Tag Archives: vulcanite

Restoring a Pair of Old Yello Bole Bamboo Pipes

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This refurbishment involved two old Yello Bole Bamboos and it was a pleasure. There was a time I did not like bamboo shanks on pipes. They seemed to always be clunky and cumbersome to me. However I have picked up several old ones lately – these two older Yello Boles and Kaywoodie Mandarin. They have changed my opinion of the older bamboo pipes. These old timers have a patina and a spider webbing in the bamboo that lends them age and an aura of being ancient.

The first one came to me in dire need of a thorough cleaning. The bowl was heavily caked and dirty. The finish was bubbled and spotty. The bowl literally had cob webs in it. I wiped out the cobwebs and reamed the bowl. I cleaned out the airway in the bowl and shank with many pipe cleaners and a shank brush dipped in isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed the outside of the bowl and the bamboo with Murphy’s Oil soap. I wiped off the grime. I then carefully wiped down the bowl with acetone and a cotton cloth to remove the ruined finish and clean the surface of all varnishes and stains. Once done I restained the bowl with a medium brown aniline stain and buffed the bowl and shank. I coated the bowl and the shank with several coats of carnauba wax and buffed with a flannel buff to bring out the shine.

The stem was pretty oxidized and brown. I soaked it in Oxyclean while I worked on the bowl. When I had finished the bowl I took it out of the soak and used micromesh pads to remove the oxidation. I used my normal regimen of pads from 1500-6000 grit and then put it back on the pipe and took it to the buffer to be buffed with Tripoli and White Diamond. The black of the stem came back very well. I coated the stem with Obsidian Pipe Oil and then wiped it off and buffed it with several coats of carnauba wax.

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The second one is a darker bowl and a bit different shaped pipe. The one above was more of a pot shape while this one is a billiard in shape. The first had a three knuckle piece of bamboo and this one had a two knuckle piece. The bowl on this one was also in rough shape. It needed a thorough cleaning as well. I removed the grime from the outside of the bowl and scrubbed it and the shank down with Murphy’s Oil Soap as I did the previous one. The bowl was reamed and cleaned along with the shank and airway with pipe cleaners, shank brushes and isopropyl alcohol.

The finish on this one was not in as bad shape so I merely washed it down with isopropyl and then polished it with the buffer using White Diamond and then I gave it several coats of carnauba wax. The bamboo also had a darkening patina on it that I did not want to damage or change so I carefully wiped it down with the undiluted oil soap (not leaving it on the bamboo but merely wiping it down with a soft cloth). I then waxed the bamboo with several coats of wax.

The stem was also pretty oxidized and brown. I soaked it in Oxyclean while I worked on the bowl. After I had finished the bowl I took it out of the soak and used micromesh pads to remove the oxidation. I used my normal regimen of pads from 1500-6000 grit and then put it back on the pipe and took it to the buffer to be buffed with Tripoli and White Diamond. The black of the stem came back very well. I coated the stem with Obsidian Pipe Oil and then wiped it off and buffed it with several coats of carnauba wax.

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Restoring a unique Peterson 10

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I picked up this old Peterson shape number 10 at a flea market for about $12. This one needed cleaning inside and out as well as reaming. The finish was quite good. I just used a soft bristle tooth brush to get into the crevices. The shank had a crack in it so I banded it with a silver band. The bowl was caked and very narrow. I used a battery terminal brush and an old adjustable reamer to get inside of it. The stem on it was obviously not the original but a smaller diameter replacement stem that did not fit well. The shank had been sanded smooth but was not tapered to meet the misfit stem but it was perfect for setting the band. Before doing that I used some super glue to squeeze the crack in the shank together. I held it until it was dry. I then heated the band with my heat gun and pressure fit it on the shank. I flattened the bottom edge of the band to match the flat bottom where the stamping is. I fit and shaped a new stem. Once it was fit I bent it to a comfortable fit for the mouth. Then I sanded and polished it with my usual regimen of micromesh pads from 1500-6000 grit.

New Life for an Old Barling

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I have often written on the blog that good refurbishing begins with observation of the work at hand. I never fail to spend time looking at a pipe and noting areas of concern before I work on it. That is probably why it is pretty simple to record the work I have done on the pipe after the fact. In the old Barling bent, who’s refurbishment is recorded in the following post, I chose to post the notes from my observations. Enjoy!

At Smokers Forums a friend and I have exchanged ideas and thoughts through pm’s, emails and phone calls for several years now. Our talks have covered much ground but seem to also involve at least a fair amount of chatting about refurbishing estate pipes. A couple of weeks ago he contacted me with an idea of somehow collaborating on a refurb. He had an old timer he wanted me to look at and talk over with him. It came in the mail and I gave him a call with what I saw as I handled the pipe and took it apart. The list below gives some of my observations about the pipe as I checked it out carefully.

