank would need a lot of work no matter which direction I went with it. Here are some photos of the kit when I started this afternoon. I brought out the big guns this afternoon instead of fiddling around with files. I put a sanding drum on the Dremel and headed out to the front porch. It was chilly here today so I bundled up accordingly with a warm coat and a toque and took the tool and the block to the porch. I plugged in and worked over the shank with the Dremel and sanding drum. I had an idea in my minds eye that I was aiming for. I shaped and rounded the shank to make a rounder oval than perhaps the block cutter had imagined. I flattened out the knocked off corners and carried the shank straight through to the end. I was thinking that I might fit a ferrule on the shank end and reshape the stem to truly be a military style stick bit. Like most of these projects you have to have some idea in mind but hold it loosely while shaping it. You never know what is going to show up as you shape the briar. I have heard carvers speak of briar having a mind of its own so I truly hold my idea loosely and work away at it. By the time I had it rough shaped the way I wanted I was chilled so I packed it in and headed back to my basement desk top. I took some photos of the pipe at this point in the process. I had removed a lot of briar but still a lot more remained to be shaped and moved. Have a look. Now it was time for a cup of tea and a lot of sanding. First I made the tea and then I removed the stem from the shank. I used many pieces of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the Dremel marks and remaining file marks on the shank and the transition between the shank and the bowl. It took a lot of sanding and several cups of tea. But it was getting there. I sanded the bowl and shank with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a cloth and a drop of olive oil to remove the debris. It certainly is beginning to look quite good at this point. I rounded the shank end with my Dremel and sanding drum and a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I wanted to have the curves on the shank match the nickel ferrule. Once I had the fit correct I pressed it in place on the shank end. There were two flaws in the briar – one on the left side toward the top and one mid bowl on the right side. I filled them in with briar dust and clear CA glue. Once it cured I flattened out the repair with a small file. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the surface of the briar. It began to look very good. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a drop of olive oil and a paper towel. The briar began to take on a rich glow and the grain began to stand out. The briar was in looking good at this point in the process. 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 a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem that came with it. I used a file to flatten out the sharp edges on the shank end. I wanted it to be more or a flowing military style bit.I shaped it with 220 grit sandpaper a bit more then switched to 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with some Obsidian Oil. By the end the shape was right and the fit was perfect. It began to take on a shine.I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I finished carving my Pipe Kit Billiard this afternoon. The shape came out looking very good and the polished nickel ferrule works well with the pipe. I oiled the bowl with another coat of EVO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil). The oil brought the grain out very well and the oil gave it a rich reddish brown look. 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 Pipe Kit Billiard 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: 6 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 44 grams/1.55 ounces. This was a fun one to carve for me. I like how it turned out and look forward to enjoying a bowl in it very soon. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.