Tag Archives: waxing a stem

Another Attempt at a Drier Smoke – a Vintage Dri-Bowl Rhodesian

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Blog by Steve Laug

My brother sent me a link to this sale on eBay and I found it intriguing. In the first photo there is what appears to be the edge of a dial on the bottom of the bowl – it is peeking out at the bottom of the bowl. That was intriguing to me. I wanted to know more about the pipe but at this point I had not read the seller’s description of the pipe. I was still looking at the pictures and seeing all of the fills and rim damage on the pipe in the first three photos. It really was quite a mess. The bowl appeared to be reamed but the dings and dents added to the fills made me wonder if it was worth the effort. I still had no idea what the bottom looked like and what made this a dry bowl. Scrolling through the rest of the seller’s photos soon made that clear.Dri1Dri2

Dri3The fourth and fifth pictures remove the mystery of the knurled edge on the bottom of the bowl that showed in the first photo. You can see in that photo of the bowl bottom that the silver disk looks like it was made to be rotated. We talked and my brother bid and won the pipe (I can’t wait for the pipe to get here so I can check this out). The fifth photo shows the inside of the bowl. The top of the disk appears to be a cup intruding into the bowl bottom. It was really odd looking.

I dropped to the bottom of the eBay ad to read the seller’s description of the pipe. I wanted to get some information on the pipe. I had done some searching on Google but was unable to find any information on the brand. It is a bit mysterious. The seller writes:

“This French Briar Rhodesian Dri-bole has a 5/8″ diameter silver metal “sump”, with knurled edge, set into the bottom of the bowl. The “sump” may actually be an alloy of silver, such as coin or sterling; metal is untested, but has silver-like qualities.”

“According to advertisements, found in various 1911 magazines, this “sump” was used to hold a provided, removable “wad”. The throw away “wad” would absorb all of the nicotine and saliva as the tobacco burns. Thus the tobacco was kept dry, so that it would be fully burned.”

“This extra nice Dri-bole pipe has the same “wad” holder or “sump”, as those “silver mounted” pipes patented on Sept. 7, 1909 and shown in 1911 Saturday Evening Post and Literary Digest Magazine advertisements! That would make this pipe over 100 years old, if it is indeed the same Dri-bole pipe! There are not any “wads” with this one, but it should be a good smoker, with a nice look and make a great conversation piece!”Dri4Dri5 That information was helpful on many levels. He did not however have any photos or drawings of the pipe or pictures of the advertisements. I wanted to know if the bottom “sump” as he called it was pressure fit or threaded and screwed into the briar. I wanted to know if the bottom of the bowl was damaged or if the “sump” sat as it was supposed to flush with the bottom. It was hard to tell from the photos. I wanted to know was the “wads” were that sat in the sump. From the look of the bowl bottom it appeared that the “wads” may well have been lozenges that fit in the curved cup and then sat flat in the bottom of the bowl. But what did they look like? More research would be needed to answer these questions. But at least the mystery of the knurled edge peaking from the first photo was solved. It was a single unit with a cup on the inside of the bowl. I could not wait to see this in person and “fiddle” with it.

The seller also included a photo of the stamping on the pipe and briefly spelled out what it said. The left side of shank is stamped DRI-BOLE (in crescent) and below the crescent it reads REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. The right side of the shank is stamped Imported Briar leading me to believe that is it American made. The bottom of shank is stamped “266”. Dri6He gave the dimensions of the pipe as follows: overall length: 5 ½ inches, bowl height: 1 ½ inches, diameter of the bowl: 1 5/8 inches, bore diameter: 7/8 inches, bore depth: 1 1/8 inches and the weight: 44 grams or 1.6 ounces

When the pipe arrived in Vancouver I was looking forward to working on it. My brother had done a great job cleaning the interior and stripping the shiny coat that had been applied to the pipe. It was clean and ready for me to work on. I tried to turn the knurled silver disk on the bottom of the bowl and could not move it at all. The rim looked rough and needed topping. The stem was in decent shape with some pitting and dulling to the old rubber. I was so excited that I forgot to take photos of the pipe before starting my restoration. I put the bowl in an alcohol bath to see if I could loosen the tars that held the silver disk tightly in place. I was guessing it was threaded so I was thinking that if I could soak the bowl overnight things would soften up. Dri7I took it out of the alcohol bath and heated the disk with the flame of a lighter. I used a pair of pliers to hold tightly to the edge of the disk and I was able to twist it out of the bowl. Once it popped free I could undo it by hand. The first photo below shows the inside of the silver disk. The second shows the knurled outside.Dri8To remove the damage to the rim top and edges I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper.Dri9There were some nicks around the hole in the bottom of the bowl so I sanded those smooth with sandpaper and then cleaned out the threads in the briar with a cotton swab and alcohol.Dri10I used the brass bristle brush to scrub the threads and the cup on the disk. I cleaned it afterwards with cotton swabs and alcohol.Dri11I used a cotton swab to coat the threads on the disk with Vaseline and turned it into the bottom of the bowl. I wanted to make sure that I could easily turn the disk by hand.Dri12I cleaned out the internals with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. It was pretty clean thanks to my brother. It did not take too many to clean it out.Dri13I sanded the bowl and stem with a medium and a fine grit sanding block. The pipe is beginning to look really good. I had to make a decision how far to sand the bowl and how many of the original dings and dents to remove without changing the “story” and character of this old timer.Dri14I heated the briar and then stained it with dark brown aniline stain cut by 50% with isopropyl alcohol. I flamed it to set the stain and repeated the process.Dri15I wiped down the stain with alcohol dampened cotton pads to make it more transparent and make the grain stand out. At this point the fills stood out and I would need to address them a bit differently.Dri16Dri17I used a black Sharpie Permanent Marker to draw some lines across the fills and blend them into the grain on the pipe. I then chose to give the bowl a second contrast staining using a Cherry Danish Oil stain. I find that the combination of the black marker and the cherry stain blends the fills better than a brown stain. The combination of the brown and the cherry stains gives depth to the finish so I like using them together.Dri18Once the cherry Danish Oil stain dried (overnight) I buffed it lightly on the wheel with Blue Diamond and then gave the bowl a coat of carnauba wax. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth. You can see the small dings that I left in the bowl sides rather than change the look. I polished the silver disk with a silver polishing cloth. The next series of photos shows the bowl at this point in the process.Dri19Dri20I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. The old hard rubber that was used on this stem was good quality. There was very little oxidation if any on it. The main issue was the pitting that covered the surface of the stem. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to address the pitting and smooth out the surface and then began my normal sequence of micromesh sanding pads. Between each set of three grits (1500-2400, 3200-4000, 6000-12000) I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil. I gave it a final coat of the oil and let it dry before I buffed the pipe.Dri21Dri22I buffed the pipe and stem with Blue Diamond and gave it several coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to put the finishing touches on the pipe. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. Thanks for looking.Dri23Dri24Dri25Dri26Dri27Dri27aDri28Dri29Dri30