  1. The band is crooked and turned on the shank. It may take heating the band to it to loosen it.
  2. The silver hallmarks are an anchor, lion and a shield. The shield should have a letter in it to identify the year but it is worn away. The band is made in Birmingham, England, and it is Sterling Silver. As for the year, the best I can do is estimate; it lies within a 20 year period – 1876-1895. We would need to check the dates on Barlings made in the 1800s, to see when it fits into their history. That could narrow it down. It also may be an aftermarket band that was added to repair the shank.
  3. The only stamping is Barling in script. I cannot see an “s” on it and certainly no apostrophe. That should also help date it. The tail on the “g” hooks or curls under several other letters.
  4. The divot in the bottom edge of the shank, for lack of a better word, is not a worn spot in the shank – interestingly once I cleaned the shank I lined up a pipe cleaner in the centre of the divot and it is perfectly aligned with the drilling of the airway. With the pipe cleaner in place (think drill bit) the divot is gone and the walls are all equal. I am thinking this is the divot that is often found in Oom Paul or bent shapes to drill the airway straight to the bowl. I am going to give that a bit more thought before I step in with a repair to the shank. I may get away with building up the tenon instead.
  5. The bowl is in very good shape. I cleaned it out and the walls are all sound and the bottom of the bowl is also sound – no sign of damage to the briar; though the airway comes out a little high on the side of the bowl. I may need to smoke a cigar to make some pipe mud to raise the bowl bottom a bit!
  6. There is a little damage to the front outer edge of the rim but it has been rounded with time.  The inner rim was damaged by a reaming with a knife and is slightly out of round. I have already remedied that with sandpaper.
  7. The design of the tenon is very interesting. It is almost a reverse funnel (think inside of a funnel). The curvature at the tenon and step down is such that it provides a bit of a cooling chamber in the sump of the pipe almost like those new fangled calabash things that are hitting the market now.
  8. The vulcanite is very hard and does not seem to show any oxidation. I have seen that before on these old timers – they use a very good quality of rubber and maybe less sulfur in the mix to vulcanize it. Not sure but for some reason they hold the black colour without any browning.
  9. The stem has a few tooth marks – 2 on top and two on the bottom. Some minor tooth chatter as well.
  10. The silver band is also angled like it was put on crooked after it was misaligned. The hallmarks should be on the side but seem to be on the top.
  11. It appears that there is a crack in the shank that was repaired and then banded.

Chuck and I talked through this list a bit on the phone and then through pms on Smokers Forums and he left it to me to see what I could do with the old pipe. Here are some pictures of the pipe when it arrived. The finish was pretty much gone but there was some great looking grain underneath. The issues I pointed out above will be clearly visible by looking at the photos in the first series of three. All of the external issues are visible in these photos.

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Once the stem was removed from the pipe several other issues became apparent. The biggest one that we discussed was the way the mortise was worn and out of round. You can see the dip or divot in the bottom of the shank that makes the mortise almost oval. Inside the mortise you can also see the tar buildup where the step down end of the tenon sat. It has the reverse of the shape of the step down. Where it had a curved shoulder between the tenon and the step down, the mortise had the reverse. The tars were built up to the point that the tenon step down sat firmly in place. The rest of the tenon was loose in the mortise as years of use had worn away a part of the mortise. The question we were left with once the pipe was cleaned was how to address the wear in the mortise and tighten up the fit of the tenon. The options were two:

  1. Build up the inside diameter of the mortise – this could be done by inserting briar and redrilling it or by using a build-up of glue and briar dust.
  2. Build up the outer diameter of the tenon – there are several ways of doing this including the use of clear nail polish or superglue applied to the tenon and then sanded to fit correctly.

Each method had a few issues involved in using them.

–          To build up the mortise with an inserted piece of briar would be difficult in that the mortise was no longer round and once the mortise was redrilled the walls of the briar plug would be very thin. Also the stem itself was cut to fit the out of round shape of the shank and mortise so it would have to be reshaped.

–          To build it up with glue and briar dust would work but be a bit hard to control the amounts and if it was built up too much removing it and sanding it would be difficult to control.

–          To build up the tenon with nail polish is a temporary fix and would need to be repeated over time and use. To use the superglue is more permanent but are there any long term effects from the use of the glue on the inside of the pipe. Even if, as in this case the tenon is not in contact with the mouth. The glue would only be used on the upper portion of the tenon and not on the step down portion.

