Tag Archives: waxing a stem

Restoring a Horn Stem Terminus Apple – An Early Version of a Reverse Calabash

Blog by Steve Laug

I was gifted a beautiful rusticated Terminus apple from Anthony Cook. At least it has the potential to be a beautiful pipe to my eye. I have kept an eye out one of these old system pipes for a long time. They are like an early reverse calabash design. From my reading and observation it is both similar and different from the Keyser Hygienic pipes that I have written about before on the blog. It is similar in that it has an aluminum condensing contraption in the mortise of the shank with a centre tube that extends about ¼ inch beyond the end of the shank and rests in a larger tube in the military mount stem. This is the similarity – tubes, condensing contraption and the military mount stem. The dissimilarity is that at the end of the mortise where the flat base of the condensing unit sits there are two airway entries toward the top on either side of the centre tube. In the bowl there are also two airways at the bottom of the bowl. I found an online photo of the apparatus in the mortise and also how the stem and shank fit together. The Terminus I have is older than the one in the photo but the design is the same. Terminus was a St. Claude, Francepipe maker. This is one of the early models, dating from the beginning of the 20thCentury.The patent was for an inner tube in the shank with two draw holes either side and a smaller inner tube in the stem, thus keeping “gunk” to a minimum.A straight apple with cow horn saddle bit.5.25 inches (13.5cms) long. Bowl height 1.75 inches (4.5cms). Looking up the name on Pipephil Logo and Stampings website I found the following information. On the screen capture from the site above you will note the phrase patented anti gunk system by Jean Masson. I clicked on that and was taken to the following information. There are several differences that I can see between this diagram (pictured below) and the pipe I have in hand. The first difference is that the back end of the condensing chamber is flat and does not have an extension or well on the bottom side of the chamber. The entire chamber extends the length of the mortise up to the two airways. The second difference is that the condensing chamber actually continues in the stem and there is a larger draw tube that the smaller tube in the mortise rests in. The third difference is that the stem is military mount and fits into the mortise around the smaller tube in the mortise. The tube seems to extend as far up the airway in the stem as I can see with a flash light.Otherwise the diagram gives an approximate idea of how the system fits together. Anthony sent me several pictures of the Terminus Pipe he was sending to give me a feel for what was coming. Overall it looked to be very workable. There was nothing in the pictures that gave me pause in terms of what it would take to clean it up. It appeared that the finish was basically gone – or it may have been a natural finish it was hard to tell. The horn stem looked interesting. It looked to be quite large and the taper on it was unique to the horn stems that I have worked on and kept in my collection. The tars on the rim did not seem to hide damage to the inner or outer edge of the bowl. The twin draught holes in the bottom of the bowl seemed to be hidden in the cake on the sides of the bowl. The condensation chamber in the mortise had a thick build-up of tars and oils that would be a challenge to get out.

When the package arrived I quickly unwrapped it and took out the pipe. I really like the look and feel of it. It was comfortable in the hand and showed a lot of potential under the worn finish and dirt. It is stamped on a smooth rectangle on the left side of the shank with Serie No. 8349 in an arch over Terminus over Pipe. Under that it is stamped Brevete S.G.D.G. in a reverse arch. On the right side of the shank is a matching rectangle that is stamped 3036 over GP.The first four photos below show the pipe as it appeared to me fresh out of the box. The finish was slightly worn but underneath the tight rusticated pattern (almost a blast) was some beautiful ring grain that shone through the rustication. The bowl appeared to be unstained natural briar and would clean up very nicely. The stem was horn and had some tooth chatter on the top and bottom sides and also a deep tooth mark on both. The colour of the horn varied from a cream colour to a dark brown and seemed to move in waves that ran the length of the stem. When polished this stem would be beautiful.

The next two photos are close-ups of the top and bottom of the stem and show the tooth chatter and the deep bit mark on both sides.

I decided to address the chatter and bite marks on the stem first. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the tooth chatter and the wear around the button. I also wanted the surface of the stem smooth before I repaired the bite marks. I sanded the stem with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge to smooth out the surface then wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I used a drop of clear super glue to fill the holes on the top and bottom. And set it aside for ½ hour for the glue to cure.

When the glue had cured I sanded the two patches with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface of the stem. The two photos below show the patches after sanding and before I worked over the stem with the medium and fine grit sanding sponge.

I sanded the stem with medium and fine grit sanding sponges to further blend in the repairs and smooth out the nicks in the surface of the horn.