 

 

 

Cleaning up a No Name Lattice Meerschaum Bent Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

When my brother first showed me this bent lattice meerschaum pipe in a Pioneer box I was excited. I have never found a boxed Pioneer Meerschaum pipe before. I thought maybe, just maybe this was the first. I have learned never to assume that just because something is in a box it is necessarily that product. In this case at least we were talking the same material. When I brought it home with me and finally opened it up to work on it I was impressed by the beautiful lattice-work carving that left a series of tear drop shaped windows over an inner bowl. The yellow Lucite stem was also well made and looked good.meer1 meer2The rim on the pipe was darkened and dirty with a tar build up on the back side. There was a small chip (maybe it was made when the pipe was carved, I am not sure) on the front right side of the rim. I say maybe because the carving is also in the groove of the small chip. meer3The right side of the bowl had a dark soiled area where someone’s thumb had left a lot of dark grime. It was in the grooves around the tear drop but not inside the hole. There was some nice colouring happening all around the shank.meer4 meer5I took a close up photo of the rim to show the tar and the indented/chipped area. It can be seen in the centre of the red circle in the photo below.meer6The stem was loose so when I took it apart I was a bit surprised to find that it had the Jobey Link system in the shank and stem. I wonder if that is original or if someone restemmed the pipe and decided to use the Link and stem from a Jobey pipe. I probably will never know for sure but I would hazard a guess that this is what happened on this pipe. They did a great job in fitting the connector in the shank and aligning the stem and shank.meer7The stem is an interesting mix of yellows and brown swirls that is hard to capture in the photos. There was also some tobacco staining in the airway of the stem and the button. Differentiating between the stain and the colour was an interesting problem. I figured that the straight airway from button to shank was stained and the other parts were part of the swirled pattern. I worked on the airway with alcohol and soft scrub cleanser and pipe cleaners until I removed as much of the stain in the airway as possible. I also worked on the area where the end of the Jobey Link sat in the stem using cotton swabs and alcohol. The stain did not come out all the way but it is clean. The brown swirl in the stem runs alongside of the airway which makes the stain interesting. The cleaned stem is shown in the photo below.meer8I took the Jobey Link out of the shank and cleaned out the airway with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. I scrubbed the rim and the soiled spot on the left of the bowl with alcohol and cotton swabs and was able to remove much of the dirt. I sanded the rim top with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads to further remove the buildup. The cleaned rim and left side of the bowl can be seen in the photos below.meer9 meer10I put the stem in place and took the following photo to show how good the soiled area on the left side of the bowl came out after cleaning.meer11The stem was rippled and wavy to touch. It felt as if someone had overdone the buffing and left behind the waves of too much pressure against the buffing wheel. I sanded the top and bottom surfaces of the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the waves and ripples. I sanded both sides until the surface was smooth to touch.meer12 meer13I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and dry sanded it with 3200-12000 grit pads to polish out the scratches left behind by the sandpaper. Each successive grit of micromesh left the stem more shiny and smooth.meer14 meer15 meer16I buffed the stem with Blue Diamond and lightly buffed the bowl as well. I gave the stem several coats of carnauba wax and then buffed the pipe and stem with a clean buffing pad to polish it. I wish I could have gotten more of the stain out of the stem but it is what it is.  The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It is quite nice but I am still not sure whether it is a Pioneer Meerschaum or not and I am not sure that I will ever know. It is a beauty. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know in the response below or via messenger or email. We can make a deal. meer17 meer18 meer19 meer20 meer21 meer22 meer23

Three Cleanups for a Friend

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Guest Blog by Robert M. Boughton

Member, International Society of Codgers
Member, North American Society of Pipe Collectors
http://www.naspc.org
http://www.roadrunnerpipes21.biz  under construction
http://about.me/boughtonrobert
Photos © the Author except as noted

How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?
— 2 Corinthians 3:8

INTRODUCTION

As Chuck Richards, my good friend and mentor, has now worked his last official day at the local tobacconist where we enjoyed our pipes together on so many occasions – each of us often absorbed by our own thoughts – his presence is missed by many.  Almost every time I visit the shop, I see customers come in, eager to pick Chuck’s mind on one thing or another concerning pipes, only to learn that he is no longer there.  Then a young emeritus member of our pipe club, who moved away a couple of years ago to study engineering at Purdue, called a mutual friend and said he had some pipes that needed cleaning.  When he asked for Chuck, our common friend referred him to me.

Soon after, I received an email from the young man, Joe Allen, who no doubt still looks too young to be smoking a pipe by the day’s legal standards.  I found out Joe was concerned with three pipes he described as having excess cake and some rim burn and other typical problems he wanted cleaned up by someone he knows and trusts.  I made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.  No, I didn’t have to kill my friend’s horse and put its head in his bed; I have trouble picturing Joe atop that amazing species of animal, although for all I in fact know about him he could be a country boy who grew up on a farm with horses and cows and all the rest, and be outraged at the suggestion that he is in any way equestrian challenged.

All I knew about Joe’s present whereabouts was that he changed his major from engineering (thank God) and moved to Missouri to go to med school and become a surgeon.  Now, that’s more the speed of the Joe Allen I remember.Joe1For Joe, I was tempted to tell him to send them to me with a return label so I could do the work for free.  But then my senses returned.  I just can’t keep cleaning and fixing my friends’ pipes without getting something in return other than the pleasure of working on their beautiful prizes!  So we settled on $10 each, which included return postage.  I didn’t even have a clue as to the kind of pipes Joe was sending me, except of course that they were designed for tobacco.