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Chuck and I discussed these options and issues and he left it to my judgment to choose one. I thought about it and laid aside the pipe for the night and came back to it in the morning. I examined the tenon and mortise once again to get another view of the problem before I worked on it. I inserted a pipe cleaner at the angle of a drill bit from the shank through the airway to the bottom of the bowl to see where the edge would land. The drilling of the shank matched the notch in the bottom of the mortise. It had been enlarged due to the age of the pipe and its use but it matched exactly. This influenced my decision where to go with the repair. Once that was decided it was time to work on the finish of the pipe and the internals. I dropped the bowl in the alcohol bath to let it soak and remove the grit, grime and old finish. I was hoping that the soak would also loosen the glue on the band so that I could turn it into the correct position on the shank. It soaked for about an hour and a half while I did other things. I removed it from the bath and laid it on my work table. The pictures below show it before I dried it off.

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I steamed the dents on the top and also sanded out the remnants of them on the surface. I wiped down the bowl with acetone to remove any remaining finish on the bowl. I picked the thick tars in the sump of the shank and tapped out the crud that came loose. It took a lot of detailed picking to get the surface free of the build up. I then cleaned out the sump of the shank with many cotton swabs until they were clean. The picture below shows the pipe after the cleaning and wiping down with acetone. The second picture shows the rim with the dents removed and the roundness of the bowl restored.

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After thinking through the options on the shank and the mortise situation I decided that the best way of dealing with this old war horse was not to build up the mortise and cause problems with the fit of the stem and shank but to work on the tenon on the stem. I had read elsewhere of the use of super glue to build up the tenon so I gave it a coating. The best way I have found it to work for me is to drip it on the tenon and turn it as it drips. The fluid thus gives the entire tenon an even coating. The first two pictures below show the tenon after the application of the layer. Once it was dry the tenon was obviously too big so I sanded it, while repeatedly checking for the fit. The third picture shows the tenon as it is now – a perfect snug fitting stem on the Barling this morning!

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To highlight the beautiful grain in the pipe I used a brush dipped in black stain to follow the grain patterns on the bowl. I applied it with an art brush to give it a good coverage. Before applying the stain to the bowl I warmed the briar to open the pores in the wood to receive the stain deeply. The pictures below show the bowl after staining with the brush. It looks odd and actually less than charming but the process works as will be seen in the next series of photos.

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After stain dried I sanded it with a fine grit sanding foam that allows me to follow the curves. I was careful around the faint stamping on the shank. Here is the pipe after it has been wiped cleaned with Isopropyl alcohol after sanding. The grain is highlighted well. The final picture below shows the grain on the front of the bowl.

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I set aside the bowl for awhile and dealt with the tooth marks on the stem. After steaming them to raise them I sanded with 240 grit sandpaper to remove the remaining signs of the tooth marks and the tooth chatter. I then sanded with fine grit foam sanding pads to work out some of the scratches in the surface.

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I did some more sanding with the micromesh sanding pads on the pipe bowl to get the black stain tamed a bit so that when I put the overstain on it would show through but not dominate. I wanted to get a stain on the pipe that fits the older Barling pipes that I have here so I thinned down some oxblood stain for the overstain. I applied it and flamed it. Then I took it to the buffer and with a light touch removed the excess and left a nice top coat of rich reddish brown stain with the black shining through to highlight the amazing grain on this old pipe. The three pictures below show the pipe with the stem on but the stem was not finished as it still showed some of the browning of oxidation.

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From there I removed the stem again and sanded it with 400 and 600 grit wet dry sand paper and water. I finished the stem with 1500-6000 grit micromesh pads dipped in water to give bite to the sanding disks as I polished it. The way I use the micromesh is to dip it in water and then sand, dip again and sand again through the various grits until I am finished and the stem has some depth to its blackness. I coated the stem with several coats of Obsidian Oil and then a coating of wax by hand.

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I put the stem back on the pipe and took it to the buffer. I buffed the whole thing with White Diamond and then cleaned the silver band with silver polish and polished the entire pipe with multiple coats of carnauba wax.

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Restemmed Red Point Capped Bent

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I picked up this Red Point Old Briar Capped Pipe bowl on Ebay awhile ago. It did not have a stem but seemed to have promising grain. When it came in the mail I cleaned it up a bit and then worked on a stem for it. I decided to use a faux p-lip stem that has the airhole on the end of the stem rather than on the top. I fit the tenon to the shank – that was a bit of a trick as the shank is like a Pete shank in that it narrows/tapers as it descends toward the bowl. I finished fitting and polishing the stem.

Here are some pictures of the bowl when it came. From the second photo you can see that it was barely smoked. It was very clean and needed a few pipe cleaners run through it. The exterior needed to be wiped down with a little oil soap to clean away the grime – I always rub it on undiluted (no water) and quickly wipe it off. I do not leave it to sit. I also polished the silver work on the shank and the cap.