I cleaned out the shank, condensing chamber in the shank and stem and the airway in the stem and two airways in the end of the shank using alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I did not use the retort on this one as I am not clear on how the boiling alcohol would affect the horn stem. It took a lot of soaking and scrubbing before the aluminum chamber in the mortise and the chamber in the stem were clean and shiny once more I reamed the pipe back to bare wood and the used a dental pick to clean out the debris from the twin airways in the bottom of the bowl. I scrubbed the surface of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush and then rinsed it off with running water. I dried it off then wiped the bowl down with acetone on cotton pads to further clean the dirt and wax from the bowl surface. I scrubbed the aluminum shank band with silver polish and then lightly sanded it with the 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad.

I worked on the tars and oils on the rim with saliva on a cotton pad and then used acetone on a cotton pad and was able to remove all of the build up. The grain really stood out on the rim and was a nice contrast to the rusticated pattern of the bowl. With the mortise and airways cleaned out I decided to use the cotton ball and alcohol treatment on the bowl to remove the heavy aromatic tobacco smell that still hung onto the pipe. I stuffed the bowl with cotton balls and used and ear syringe to fill it with isopropyl alcohol. I let it sit all day while I was at work. When I returned in the evening the oils had wicked out of the briar into the cotton. Once I removed the cotton and the bowl dried out the smell was gone and the bowl was fresh. I sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed the horn down with Obsidian Oil in between the sanding and while the oil was drying continued to sand with the pads. I find that the oil gives the micromesh the kind of bite on the horn stem that really raises the shine and removes the scratches and marks left behind from age.

After polishing with the micromesh I buffed the stem with White Diamond and then gave it several coats of carnauba wax to protect it. I decided to rub down the bowl with some olive oil on a paper towel. I rubbed over the surface of the bowl so that oil went down into the grooves and soaked in. Once the oil had penetrated the briar I wiped it off with a soft cotton cloth and hand buffed it with a shoe brush. This morning I gently buffed the pipe and stem a final time and gave it a light coat of carnauba wax. I finished by buffing it with a soft flannel buff to give it a shine and make the horn material glow. To me there is nothing more beautiful on these old pipes that the warm luminescence of polished horn. In this case the variations in colours from cream to dark brown and everything in between gave the stem an almost three dimensional look. The oil enlivened the old briar without muting the ring grain that shone through the rustication. To me this old pipe just glows with deep inner warmth that will make it a pleasure to smoke. I am looking forward to the interesting smoke that the twin airway in the bowl and the condensing chamber in the pipe and stem will provide. The draught on the pipe is quite open so it should smoke well. My guess is that it will deliver a cool smoke. The horn stem provides a unique feel in the teeth and mouth that nothing quite rivals. The finished pipe is shown below.

The final photos give a close up view of the parts of the pipe beginning with the cleaned and polished rim and walking you through the condensation chamber and a photo of how the two tubes intersect when the stem is in place.

Making an Ehrlich Sandblasted Billiard Less Dreary

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Guest Blog by Robert M. Boughton
Member, North American Society of Pipe Collectors
http://www.naspc.org
http://www.roadrunnerpipes.com
http://about.me/boughtonrobert
Photos © the Author

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore –
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door –
Only this and nothing more.”
― Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849), U.S. poet, author, editor and literary critic, in “The Raven,” 1845

INTRODUCTION
My inspiration for restoring an Ehrlich Sandblasted Straight Billiard acquired online as part of one very good estate haul was much like the opening lines to Poe’s most famous poem, except that no raven appeared to quethe negativity. Instead, the insight I gained from the gentle rapping on my creative door, which is how most of my contemplative phases before any restoration pass, was to transform the original dark and dreary pipe into something lighter and bolder. THE RESTORATION
There are times when, to make something better of a pipe – whether it appears to have passed through a wood chipper or looks okay or at least nice enough as it first appears – calls for drastic action, such as stripping the old finish. There are two ways I know to accomplish this: the more invasive and time-consuming sanding approach, which always carries the contingency of scratches, and the faster, smoother method of soaking in Everclear. On rare occasions I have needed to start with the soaking and finish with light sanding, but for the most part I now try to avoid stripping at all because of my early restorations when I was gung-ho for the total overhaul idea. I soon enough learned there was a good reason for the darker finishes that so offended me, with a few notable exceptions.

But by either route, the initial result will be a striking step backward in the pipe’s aura. In other words, the wood is going to look like it’s been scorched by the fires of Hell. Still, I knew this was an occasion that merited stripping, and the pipe in question being sandblasted was one reason I chose the kinder, gentler Everclear.