For that and other reasons, I was excited when the insured box arrived at my Post Office several days later, $30 in cash tucked with a note in an envelope stashed inside.  When I got to my car, I used my handy flip knife to open the well-wrapped package that was padded with the exceptional care for the precious cargo one would expect from a future surgeon.  I knew from the layers of bubble wrap that stuffed the small USPS Priority Mail box, and in particular upon finding the three pipes in question wrapped in smaller taped pieces of the same material, that they were cherished and adored by Joe.  I was honored that he entrusted his treasures to me and determined not to disappoint him.

Anyone who knows me, even if only from my blogs here, might have guessed that I had to get a look at the pipes right then and there.  With complete respect and care for the contents, I removed each of the neat little bubble-wrapped pipes one at a time.  I was surprised and pleased by the variety.

The first was a Hardcastle of London rustic bent billiard #45 of a beautiful, dark red color.  There are two stamps on the bit, an H on the left side and, in capital letters across the underside where it meets the shank, the word France.  I can find no mention of French made Hardcastles and suspect this may have been from a convenient bit supplier.  Steve confirms my guess.  But the fine briar smoker was in excellent, almost new condition that appeared to present no problems, although of course one popped up that I will describe later.

The second was a very nice Dr. Grabow smooth straight billiard with the name Bucko and a yellow spade on the left side of the bit.   My first impression of the Bucko, other than its wonderful vertical grain around both sides and the back and a nice birds-eye on the front, was that the bit seemed to be a replacement, as it was not flush with the shank opening.  I was happy, though, to see the bit rather than the shank was too big in places, just right on both sides and only extended too far on the top and bottom.  I knew I could fix that.

Then came the last pipe, and I even guessed the brand from feeling the shape through the bubble wrap: a classic K&P Peterson of Dublin System Standard smooth bent billiard.  Admiring it, I was startled when the bit popped out in one of my hands holding it with reverence.  Giving it an easy slight twist back into the nickel banded shank, it did it again.  And again.  Well, I ventured to guess, this little beauty was going to be an interesting challenge.Joe2I could not wait to get to work on them, having estimated a two-day turn-around.  First, of course, I had to stop by the tobacconist for a little relaxation and contemplation while I puffed one of my own pipes and studied Joe’s excellent set awaiting my gentle ministrations.  All of them, which were nowhere near as dirty or caked-up as Joe indicated, presented interesting challenges nevertheless.

RESTORATIONS – DR. GRABOW BUCKOJoe3 Joe4 Joe5 Joe6For all the nasty talk about the brand, I have to admire the appealing visual twists on classic shapes that Dr. Grabow will throw into some of its designs, in particular the older ones.  Take this billiard, for example, with the unusual oblong aspect of the tapering shank.  At a glance, the problems that presented with the stout little Bucko were all minor.  There was slight rim darkening, far less than average chamber char, and a small amount of the original stain on the top of the shank that appeared to have been applied with some haste resulting in a shiny patch where heat drew out the liquid, which then re-dried.  Then again, perhaps the Bucko’s stummel had faded everywhere else, and that little area was all that remained of the factory finish.  Another possibility is that whoever chose the replacement bit prepped the wood for a refinish that for whatever reason was never applied.Joe7Closer inspection reaffirmed the theory of a replacement bit that was added without quite enough attention to detail, although the sides were perfect.  Again, only the top and bottom were misaligned. Joe8I began with the rim, which came clean after firmer than usual rubbing with superfine “0000” steel wool, and went for my usual approach on the chamber:  I used my Senior Reamer before sanding, first with 150-grit paper, then 180, 220 and 320.Joe9 Joe10I decided I might as well get the only real challenge with the Bucko out of the way and regarded the bit.Joe11I started with 220-grit paper to take off the excess Vulcanite on the top and bottom, but that got me nowhere.  I reached for the 180, and about a half-hour later was done with the fitting task.  I tossed the scratched bit in a preliminary OxiClean wash.  The scratches came off with wet micro meshing from 1500-12000. Joe13 Joe14 Joe15I took a close look at the scratches on the stummel.Joe16 Joe17With only the steel wool and the full range of micro mesh, wiping the wood with a soft cotton cloth between each grade, I was able to give the briar a nice, even smoothness.Joe18 Joe19Joe20 Joe21I retorted the pipe with Everclear.

Joe22After using the electric buffers to apply red and white Tripoli, White Diamond and carnauba to the bit and all of the same except for the red Tripoli to the stummel, here is the finished Bucko.Joe23 Joe24 Joe25 Joe26 Joe27 Joe28PETERSON SYSTEM STANDARDJoe29 Joe30 Joe31 Joe32 Joe33 Joe34I started by reaming and sanding the chamber and dispensing with the light rim char.  After giving my Senior Reamer a few turns in the chamber, I used 150-, 180-, 220- and 320-grit papers to make it ultra-smooth, but the steel wool was not enough to do the trick with the rim so I used a light touch of 320-git paper for the rest of the burns there.  As the second photo below shows, it turned out quite well. Joe35 Joe36There were some scratches and light pocks on the stummel that I eliminated by lightening the color of the stummel somewhat with steel wool.Joe37 Joe38Then I applied Fiebing’s Brown boot treatment to the stummel, let it cool and removed the thin layer of residue with 12000 micromesh.Joe39 Joe40The bit that appeared at first to be loose worked itself out somehow, maybe with the retort I did next.  And that was it, other than buffing the wood with white Tripoli, White Diamond and carnauba.  This was the only time I didn’t need to do anything to the bit.Joe41 Joe42 Joe43 Joe44 Joe45 Joe46HARDCASTLE OF LONDONJoe47 Joe48 Joe49 Joe50 Joe51 Joe52 Joe53 Joe54 Joe55Just to shake things up a bit, as I never start with the bit, that’s what I’m going to do.  Besides, this one is so easy, I might as well get the hardest part out of the way.