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I heated the stem with my heat gun and bent it slightly and took the next three pictures. I have learned that pictures give the true story in terms of bend and overall look of the pipe in a way that is clearer than the naked eye. From the photos I decided that the bend need to be a bit more dramatic and match the curve of the bottom of the bowl and shank. I reheated it and used the rounded edge of my work table to get a proper bend in it.

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Here is the final product – a proper bend with a curve that matches the bottom of the bowl and shank. The look is like an elongated S. Once it was finished I cooled the stem for a bit and then loaded it with Blue Mountain and smoked the inaugural bowl. Since then I have smoked it several times. It delivers a great smoke.

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This One is a Mystery Pipe – Is it a ?Dunhill?

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You will notice from the title of this blog piece that the Dunhill title is framed with question marks. The pipe is a mystery to me all the way around. There is nothing straightforward with it in terms of stamping or composition. It is composed of three distinct pieces (stem, shank and shank/bowl) that have been joined together at some point in the pipe’s history. From the pictures below you can see the junction of the bowl and the shank. The stem on the shank is a white dotted Dunhill stem. How did this pipe come to be and how did it incorporate at least two different pipes? It would be great if this old timer could tell its story because I am sure that it would be an interesting tale. Did the original owner break the shank on his pipe and then have a repair man do the fix? If so, did the repairman use a second pipe shank to add to the bowl for the repair or did the original owner take two of his pipes (both broken) and have them put together in this creative fashion? Did he take the bowl from one and the longer shank and stem from another and join them to form a new third pipe? Was the original of both pipes a Canadian or was the one that the bowl came from a billiard? I don’t think I will ever know the answer to those questions and even others if I took the time to think it out. But I do know that this is part of the pleasure I derive from working on estate pipes. I enjoy trying to put together the story of an old pipe.

I picked this one up from EBay. I was the only one bidding on it. I think the seller had marked it a Dunhill Canadian for sale so it had many viewers but no other bidders. I knew from a quick look at the pictures the seller provided that it was probably not a Dunhill. I could not be certain but the shape of the bowl did not quite measure up to other Dunhill Canadians that I have and the flow of the stem and bowl was different to my eye. Others may be able to point out other inconsistencies that they see but that is what I felt as I looked at the pipe. What caught my eye though and caused me to put in a minimal bid were the shank construction (reconstruction) and the flow of the pipe. I liked the looks of it. I was also curious to see how it was done. It looked like a well done repair, if indeed it was one. I wanted to see it close up and study it. The white spot on the stem was a bonus though I could see from the photos that it was not likely a Dunhill.

When it arrived I took it from the box and did a quick field dress cleaning of the pipe. Reamed the bowl, wiped down the outside with an alcohol damp cloth so that I could see the stamping or remnants of stamping that remained. The bowl portion (the section from the front to the union on the shank) has stamping on the bottom of the shank that looks to be what remains of a Sasieni stamp or at least the last few letters “ieni”. That is a bit mysterious to me in that the other Sasieni Canadian I have has the stamping running in the opposite direction. So my guess is that this one is upside down – not unheard of but interesting nonetheless. The shank and stem portion (from the junction backward to the stem) are definitely from the same pipe. The fit of the stem to the shank is absolutely perfect with no sanding or shaping marks, no gap and no change of profile to the stem. Under a bright light is possible to make out faint stampings on the shank remnant – and I do mean faint. They appear to be the last four letters of Dunhill – “hill” and under that there are the four letters “land” which could be then end of the word England. From that I would conjecture that what I have is a combination of a Sasieni and a Dunhill pipe. The Sasieni contributed the bowl and part of the shank and the Dunhill the rest of the shank and the stem. Whoever did the union of the two old pipes did a superb job as the joint is very well done. The grains of the two parts of the shank are very different and the staining does not match. But other than that it is a flawless union.

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With the mystery still unsolved I went to work on the ?Dunhill?/Sasieni. I gave it a better reaming and also cleaned it. The bowl had been very caked when I initially cleaned it so I did a deeper reaming taking it back to the wood. It had a very heady smell of Lakeland style tobaccos so I wanted to remove the remnant of that in the cake and prepare it for the tobacco that I would smoke in it. The shank and stem were tarry and restricted by the gunk inside them. I used a shank brush and many pipe cleaners to clear out the airway. I also tried to shine a light down the bowl to see if there was any evidence of how the repairman had done the union of the shank pieces. But the light would not shine that far down the shank. From the ease with which the pipe cleaners slid down the shank and the smoothness of the airway it was clear that the job was very well done. I also used a drill bit on my KleenReem reamer and ran it through the shank with no catches.