Taking advantage of the fifteen minutes needed for the Everclear to do its work on the bowl and shank, I set upon the task of working out the few kinks in the stem. Starting with purified water on a small square of cotton cloth, I gave it a bath, then used 200-grit paper only on the bite mark below the top lip, which with concerted rubbing, to my surprise, eliminated any sign that the chatter had ever been there. I was able to finish spiffing up the stem with 2400, 3200 and 3600 micromesh.

Removing the briar from the alcohol, I wiped down the outside and scrubbed the chamber with more cotton cloth pieces and scoured the inside of the shank with a wire-handled cleaner before I set it aside to finish drying.

Other upsides to the Everclear method were that the rim burn was gone and the chamber, which was not in the usual horrid state to begin with, needed no reaming at all and came smooth not even starting with my customary 150-grit first line of attack but an easy sanding with 320-grit paper.

I seized the opportunity to retort the pipe before moving to the buffing of the wood with a progression from superfine steel wool to 2400, 3200, 3600 and 4000 micromesh. I only snapped one photo of the results of this step. It captures the nice return of a lighter, golden, more natural shine to the briar as well as the only nomenclature on the Ehrlich, a brand that hails from Boston, Massachusetts. Ready to turn the finished parts on the wax wheels, I used red and white Tripoli and White Diamond on the stem and added carnauba (not having any Halcyon II) to the bowl and shank. The carnauba only needed more intense rubbing with a soft cotton cloth to clear out the excess.

CONCLUSION
I’ve said it before. I’m more of a naturalist when it comes to pipe restoration, or a believer of using the truest color of the wood to its best effect, although for good cause I have strayed from the ideal. Most of the times I see an over-dark stain for no apparent good reason, I have an overwhelming urge to uncover the obscured richness of the wood beneath. I think I succeeded with this Ehrlich.

Repairing a Bite Through on a Vulcanite Stem with Black Super Glue

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Blog by Steve Laug

I recently posted about an old BBB 701 Rhodesian that I restored. It was quite a mess and needed a lot of attention to both the bowl and the stem. In the process I took some photos of the stem repair I did and thought I would write a blog on the process. The first three photos below show the state of the stem when I started. The top and bottom sides of the stem at the button had significant tooth chatter. The top of the stem had the bite through at the button and a much worn edge on the button. The underside of the stem had deep bit marks next to the button and small chatter up the stem about 1 inch. There was oxidation on the stem as well. In the photo there appears to be a crack from the bite through hole into the button and to the edge. That mark is more tooth marks but the stem material is not cracked in that way. The red arrow in the first two photos highlights the apparent crack. In the third photo the arrow points to the tooth marks on the surface of the stem.

The first step in preparing to patch the hole in the stem is to clean up the surface and remove any loose or damaged portions of the stem. I use a dental pick to pick at the edges of the hole and the cracks and broken spots on the stem. I also probe other potential thin spots on the top and the bottom of the stem. I particularly probed the tooth marks on the underside to see how thin the vulcanite was in those areas. Once I had picked away the damage I wiped down the areas with a cotton pad and alcohol. The surface needs to be free of wax or dirt before the patch is applied because these will cause the patch to not bind to the surface of the stem.

I have a nail file that I “stole” from my daughters that is a perfect fit in the slot of most pipe stems that I work on. It is tapered and pointed so that it fits deep into the airway underneath the hole in the stem. I want a hard surface under the patch for the glue to puddle against. In order to not glue the file into the stem permanently I apply a thick coat of Vaseline petroleum jelly to the end of the file before I insert it. I only put enough of the jelly on the file that it does not squeeze out of the hole and soil the repair area. This took time to get the hang of. Too much jelly makes a mess of the repair area and too little makes the super glued file the next problem you will need to address in repairing the stem. It takes practice to get it just right – don’t get frustrated and remember too much jelly is better than too little!