When I removed the bit the first time, I noticed it was so tight it wouldn’t budge.  Afraid of breaking either the tenon or part of the shank, I followed one of Chuck’s first lessons to me. Grasping the bit firmly in one hand – prepared to stop if I felt one more hint that a foreign substance was making the two parts stick – I turned the stummel with my other hand.  The sound was awful, but the parts came loose with a slowness I didn’t rush.  All that was needed to loosen the bit so it was easy to turn into the shank was a couple of tight turns of steel wool around the tenon.

The discoloration is shown just as it in fact appeared with my own eyes for once, rather than the camera’s POV.  In my opinion, just as a camera will add a few unwanted and unfair pounds to humans, so will it give a more flattering gloss to Vulcanite than the material often deserves. I gave it an OxiClean bath for about a half-hour.Joe56 Joe57And here it is after the bath and a brisk rub down with a soft cotton cloth.Joe58After wet micro meshing from 1500-12000, buffing on the wheel with red and white Tripoli, White Diamond and carnauba, and re-filling the empty H with a white china marker, this is the final result.Joe59I reamed and sanded the chamber and rid the rim of dark marks.  I used the same approach as the first two pipes on the chamber, and again, only steel wool was needed for the rim.Joe60 Joe61All that was left before the final buff was to retort the pipe, and as always, I was glad I did.Joe62Coating the already beautiful, rusticated red briar with Halcyon II wax, I set it aside to dry before wiping it down with a soft cotton cloth.Joe63 Joe64I was almost sad to be finished.Joe65 Joe66 Joe67 Joe68 Joe69 Joe70 Joe71CONCLUSION

Now I have to return these three fine pipes to their owner.

SOURCES

http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-hardcastle.html

https://pipedia.org/wiki/Hardcastle

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Liverpool stamped Tobacconist Inc.

5 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

I was looking through the box of pipes that I have to refurbish to see what struck my fancy this time around. It may sound like an easy process but my brother has been filling the box faster than I can clear it out… no complaint there however as he has great tasted in pipes and he has found some amazing pipes. The one that stood out to me this time was a Liverpool that has a rustication that was so tight that it looked like a sandblast. On closer inspection it was clear that it was a rusticated pipe. The bowl and long shank were at dark brown with a flat smooth strip on the bottom of the shank and the bowl where it was stamped Tobacconist Inc. That was a brand I had not heard of but I figured that it must have been a shop pipe for a tobacco shop somewhere. The bowl had a light cake and the beveled inner edge of the rim was flawless. The rim was pretty clean with just a little buildup in the rustication. The stem was oxidized but there were no bite marks or tooth chatter.Tob3 Tob4I took a close-up photo of the rim and bowl to show the cake and the condition of the rim surface. It was a pretty clean old pipe. I also took some photos of the stem top and bottom to show the oxidation and lack of damage. I was fortunate with that.Tob5I googled the Tobacconist Inc. stamp to see if I could find any information on the brand. There was no information in Who Made that Pipe and I could find nothing on Pipedia. The name Tobacconist Inc. came up shop a tobacco shop in Chicago. It is called Tobacconist Inc. and is located at 3524 W. Irving Park Rd. Chicago, Illinois. The phone number is 773-463-8468. I have included two photos of the sign and the shop. The sign says the shop has “Everything for the Smoker” and has been in existence since 1946. Sounds like a place I need to visit one day. I may have to call them and see if they have any information about the pipe.Tob2Tob1I started working on the pipe by reaming the bowl with the Savinelli Pipe Knife. I took the cake back to bare briar.Tob6I used a brass bristle brush to clean up the rustication on the top of the rim. It did not take too much work to clean off the tars and dirt.Tob7I scrubbed the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a soft bristle tooth brush to remove all of the dust and debris from the rustication.Tob8I rinsed the bowl off with running water and dried it off with a soft towel. The clean pipe is shown in the photos below.Tob9 Tob10I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation on the surface. In the cleanup I found a small tooth mark on the top left side of the stem. I was able to remove the tooth mark with sanding.Tob11I cleaned the mortise and airway in the shank and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. I was surprised on how clean the pipe was. It did not take too much to clean out the airways.Tob12I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and followed my usual routine. You can probably recite it by now if you have been a long time reader of the blog. Sand and Obsidian Oil repeated until finished. I dry sanded with 3200-4000 grit pads, gave it another coat of oil and sanded it with 6000-12000 grit pads. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set the stem aside to dry.Tob13 Tob14 Tob15I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the wheel and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax. I used a light touch on the bowl so as not to get waxy buildup in the rustication. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. The final touch I use is a microfibre cloth and a rubdown on the entire pipe to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. Thanks for looking.Tob16 Tob17 Tob18 Tob19 Tob20 Tob21 Tob22

 

Refreshing a Servi Bent Basket Weave Meerschaum

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Blog by Steve Laug

When I got this pipe from my brother, Jeff it was in a case and I did not take time to look at it. Last evening, I was on FaceTime with my brother and he said to have a look at it. So I went to the box, took it out and opened the case. What was inside was a well-cared for basket weave meerschaum with a mixed amber coloured Lucite stem. The tenon was a nylon/Delrin tenon connecting the stem to the shank. The stem was very clean with no tooth chatter or marks. It was dull but would not take much to polish. The connector was also very clean. The exterior of the bowl was beginning to colour but most of the colour was on the shank. The rim had some tar on the topside of the rim at the back. The inner and outer edge of the bowl was in great shape. There was a light cake in the bowl that would need to be removed. The case was in excellent shape. The covering on the outside was a black leatherette with gold hinges and clasp. The lining was gold faux fur with a Servi Block Meerschaum sticker inside the top of the case.Servi1 Servi2I took some photos of the pipe when I took it out of the case to show what I was going to work on in terms of refreshing the pipe.Servi3 Servi4 Servi5I took a close-up photo of the rim and the bowl. You can see the slight buildup of tars on the top back side of the rim and the light cake in the bowl.Servi6The stem was in great shape so I took some photos of it. It is a rare thing these days to find any stems without tooth marks of chatter of some kind. This one had no marks.Servi7I used a 2400 grit micromesh sanding pad to work over the tars on the top of the rim. It did not take too much effort to remove the dark spot and bring the bowl back to fresh look. I used the Savinelli Pipe Knife to scrape out the thin cake in the bowl until it was no longer an issue. I scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol.Servi8I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh pads and wiped it down with a damp cotton pad. I dry sanded it with 3200-12000 grit pads and wiped it down between each grit of micromesh and again when I was finished.Servi9 Servi10 Servi11I hand buffed the bowl with a shoe brush and gave the stem a buff with Blue Diamond. I gave the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad. I buffed the bowl with a clean buff as well. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It is a beautiful example of a well carved meerschaum and it is in excellent shape. The colouration of the bowl has begun and the shank is showing a rich golden colour. It is ready for the next pipeman to carry on the process of smoking this beauty to enrich the colour on the bowl and shank. If you are interested in adding this one to your rack let me know. It is available.Servi12 Servi13 Servi14 Servi15 Servi16 Servi17 Servi18 Servi19 Servi20 Servi21