Obviously this was a favourite pipe for the previous owner. It was well cared for, repaired and put together and well smoked. I cleaned it with Isopropyl 99% and then sanded out the tooth chatter on the mouth piece. I wiped down the bowl and shank with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and scrubbed it with a tooth brush. It removed the grime from the bowl and the rim. Once dry I cleaned off the remaining lava on the rim with 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. Once the bowl and shank were clean I wiped the entirety down with acetone. I wanted to get as much of the stain out so that I could try to get a bit better match on the two parts. I re-stained it with a cherry stain I have in the shop as it seemed likely that it was that colour from what was under the grime. The union of the two is still very visible even with a re-stain. The two parts took the stain very differently. I finished by buffing it with Tripoli and White Diamond before giving it multiple coats of Carnuba wax. I am happy with the results. I have smoked it quite often since the refurbishing and find that it is a great smoker. It is lightweight and comfortable in the mouth and the hand. The only thing that would make it even better in my opinion is to have the whole story behind this pipe. Ah well… I am going to go and fire up a bowl of good Virginia and enjoy adding my story to this pipe.

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A BIC lighter and Oxidation

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Blog by Rob Hardy and Steve Laug

Thanks to a serendipitous discovery by a friend of mine, Rob Hardy (incoinnu on Smokers Forums), who also does refurbishing as a hobby we have worked out a very different method of dealing with oxidation on vulcanite stems. The long term effects of the procedure are still in the process of being worked out though it is hard to imagine any long term effects as the heat is not left on the surface of the stem for a significant amount of time at all. The short term benefit is pretty astounding.
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This is what he wrote regarding his new process with my additions and after thoughts. “Those of us who love refurbishing have spent too many hours trying to remove oxidation from vulcanite stems. We all longed for some magic solution that would reverse the process of oxidation. We have tried one or all of these products in our efforts to fight back the dreaded green brown, noxious discolouration of the stem – Oxyclean, sodium hypochlorite solution from 1-12%, Armorall, Armorall Tire Foam, olive oil, stem oil, automotive lens cleaner, eye of newt, toe of frog, etc. These liquids served to either soften the oxidation or disguise it. None of them remove the problem and under a strong light or magnification it was still there. Many of us have sanded using a variety of sandpaper grits both dry and wet, micromesh sanding pads or paper, and toothpaste with micro abrasives until our fingers were sore and raw. The overall effect of this process served merely to level the surface of the stem until the oxidation would be sanded away. It is very effective but also very time consuming. Over time the shape and sharp angles of the stem are changed. There had to be a better way of dealing with this that was still effective and less labour intensive. I was fortunate to be able to purchase a lot of 17 estate pipes from my local B&M, over half of them had heavily oxidized stems. After refurbishing the Savinelli Punto de Oro that was in the lot I was considering taking up refurbishing as a new hobby. I then started on the Dunhill and K&P Peterson. The Peterson was cleaned and reamed and was ready for the stem work. There was a minute tooth mark near the button that I wanted to remove so I was using Steve Laug’s technique of applying heat to the indentation to raise the dents. Usually I do this after I have removed the oxidation and work on a clean stem. This time however, for who knows what reason the stem had not been clean at all and was an oxidized mess. To raise the tooth dent I applied the heat from a BIC lighter with the flame 1/2″ from the stem. The indentation lifted…AND THE OXIDATION DISAPPEARED! Wow! I could not believe my eyes so I continued for the length of the stem and it worked – the oxidation was gone. I used short strokes with the flame of the lighter and wipes with a wet paper towel. After each wipe the paper towel came out with yellow stains. This seemed too good to be true. Out came my jewellers’ loupe for closer examination. I had to see this close up and personal. Under the magnification I could see that the heat had evened out the surface of the vulcanite and pitting and oxidation were gone. There was only BLACK vulcanite. I stayed up until one o’clock in the morning sanding the stem up through 8000 grit micromesh. I left the waxing until this morning. This stem now looks like it did when it left the factory over 60 years ago. I was and still am amazed at the results. I had to try it again this morning on a Stanwell stem. I used the same technique with the lighter and the wet paper towel. I used a lot of caution around the logo, covering it with a wet paper towel to protect it while heating with the lighter). It took only ten minutes to clean the stem of the oxidation! What a difference in the amount of time it took to clean this stem. It is cleaned and now ready for sanding and buffing. I tried it on a third stem. I moved over the stem with the lighter, six seconds per inch of stem, before wiping with a wet paper towel. Again the towel came out with the yellow colouring of the oxidation and all that remained behind was the black vulcanite. Each of the three stems took little time to clean and all that remained to finish them was to sand and smooth and then buff and polish.” Here are just a few important pointers that Rob and I have learned in the process:

  1. Do not leave the flame in one spot, keep it moving – burning vulcanite stinks and you will ruin the stem.
  2. Use a slow 1″ side to side sweep with the flame half an inch below the stem. Repeat until the stem is completely black and then sand.
  3. As the flame moves across the surface there is a light sulfur smell that is given off as the oxidation burns.
  4. In sanding the stem use a variety of grits of sandpaper (400 and 600 grit wet dry and higher grits if you choose) then micromesh pads or paper (1500, 1800, 2400, 3200, 4000, 6000) before buffing with Tripoli and White Diamond. I have also used 0000 steel wool and found that it is a good first step before the wet dry sandpaper is used.