With the file inserted in the airway it is time to start the patch. I drip black super glue around the edges of the hole first to solidify the broken edges and provide a live edge to build on when I fill the hole. I let that first coat of glue dry hard to touch before adding the next layer of glue. I have used an accelerator in the past to quick dry the patch. This time I decided to do it the long way and let the patch cure between coats. In the photo below you can see the ring around the bubble of the patch that is that first layer of the repair. The arrow in the picture points to the cured edge of the repair that surrounds the bubble in the centre. I apply several more coats to the edge to build it out toward the middle. The final coat I purposely overfill because as the glue cures it shrinks. It is a bit more work to sand out the excess material but in the end it makes for a thicker and stronger patch. I also filled the tooth marks on the underside of the stem next to the button with the superglue. These took two coats to build it up enough to reshape the button with files and sandpaper. I set the stem aside overnight to give the glue patch time to cure and harden. The next morning, when the glue had hardened I sanded the patch with a folded piece of 180 grit sandpaper followed by more sanding with 220 grit sandpaper. I work to blend the edges of the repair into the surface of the stem and feather out the surface of the repair to match the surface of the surrounding stem material. In the photo below the arrow points to the patch. It is a slightly different colour of black to the rest of the stem at this point in the process. More sanding and working on the patch will change that. On the underside of the stem I sanded the patches until they were smooth as well. On this particular repair there were two small air bubbles that showed up when I sanded the patch. They are shown by the arrows. I refilled these small holes with a drop of black super glue and let it cure until hard then resanded the patched areas. When repairing the surface of the stem I always check the profile of the stem to make sure that I am not creating bulges in the surface of the stem. I want to maintain the flow and lines of the stem and not change the profile. When I sand the repairs I repeatedly look at the profile and often take pictures to make sure the flow and lines are smooth. The photo below shows the smooth profile of the stem after the repairs and initial sanding. I sanded the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper with a spot of water on the stem. I sanded to remove the oxidation and to blend the patch into the surface of the stem on both the top and the bottom sides. As can be seen in the photos below the patch on the top side is smooth and blended into the stem. It is still a slightly different black colour but more sanding will remedy that. The patch on the underside is well blended. More work needed to be done with the two air bubble repairs to blend them further.

I sanded the stem further with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge. 3M makes this product and it is very flexible. I find that it allows me to follow the curves of the stem and the sharp edges of the button with little effort. The top and bottom of the stem are shown after sanding in the next two photos. The patches are now little more than small spots on the stem that will further disappear after sanding with micromesh sanding pads.

I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh pads to smooth out the repair and further blend the patches. In the photo below you can see that the patch has all but disappeared on the top side of the stem. The one on the underside looks similar at this point in the process. I dry sanded the stem with 3200-12,000 grit pads. The surface of the stem began to shine and have a rich glow in the surface. Each successive grit of pad deepened the shine and the richness of the black stem.

I buffed the stem with White Diamond and gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a soft flannel buff to raise the shine. The final two photos show the top and underside of the stem the shine is rich enough that the flash is shown reflected in the surface of the stem. The hole is solidly repaired and the tooth marks on the underside of the stem no longer show. The edge of the button has been sharpened as well to distinguish between the stem surface and the button. The finished stem looks as if it was never damaged though under a bright light the spots are slightly visible if you know what you are looking for. The stem is now ready to be put into service. The proof of the durability of the patch will be seen over time as the pipe is smoked and used. On other stem repairs like this I have never had a problem with durability and I am hoping for the same with this stem.

A Custombilt Lovat Reborn

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Blog by Steve Laug

I found this pipe on a recent pipe hunt in the US. It was sitting in a locked cabinet in an antique mall just waiting to be found. It has a long round shank with a saddle stem so it fits the description of a Lovat. It is a large pipe however – approximately 6 inches long. The combination of rustication and smooth is attractive. It has the standard Custombilt rustication but for some reason on this old pipe it looks more refined and less clunky (good scientific term, LOL!) than the other Custombilts and CustomBilts that have passed through my hands. I have several Custom Bilt or Custom-Bilt pipes stamped with a separation or a capital B on bilt. I remembered reading Bill Unger’s book on CustomBilt pipes and knew that the change of stamping reflected a change in the company. I turned to one of my reference sources – Pipedia, to see what they said. Here is the link to the full article by Rich Essermann http://pipedia.org/wiki/Custom-Bilt I quote from that article below:

“In 1946, the name was changed to Custombilt after Mincer began an association with Eugene J. Rich, Inc. There were some big changes in advertising and distribution. The slogan “AS INDIVIDUAL AS A THUMBPRINT” began at this time as well.”

“In the early 1950’s, Tracy Mincer developed severe financial problems that caused him to stop making the Custombilt, and he lost the name. In 1953, Leonard Rodgers bought the company and emphasized tobacco pouches and butane lighters. (However, it appears Mincer was working on his new pipe, the Doodler.) In 1968, Rodgers sold the Company to Consolidated Cigars. In the early 1970s, Wally Frank Co. bought the Custombilt trademark and began to produce their version of the pipe in 1974 or 1975. Hollco Rohr owned the Weber pipe factory, located in New Jersey, and produced the Custombilt pipes there. In 1987, the pipes were made out of the Butz-Choquin factory (France) and then Mexico until the late 1990s. Currently, the Custombilt name is owned by Tobacalera of Spain.”