A Zenith Double Walled Ceramic Pipe – Old Mokum

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Blog by Steve Laug

Once again my brother found a unique pipe for me to work on. It only has one marking on the left side of the shank – Old Mokum. From research it was made by Zenith Pipe Company in the Netherlands, one of the oldest pipe companies in the world. It is a double walled ceramic pipe with a cooling chamber under the bowl. I have had several Zeniths and their copiers over the years and they smoke cool. This one was in pretty decent shape. The exterior was dirty by a little scrubbing would take care of that. The inside of the bowl was lightly smoked with some portions still undarkened from smoking. The rim had a little tar on the top at the back of the bowl. There was a hard rubber cork that was around the stem. It had a slight split in it but was still usable. The stem was in good shape – lightly oxidized and no tooth chatter or marks.Cer1 Cer2I took the stem out of the bowl and worked the rubber stopper off the stem. In the other Zenith pipes I have this stopper resides in the shank so I am thinking that this one somehow was stuck on the stem. It did not take too much effort to work it off the stem.Cer3I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with saliva and a cotton pad and was able to not only remove the grim but also the tar on the rim top.Cer4I worked on the chamber under the bowl with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners and was able to clean out all of the debris from that part of the pipe. I also scrubbed the mortise clean with alcohol and cotton swabs.Cer5The stem internals were surprisingly clean and it only took two pipe cleaners to remove what remained in the airway.Cer6I sanded the oxidized stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation. It was light on the blade of the stem and heavier above where the stem had been inserted in the rubber stopper.Cer7I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded with 3200-4000 grit pads, gave it another coat of oil and finished sanding with 6000-12000 grit pads. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil. I set the stem aside to dry.Cer8 Cer9 Cer10I cleaned the stopper and gave it a light coat of Vaseline where it would insert into the mortise and pressed in place. It was a snug fit and seated well. I inserted the stem in place and removed and inserted it several times to make sure the stopper stayed in the shank. I buffed the bowl lightly with Blue Diamond and with a little more force on the stem. I gave the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax to slow down the oxidation. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It is a great example of the double walled ceramic pipes put out by Zenith. This one will be available on the store soon if anyone is interested in adding it to their rack. As always thanks for reading and looking at the blog.Cer11 Cer12 Cer13 Cer14 Cer15 Cer16 Cer17 Cer18 Cer19

Bringing a FILTO SYSTEM Pipe Back to Life

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Blog by Steve Laug

I have had this pipe sitting in a parts box for a while now. It was missing a few parts – notably the end plug. It had a copper coloured barrel and a black vulcanite mouthpiece that was oxidized. There were no tooth marks on the stem. The bowl was painted with a dark brown paint and had a shine. The rim was dirty with lava from the overflow of the bowl. The bowl had a thin, uneven cake on the walls. There was a screw in the bottom of the bowl that was similar to Kirsten screws. It had a hole in the centre that allowed the air to be pulled from the bowl into the barrel. It was stuck in the bottom under the cake that held it in place. The inside of the barrel on the end that was missing the end plug was thickly caked with tars and oils. There appeared to be something in the barrel part way down that closed off the barrel. The side of the barrel is stamped FILTO over Burgaw, NC over PAT. MADE IN USA.Filto1Filto2

I took the pipe apart so that I could look at the pieces. The next photos show the barrel, bowl, stem and screw. The screw is interesting in that it had a collar that kept it lifted above the bottom of the bowl. There seemed to be a build-up of something on the top of the barrel where the bowl sat.Filto3

I did a bit of hunting on the web to see if I could figure out what was missing in the barrel. I knew that the end cap was missing and that it was a pressure fit. I also wanted to know what the card board piece was that seemed to be in the middle of the barrel. When I took the above photo I had not removed it from inside the barrel as I did not know what it was and did not want to damage it. I checked the Smoking Metal Website which is my first stop when seeking information on metal pipes. The site not only had the pipe listed but a variety of photos of the internals and of the models that were available. I have included the link and the short text that was included on the site.  http://www.smokingmetal.co.uk/pipe.php?page=213

“Made by Filto Pipes Inc. of Burgaw, North Carolina, inventor Robert L. Smith, US Patent #33170468 23rd Feb. 1965. The stem, sealing ring and filter holder design mentioned in design by Aristocob. The bowl and stem are in a great variety of colours, all interchangeable.The spring clip in the bit assists in holding the filter in place. There are two version of the stem one with a spun front end and more common with a plastic push fit end cap.”

The photo below shows the parts that are enumerated in the above quote. There are two different barrel designs shown as well. The top one seems to show that the end is rounded and closed like a cigar cap. The red pipe below shows a plastic ridged endcap. The close up of the two bowls at the bottom show both ends. It is obvious that the one I had was like the pipe on the left side. Filto4

The photo below shows many different models of the same pipe. There are obviously two different styles of stems – a saddle stem like the one I have and a tapered stem.Filto5

Now I understood the shape of the end cap and also what the cardboard in the barrel was. I took a photo of the stamping on the barrel. It is clear and easy to read.Filto6

I reamed the bowl with the PipNet reamer and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with the Savinelli Pipe Knife.Filto7

I pushed the cardboard out of the barrel and it was marked FILTO filter. The cardboard was a filter that allowed the air to flow around the edges and caught the tars and oils on the end of the filter. This one was unused.Filto8