Refurbed Social by Comoy’s

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This afternoon late the postie delivered the Social pipe made by Comoy’s that I picked up off Ebay a few weeks ago. I took it apart and went to work. The bowl was pretty caked and broken up inside… cake falling off the walls. The The top was tarred. I reamed and cleaned it. Interestingly this is an old timer. It has the old orific button as I show in one of the before shots of the stem. It has some kind of reservoir between then end of the stepped tenon and the the airway into the bowl. It is below the airway and the tenon is drilled with the airway high to match up.

I put the bowl in an alcohol bath and cleaned it up. The mess came off really well. I then sanded the bowl with 600, 1800, 2400 and 4000 grit and then restained it with a medium brown stain. The Stem was soaking in Oxyclean and when I removed it I cleaned the grime off of it. It was a bit oxidized so that came off no problem. I then buffed the entirety with white diamond and then Carnuba. Here are the before shots:

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You will note there are some pretty deep dents in the side of the bowl. These came out a bit but they remain as character marks. There were some on the underside of the shank as well. They too remain.

After refurbishing:

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Refurb on a 3 part horn

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Just finished up this unique piece. It is three part horn. The bowl screws off the shank and has a briar thread connection. The stem is also a screw on with a metal connection into briar. The stem is also an orific button. There is no stamping on this old timer. I really like the uniqueness of it.

I reamed and clean the bowl. I took apart the three parts and cleaned each on separately. The outside was wiped down with alcohol to get off the grime. The insides were scrubbed with a bristle pipe brush and pipe cleaners and alcohol. The stem was oxidized so it was sanded with 400, 600, wet dry sandpaper and 1800, 2400, 4000 micromesh pads and then hit with red tripoli and white diamond before being given a coat of carnuba. I sanded and restained the bowl with a cherry stain and then buffed and waxed it as well. This one will be a fun one to smoke!

Before shots:

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and after shots:

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Reworked Old Apple

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Blog by Steve Laug

I had this old apple with very faint stamping that looked like it could have been stamped Edwards but not clear. I decided yesterday to rework it. The old stem had a split in the button and was shot. I decided to fit a new stem for it. I reamed and cleaned the bowl and fit the stem. While I worked on the stem I dropped the bowl in my alcohol bath for an hour. Once it was done I sanded the bowl and cleaned it some more. There were a couple of spots on it where small fills had fallen out so put some briar dust in them and then a spot of super glue. Once dry I sanded them smooth so that the stain would take around and in them. I put the stem on and stained the bowl with an oxblood stain as I figured that would match what was originally on the pipe. Once it was all polished it reminded me of an old timer that I had seen and been hunting for – a straight shanked BBB apple. Well that got me thinking and I dug through my box of bands and sure enough I had an old BBB silver band hallmarked 1909 that fit perfectly. The stem and pipe look older so the band added some more age to it. I really like the final look of this one.

Before pictures:
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And the finished pipe:
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Removing Oxidization on Vulcanite Stems

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Blog by Steve Laug

In May 2011 I started a thread on Smoker’s Forums asking people how they dealt with oxidation on vulcanite stems. Many of the members of the Forums responded in the ongoing posts to that thread. Unfortunately that thread and others were lost when the Forums were attacked and decimated. I collected their answers and compiled them into the document that became the basis for this blog post.

For this blog I have rewritten the first document and clarified my explanations. I have followed the same format for reporting the various methods I gathered. I have arranged them according to the main component in the process. As you read them you will note that several of the categories overlap and are combined in the processes. I have found that there is no one method for removing oxidation. I have used one or all of the methods below in combinations to conquer the dreadful browning of the vulcanite stem. Hopefully this document will prove to be a helpful reference to those who venture into the realm of cleaning and polishing stems. Please remember that the methods below are to be used at the risk of the amateur pipe “refurbisher”!

The first step in breaking down the responses to my initial post involved organizing the respondents into two broad categories regarding the use of a presoak or not using a presoak. From there both groups went on to use micro mesh pads or sand paper in their work on the stems. There are two main pre-soaks that are used to begin the process of removing oxidation – Bleach and OxyClean. Interestingly there were also two additional pre-soaks that have been used by the respondents – Goo Gone and Simply Green. All of the methods have adherents that swear by their choice. In each of the categories below I will summarize the methodology and give a basic explanation of the process.