I cleaned out the inside of the barrel by pushing rolled cotton pads soaked in alcohol through the shank. I also used cotton swabs and alcohol to further clean out the barrel. I scraped the cardboard gasket from the top of the barrel where the bowl sat using the dental spatula. I cleaned the outside of the barrel with alcohol and cotton pads.Filto9

I cleaned out the inside of the tenon on the mouthpiece insert with cotton swabs and alcohol. I ran alcohol soaked pipe cleaners through the mouth piece and tenon to clean out the tars and oils.Filto10

I decided to make and end cap or plug out of briar. I had a piece of briar that was next to the bowl. I had cut it off a while back to use for other purposes. Since it was drilled with an airway I needed to also make a round plug for the airway in the centre of the briar piece. I rounded out the shank piece and the small chip with a Dremel and sanding drum to make the end cap/plug. I round the chip until it fit perfectly into the drilled airway on the briar. I pushed it into the airway and glued it in place with super glue. I used the Dremel and sanding drum to smooth out the end that would go inside the barrel and the end that would stick out.Filto11

I used the Dremel and sanding drum to shape the end of the plug to be shaped like a cone. It continued to shape it until it would pressure fit into the end of the barrel.Filto12

I shaped it like a cone and rounded the end. I cut a small band around the diameter of the end that would sit in the barrel. There was a step down inside that the cap sat against. I pressed it into place and continue to shape it with 180 and 220 grit sandpaper.Filto13

Once I had it shaped correctly I stained it dark brown with a stain pen and buffed it until it shone. I sanded it with 3200-4000 grit micromesh to give it some polish and thin down the opacity of the stain.Filto14

Looking at the spring clip that held the filter in place in the shank I made one that was similarly shaped out of a paper clip. I bent it to fit into the cardboard filter and to sit in the metal tenon of the stem.Filto15

I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the calcification that was built up on the mouth piece at the button. There was some light oxidation on the saddle portion as well. I wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and gave it a coat of Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded it with 3200-4000 grit sanding pads and gave it another coat of oil. I finished sanding it with 6000-12000 grit pads and gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil.Filto16Filto17Filto18

I buffed the stem with Blue Diamond on the wheel and gave it several coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth. I put the bent paperclip in the filter and in the end of the tenon.Filto19

I lightly polished the bowl and barrel on the buffer using Blue Diamond. I gave both a coat of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean pad to polish it. The bowl had a few dents and dings that I left as I found them because of the painted finish. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The first four photos show the finished pipe as a whole. The last three show it in pieces.Filto20Filto21Filto22Filto23Filto24Filto25Filto26

 

Finally a Simple Clean up – A Champ Freehand

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Blog by Steve Laug

This beautifully grained freehand is stamped on the heel of the bowl CHAMP of Denmark over Larsen & Stigart. The pipe was in pretty good shape with the finish intact and just dirty. The grain on the bowl is quite nice and there are some unique swirled carvings in the briar on the right and left side of the bowl near the bottom. There is also one swirl at the top edge of the back of the bowl. These in no way detract from the beauty of the briar but actually follow the flow of the grain and add a unique touch to the bowl. The rim of the bowl was dirty with an overflow of lava on the top surface. The inner and out edges of the rim were in great shape and showed no damage. The bowl itself had a thin cake that was uneven throughout the bowl. The stem was oxidized and had some tooth chatter on the top and bottom sides near the button. There were no deep tooth marks just a light chatter.Free2 Free3 Free4I took a close-up photo of the stamping on the bottom of the bowl and of the cake in the bowl and the tar on the bowl rim.Free5 Free6In the back of my mind I had a vague memory of the CHAMP brand. I could not dig out the details but I knew that it was not a carver but rather some kind of distributor. I turned to Pipedia and to Pipephil’s site to do a bit of research on the brand. I found the information that was niggling at my memory. Champ of Denmark pipes were made for and distributed by Larsen & Stigart, a famous tobacconist in Copenhagen that is now closed. The warehouse had a workshop where several pipe carvers stayed. Two of the more famous of those carvers were Karl Erik Ottendahl and Soren Eric Andersen. They supplied some fancy Danish Pipes to Dunhill in London. I have included the two links to the material I found below. https://pipedia.org/wiki/Champ_of_Denmark ; http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c4.html

I started the clean up on the Champ by working on the rim of the pipe. I scrubbed the rim with saliva on cotton pads to remove the tars. I scraped it with a pen knife that I used for this kind of work and rescrubbed it. The oils and tars came off with little work. There was still work to do but the majority of the buildup was gone. I reamed the bowl with a Savinelli Pipe Knife to remove the crumbling cake.Free7 Free8 Free9I scrubbed the rim harder with saliva and cotton pads and then wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit sanding pads and was able to finish removing the last of the oils and tars.Free10I buffed the bowl with carnauba wax and then with a clean flannel buffing pad. The buffed and shined bowl is shown in the photos below.Free11 Free12 Free13 Free14I scrubbed out the interior of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. It did not take too much work to clean out the insides of the pipe.Free15I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation and tooth chatter. I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. I rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded it with 3200-4000 grit pads and gave it another coat of oil. I finished sanding it with 6000-12000 grit pads and gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil. I let the oil dry.Free16 Free17 Free18 Free19I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond on the wheel and then gave both multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine on the pipe. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It is a beautiful pipe and I am glad that I finally had one that was easy to clean up. This one will be up on the rebornpipes store shortly. If you are interested let me know. Thanks for looking.Free20 Free21 Free22 Free23 Free24 Free25 Free26 Free27

It was A Kaywoodie Metal Pipe that I had never seen before

13 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

My brother, Jeff has caught the pipe hunting bug and that is a great thing for me. It won’t kill him and he won’t suffer too much harm from it unless he gets carried away and gets in trouble with the wife. But it is good news for me. It means that with him we can cover twice the ground looking for old pipes than I used to do by myself. It also means that he comes on things that I have never seen. He is in the US and I am in Canada and we have different stomping grounds for our hunt other than the odd time we are in the same place. I don’t remember if we found this one while we were looking at eBay together using Facetime or if it was a find on a hunt. But it does not really matter as we got it. It is an old Kaywoodie the style of which I have never seen before. The base unit is the typical long metal shank but rather than a cup the bowl threads into this one has a ring on the end. It is split on the end of the bowl and goes around the base of the bowl. When I first looked at it I was hooked. I wanted to see it and work on it. The thing that caught my eye was the unusual look of the pipe. I wanted to see how the bowl was held in the ring.Filter1