PRESOAKING

Bleach Soak
Mix bleach and water (50/50) to remove the oxidation. Use a pint jar or a bowl that allows you to reach in to remove the stem once it is finished. I insert a pipe cleaner in the stem and bend it into a hook that I can hang on the side of the bowl or jar. I then coat any stamping or logo symbols with Vaseline to protect them from the bleach. The stem is immersed in the mixture and allowed to sit for differing amounts of time until the oxidation is removed.  Note that this mix, no matter the strength, does cause pitting or roughening to the surface of the stem. Sand and buff the stem with Tripoli and White Diamond.

OxyClean Method
Mix a scoop of OxyClean in a pint jar of hot water, put the lid on and shake vigorously to mix the solution. The water should be deep enough to completely cover the stems that are put in the jar. Soak the stems in OxyClean and hot water for 30 minutes to 1 hour and then use micromesh pads to remove softened oxidation. Repeat this as often as necessary in the process. Then it takes a trip to the buffer. Note that the mixture does not remove the oxidation but merely softens it making it easier to remove with the buffer and sanding. I have tried various strengths of mixture and the single scoop seems to be a perfect mixture for how I use it.

Goo Gone Method
Goo Gone is applied to the stem either after soaking in bleach or OxiClean or is used without the prior soaking. Once the Goo Gone is dry the stems are sanded to remove the softened oxidation. Then the stems are taken to the buffer or are sanded to finish removing the oxidation. Once that is done wax is applied to protect the newly cleaned stem.

Simple Green Method                                                                                                         Simple Green is mixed with water and placed in a jar, placed in the jar full strength or wiped onto the stem with a cloth. If the stem is left to soak it usually soaks for an hour or more and then rinsed off and buffed. If wiped on it is wiped on and off until the oxidation is gone. The stem is resoaked or rewiped as often as necessary to complete the project. Once done the stem is buffed with Red Tripoli, White Diamond and then waxed to protect the newly cleaned surface.

NO PRESOAKING – STEM POLISHES

Others do not use presoaks but use a variety of stem polishes or cleaning polishes to remove the oxidization. These include cleaning kits as well as some other non-conventional polishes. I have included Mr. Clean Magic Erasers in this category though some might argue it should go with the Microfiber materials. I find though that it is in essence a polishing product and thus fits well in this category.

Walker Briarworks Stem Restore Kit
The Walker Briar Works Stem Restore Kit can be directly ordered from Walker Briar Works, an online pipe repair service http://www.walkerbriarworks.com/html/stem_restore_kit.html for $20 plus shipping. The kit comes with two jar each containing 1.5 ounces, enough for at least 50 stems. The first is a Deoxidizer and cleaner, the second is the Carnauba Wax/Polish/Sealer. Using a soft cloth, rub the Deoxidizer/Cleaner on a Vulcanite stem until it feels smooth. Then rinse the stem with warm water and let it dry. Once dry, apply the Carnauba Wax/Polish/Sealer by rubbing it on with a soft cloth.  Let it dry for about 10 minutes and then polish the stem.  Many have used it with success. Personally I find that it works well on stems that are less oxidized. Heavily oxidized stems do not seem to be affected by the application of this product.

Other Brand Name Stem Polishes
Other products such as Denicare Mouth piece polish, Outwest Pipe Stem Scrub, Brebbia Pipe and Mouthpiece Polish, Dunhill Mouth piece polish are used with varying degrees of success. All come in small tins or tubes and are applied by hand with a finger or a cloth, left to dry and then buffed off with a soft cloth. In my opinion they work well in maintaining a clean stem but are all less effective in removing the oxidization.

Flitz
Flitz is a polish that is similar in application to the Walker Briar Works Kit, but is a bit more effective according to those who use it regularly. It is said to be readily available in Hardware Stores and other convenience shops in the US, though I have not been able to find it here in Canada. Those who use it say that stems treated with Flitz will remain un-oxidized for approximately 18 months to two years before needing another treatment and buffing.

Toothpaste
Over the years I have read and heard about those who use tooth paste to clean oxidation on their pipe stems. I have tried Crest and Colgate toothpaste applied with a soft tooth brush and scrubbed until the oxidation is gone. The micro abrasives in the tooth paste work to remove the oxidation. Personally I have found that this takes a lot of hard scrubbing to get the kind of results that I am looking for. The plus to this method is that it removes little or no stem material and thus is relatively safe in maintaining the original shape and integrity of the stem. The method has been spelled out in the following step by step procedure:

1) Submerge offending stem into hot water (just off the boil), to bring all the oxidisation to the surface.

2) Apply a thin coating of toothpaste to the surface of the wet stem.

3) Rub vigorously with the rough side of a green plastic scouring sponge, (some use a soft bristle tooth brush instead).

4) Keep rubbing…and then some!! Apply more toothpaste as necessary

5) Finish by waxing the clean surface to protect it from further oxidation.