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Filter4 The pipe was in pretty decent shape from the photos. The stem had the usual tooth chatter and oxidation around the button. The Kaywoodie club emblem on the stem looked rough. The embossed emblem in the aluminum shank was really clean. The entire base unit was oxidized but clean. The briar also was very clean. There was some darkening and lava on the back edge of hte rim and a thin cake in the bowl but no inner or outer edge rim damage.Filter5 The base plate was stamped Kaywoodie Filter Pipe Pat. Pend and there was a slot in the bowl. It appeared that someone had tried to use a screwdriver to turn the base plate and damaged it. To me the slot looks like it was made for a coin to turn the base.Filter6 The next photo shows the pin on the front of the briar bowl and the split in the ring of the base unit. To me it is hard to figure out how the bowl is to be removed.Filter7 While my brother had it in hand in the states looking it over and trying to figure out how to remove the bowl I did a quick search and found the pipe on the Smoking Metal site (http://www.smokingmetal.co.uk/pipe.php?page=132). The site had the following information and pictures that I have copied to use here. The first paragraph gave me the information I was searching for on how to remove the bowl. I read it to my brother and he tried it and bowl came free. He showed me the pieces on Facetime. I was fascinated.

“Many of these wrecked by folk not realising how the bowl is released. Pulling the bit out of the stem and twisting half turn in either direction releases the retaining pin and allows the bowl to come free of the stem. The lower and right hand adverts are from October 1962 Flying Magazine
The pipes were $6.95, bowls @ $3.50 and 3 filters were 25 cents.”

“In the base of the bowl is a screw cap which when undone releases a ceramic filter. These filters came in plastic tubes containing three filters. As with all metal pipes, frequent cleaning is advisable to prevent any screws from becoming irretrievably sealed into pipe. The filters are at times available on eBay, but I have been told by Rob that soaking in alcohol (Everclear or IPA) can extend their life.”

The second photo below of the bowls and the third photo of the boxed set also come from the Smoking Metals website. In the photo of the bowls you can see the clay filter piece that sits in the bottom of the bowl. It is shaped like a flattened spool and there are holes in the top of the spool as well as a stamped Kaywoodie Club emblem. The bottom of the spool is indented and sits in the metal threaded base cap. In the third photo you can see how the filters were sold in plastic tubes that held three filters and sold for $.25.

Given all of information found in these photos I could not wait until the pipe arrived in Canada and I could take it apart and clean it up.Filter8

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Filter10 When the pipe arrived I took the bowl off per the above instructions and it worked quite simply. I could easily see why the Smoking Metal website said that many of the pipes were damaged by improperly removing the bowl. Fortunately this one was not damaged by me. The metal base plate was solidly stuck in place and I read above that the clay filter was not damaged by alcohol so I dropped the bowl in an alcohol bath and let it sit all morning while I finished up some repairs I was doing. I took it out this afternoon and dried it off with a cotton cloth. The grime on the finish was gone and the bowl was clean. The lava on the rim was softened so I could work on it with more ease. It looked like I would not have to top the bowl to remove the lava. That is always a good thing. The rim edge was also not charred or burned which was a bonus as well.Filter11

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Filter15 I decided to take the bowl apart before working on cleaning it up. I inserted a quarter in the slot in the bottom plate and twisted it both directions until it came loose. Then I unscrewed it and took out the clay filter. The inside of the base and cap were thick with tars. The clay filter was black and goopy.Filter16

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Filter19 I cleaned out the bottom half of the bowl, the filter and the base cap with alcohol and cotton swabs. I picked the threads clean with a dental pick and then scrubbed them with the cotton swabs. I scrubbed the clay filter and used the pick to clean out the holes in the top of the spool and also the build up on the middle and bottom of the spool. I wiped it down with alcohol and cotton swabs.Filter20

Filter21 I wiped down the outside of the bowl with alcohol and cleaned out the air hole on the side of the bowl. I used 0000 steel wool to scrub the inside of the base cap.Filter22 With the bottom half of the bowl cleaned I reamed the top half of the bowl with a PipNet reamer. I took the cake back to bare wood.Filter23

Filter24 I scrubbed the rim clean with cotton pads and saliva and was able to remove the lava build up. I sanded it lightly with a 3200 grit micromesh sanding pad and brought some shine to the rim.Filter25

Filter26 I set the bowl aside and went to work on the metal base and vulcanite stem. I cleaned out the interior of the shank and stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol. The stem is spring loaded and cannot be removed from the base without potential damage so I ran many pipe cleaners through to clean out the tars and oils.Filter27

Filter28 I sanded the stem to remove the oxidation and the tooth chatter. I used 220 grit sandpaper to break through the surface and then a medium grit sanding sponge.Filter29

Filter30 I rubbed down the stem with Obsidian Oil and then put the pipe back together. I dropped the filter into the bottom of the bowl with the holes upward, lubricated the threads on the bottom cap with Vaseline and screwed it in place. I pulled the stem back and turned it to retract the aluminum tube into the shank and dropped the bowl in place. I let the stem reseat and the tube entered the bowl. The bowl was anchored in place. Now I had a bit of a handle on the pipe while I worked over the stem with micromesh sanding pads.Filter31

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Filter34 I started wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit micromesh pads and quickly found that the club logo was just pieces in the indent in the stem. It was broken and not complete. The ragged look that I had noted earlier was the grit and grim holding the broken logo in place.Filter35 I cleaned out the old pieces of logo with a dental pick and blew out the dust. I had a broken Kaywoodie stem with a club logo the same size as this one so I carefully liberated it from the broken stem for use on this one (it visible at the bottom of the first photo) I cleaned out the indent on the stem with air and then put some all purpose glue in the hole with the end of the dental pick. I pressed the new logo into the hole with the rounded handle of a dental spatula. The new logo looked good and it was smooth when you ran a finger over that area of the stem.Filter36