Magic Eraser: (polishing compound)
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser or generic brand eraser is wetted with water and used to scrub the stems. It removes oxidation without visible loss of material and without scratches. I have used this as a follow up to some of the above methods with good success. The magic eraser needs to be periodically rinsed and wrung out to remove the removed oxidation. It is a melamine micro abrasive and once it has been used and the stem is dried it should be followed by polish as the stem is left smooth but with a matte finish. Regular ebonite polish brings it to a good shine then quickly and easily.

Automobile Polishing Compound                                                                                       Others have used automobile polishing compound and rubbed it vigorously into the stem material to remove oxidation. It is used to remove the same on headlamps and plastic parts on the exterior of the vehicle so the logic is sound in using it on vulcanite stems. However, I have avoided that product as it does not seem like something that I want to put in my mouth.

HAND SANDING

Many who work to remove oxidation skip all the pre-soak, scrubbing and polishing and attack the problem head on with sandpaper and/or micromesh pads. Others use the soaks above and then proceed to the sanding. Many combine the processes and find that in the combination they have a tool that works for them.

Micromesh pads:
Micromesh pads have proven to be my tool of preference in my battle against oxidation in the old estates that I refurbish as well as in maintaining my own pipes. A variety of pads with the following grits – 1500, 1800, 2400, 3200, 3600, 4000, 6000, 8000, 12000 are all used. I find that for the most part I use these various pads up through 6000 and that they work extremely well. I keep a bowl of water next to me while I am sanding with them as they have a far better bit when they are wet. I sand and wet the pad and then sand and clean it in the water. I change the water between grits of the pads. While I keep the pad wet others suggest keeping the stem wet while working on it. It seems to me that both achieve the same purpose. Many people use all 9 grits for badly oxidized stems. Before moving on to the next grit pad be sure to dry the stem to see if it’s ready to move up to the next pad. Look for any vestiges of brown or green oxidation. Stay with the coarse grits until all the brown-tan-green is gone. Those who use the upper grits say that the change that occurs between the 6000 and 8000 with respect to shine is amazing. Each time I have ordered the pads on line the higher grits were out of stock. After finishing with the 12000 the only thing left is the buffer for carnauba or rubbed with a bit polish. Periodic maintenance of the stems can be done using the 2 finest grit pads rather than the buffer with white diamond.

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Sandpaper:
You can also remove oxidation with 400, 500 or 600 grit sandpaper, depending on the condition of the oxidization. Continue to sand the stem to remove scratches with consecutive grits up to 2500. These sandpapers are of the wet dry variety and work very well with a bowl of water nearby to keep the stem wet while it is being worked on. The same principle of drying the stem between grits as mentioned above is use with the sandpapers. Finish the process by waxing the stem to protect the newly cleaned surface.

Sanding sticks are available from wood working suppliers and interestingly enough at beauty supply houses. Nail polishing files that have four grades of “sandpaper” on a thin bar of Styrofoam can be purchased there or in the cosmetics department of the local drug store. They can also be used to remove tooth marks and tooth chatter near the button. I have used these for years and always have a set in my refurb kit.

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POLISHING WITH POWER TOOLS

After the removal of the oxidation from the surface of the stem, whether by one of the above mentioned methods, one of your own or a combination of several of them, the stems are ready to be polished with power tools – buffers, drills with buffing pads or a Dremel. Some refurbishers do not feel this necessary after the use of the micromesh pads. But many still finish the job on a  buffer.

Dremel:
The variable speed hand held Dremel can be used with a 3 inch fibre wheel or a polishing pad loaded with red Tripoli and White Diamond polishing compound followed by a pad loaded with carnauba wax to give a final sheen to the stem. The drawback with the Dremel is that you must be extremely carefully in applying pressure to the stem surface or you will end up with wavy patterns in the vulcanite.

Buffer:
Personally, I use two bench grinders with two polishing wheels on each one. I removed the grinding stones and the protective shields over each wheel that was standard equipment and mounted 8 inch buffing pads on the spindles. My process is as follows:

– Polish with Tripoli, 8 inch stitched muslin buff
– Polish with White Diamond, 8 inch stitched muslin buff
– Wax with carnauba, 8 inch unstitched flannel/muslin buff
– Finish on a clean 8 inch flannel buff with no wax

Drill:
Buffing pads can also be mounted on a hand drill – cord or cordless. I have used a drill before I got my buffers. I anchored the drill in a bench vise so that I have both hands free to maneuver the pipe while polishing. I used four different 3 or 4 inch buffing pads my drill. I have not used it since picking up the two buffers.

Thanks to the many from Smokers Forums who responded to my initial thread on cleaning oxidized stems. Over the years many have contributed to my methodology on these processes.