Filter37 I reworked the stem with the 1500-2400 grit micromesh, this time dry sanding it. There was no need to wet sand it again. I was careful while sanding around the newly set logo so as not to risk lifting it from the stem. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil and then dry sanded with 3200-4000 grit micromesh pads. The stem was beginning to take on a shine. I continued to polish it with 6000-12000 grit pads and gave it a final wipe down with Obsidian Oil. I let it dry.Filter38

Filter39 I gave the stem several coats of Conservator’s Wax and hand buffed the stem by hand so as not to damage to the logo. I also hand buffed the bowl and metal base by hand with the wax and then rubbed it down with a microfiber cloth to finish the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. I really like the looks and mechanics of this old Kaywoodie. It is a pleasure to add it to my collection of metal pipes.Filter40

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Just when I had given up on finding a great pipe this happens – but not to me

7 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

It has been a long time since I found a pipe of this caliber in a thrift shop of antique mall. It seems that the finds of earlier times are fewer and farther apart. Then something like what I am about to tell you happens – in this case happens to someone else. It creates in me a renewed passion for the hunt.

It is not too often that the pipes that others find set loose a twinge of jealousy in me but this one certainly did. It was one of my favourite shapes and he virtually stole it in terms of price. It was found by a pipeman on Vancouver Island. He found it in a local thrift/antique shop and paid $15 Canadian for it. For the Americans reading this our Canadian dollar is worth about 65 cents US. That is why I said that he stole the pipe, paying a whopping $9.75 US. He sent me a message on Facebook Messenger and asked if I would clean up the pipe for him and restore it. He sent me a photo that did not begin to tell the story of this beautiful little dog. We talked via Messenger and discussed the pipe. He sent it to me and I received it earlier this week.

It is a beautiful Shell Briar Bulldog. The bowl had a thick cake and was dirty on the outside. The finish looked undamaged by scratches and dents and merely bore a thick coat of dust and grime. The rim was in excellent shape – both inner and outer edges were undamaged. The stem was the worst part of the pipe – it was extremely oxidized and had a deep oxidation and also a very gritty feel in the hand. It almost felt like sand was stuck to the surface of the rubber. There were tooth marks on the top side of the stem and on the underside. There was a sticky spot on the top of the stem where there must have been a price tag at one point. The button and the slot were both undamaged and would clean up easily. There was an inner tube in the stem and shank of the pipe. It ran from the end of the tenon to the bottom of the bowl. These were made originally to facilitate keeping the airway clean. This one had a few oxidized spots on the surface of the aluminum and also was stained with tars and oils on the inside.

It was stamped on the flat underside of the bowl and shank as follows: On the bottom of the bowl it was stamped 148F/T which told me the shape number and the style of the stem – a fish tail. After that almost mid-shank it was stamped Dunhill Shell Briar. Next to that it was stamped Made in England7 0. From my read of the stamping the underlined 7 is added to the date 1960 which would make this pipe a 1967 pipe (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/shellbriar1.html). I am not sure of the meaning of the 0 that sits between the underlined 7 and the Circle 3 S. I do know that the circle three tells me that this pipe is a Group 3 sized pipe and the S gives the finish which in this case is a Shell.

The next set of five photos show what the pipe looked like when it arrived at my work table.Dunhill1

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Dunhill5 I studied the pipe for a while before proceeding with my usual clean up. I shook of the remnants of pipe envy and congratulated the finder. I began by reaming the pipe with a PipNet Reamer. The bowl, being a Group 3 size would only take the smallest cutting head of the reamer. I took the cake back as close as possible to bare wood with the reamer. I had to finish the reaming with a small pen knife and removed the ridges and remnants of cake that are visible in the second photo below.Dunhill6

Dunhill7 After I finished the reaming with the pen knife I used a brass bristle tire brush to clean up the finish on the top of the rim. I find that the soft brass bristles clean out the stubborn lava without doing damage to the blast/rustication finish on the rim. They also do not damage either the inner or outer edge of the rim.Dunhill8 I scrubbed the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the detritus that had collected in the crevices of the finish. I rinsed the bowl with running water and dried it off with a towel.Dunhill9 I cleaned out the airway in the slot and stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol and cleaned out the inner tube the same way. I scrubbed the exterior of the inner tube with 0000 steel wool. The oxidation on the stem was deep and concentrated. It really was a mess.Dunhill10 To try to soften the oxidation and bring it to the surface I mixed a batch of OxyClean and dropped the stem in the mixture to soak overnight and worked on the bowl. I rubbed the bowl down with a light coat of olive oil and then buffed it with a shoe brush. I gave it several coats of Halcyon II wax and rebuffed with the shoe brush.Dunhill11

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Dunhill14 I cleaned out the shank and the mortise with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. Thanks to the inner tube it was not nearly as black and grimy as many of the older pipes that I clean up.Dunhill15 In the morning I took the stem out of the Oxyclean bath and dried it off with a coarse cotton towel. The oxidation had softened considerably and I was able to scrape a little away with a fingernail (that is a “secret” test I use to see if it ready to come out of the soak).Dunhill16

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Dunhill18 I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation and then with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge. The oxidation was stubborn on this stem. It took a lot of work to get it out of the edges and curve of the saddle. Once I cut through the oxidation on the rough spots I moved on to sanding the stem with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit pads and then rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded it with 3200-4000 grit pads and gave it another coat of oil. I finished by sanding with 6000-12000 grit pads and gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil. I let the oil dry.Dunhill19

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Dunhill21 I buffed the pipe and stem with Blue Diamond on the wheel. I buffed the bowl with a light touch to make sure that I did not get the buffing compound in the crevices of the blast. I buffed the stem with a little heavier touch and then gave the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I gave the bowl several coats of Halcyon II wax and buffed it with a shoe brush. I rubbed the bowl and stem down with a microfibre cloth for the final shine. It is now packed and on its way home to the lucky gent who found it. I have a renewed passion to take up the hunt for more pipes. Perhaps it will be my turn to find a treasure like this. Thanks for looking.Dunhill22

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12647990_10156469550400557_62413239_nI received this photo last night of the pipeman who found this Dunhill. The mail delivered the pipe to him yesterday and he loaded it up and enjoyed a smoke. I don’t often get to see this end of the story! Thanks Ryan.