From the above information it seems that the pipe I have could have been made between 1946 and 1953 if it is one made by Tracy Mincer. Otherwise it could have been made during the 1970’s. In my opinion the more refined less classic Mince CB look of the pipe, the variations on the rustication pattern from the bowl to the shank, the type and look of the stem all lead me to put it in the later era – the 1970s and attribute its manufacture to Wally Frank and Company. I may be wrong but that is my read on this particular Custombilt Lovat.

The pipe I found was in very good shape. The stem was slightly oxidized and had some roughness like it had never been finished well. There was no bite or tooth marks or tooth chatter on the stem. The interior of the stem and shank were also clean. The briar in the shank was unstained and looked new. The bowl had a very light cake. The finish was virgin/natural and originally had probably been oiled or just waxed. There was no stain coat or lacquer/varnish coat. Whew! The stamping on the pipe is simple. On the left side of the shank it is stamped Custombilt over Imported Briar. On the underside of the shank it is stamped with the shape number 12 running horizontally next to the stem/shank union.

The closeup photo below shows the top of the rim with its unique rustication and the state of the bowl. The rim is in great shape and the bowl is fairly clean. I cleaned out the shank and the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol to remove the light oils and tars. It took very little effort to clean this pipe. I gave it a light reaming with the PipNet reamer and took it back to bare wood so that whoever ends up with this pipe can break in and build an even cake of their own. I scrubbed the rusticated areas on the bowl and shank with a tooth-brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap. The grooves and crevices had a buildup of dust in them that dulled the finish. After scrubbing I rinsed the pipe under running water to remove the soap. I put my thumb over the bowl to keep the interior dry. The next series of four photos show the bowl after the rinse and dry. The grooves are clean and the pipe is ready for the next step in its cleanup.

I use a plastic washer that I made out of a bread tab between the shank and the stem to allow me to sand up against the shank without damaging the finish and without rounding the shoulders of the stem or shank. It works like a charm and I have several of these that I have punched with a variety of holes to fit different tenon sizes. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the roughness and followed that with a medium and fine grit sanding sponge. Once I had smoothed out the roughness of the stem I moved on to sanding with micromesh sanding pads. I followed my usual method of wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil between each set of three pads.

I rubbed the bowl down with a paper towel and a dab of olive oil to bring the natural finish of the bowl back to life before I buffed it. I rubbed it down and let the oil dry overnight. In the morning I buffed the pipe and stem with White Diamond and gave the bowl a light buff of carnauba and then rubbed it down with some Halcyon II Wax. I gave the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. The finished pipe is shown below.

The final three photos give a close up view of the bowl and stem from various angles. There is something quite attractive about this particular Custombilt. It has a dignity that draws me to it.

Refreshing an Older Heritage Antique #13 Dublin Pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

The Heritage brand was on I had no familiarity with until Andrew wrote up this blog for us https://rebornpipes.com/2014/12/23/refurbishing-a-heritage-heirloom/ He gave background, history, line information and the classic brochure from the company. I want to give a brief summary of what he found in the next two short paragraphs to set the stage for the one that I found once he highlighted the brand for me.

Heritage pipes were Kaywoodie’s answer to Dunhill. According to one of their brochures, Heritage pipes were made from “briar burls seasoned and cured for up to 8 months,” with only “one briar bowl in over 300 selected to bear the Heritage name.” “Heritage stems are custom fitted with the finest hand finished Para Rubber stems. Mouthpieces are wafer thin and concave.”

The Heritage line began in the early 1960’s, with the trademark issued in 1964. The line was started at the request of Stephen Ogdon, (who worked for Kaywoodie in 1962). Mr. Ogdon had previous experience working for Dunhill, either running the New York store or working for Dunhill North America. Mr. Ogden was made President of Heritage Pipes, Inc., Kaywoodie Tobacco Co.,Inc. and Kaywoodie Products Inc. as well as a Vice President of S.M. Frank & Co. Heritage Pipes were produced from 1964 until 1970 (Source Kaywoodie.myfreeforum.org).

I found one online on Ebay that was stamped Heritage Antique 13. I scanned the brochure that Andrew provided and found this regarding the Antique Line: The Heritage Antique line is characterized by “Rustic Grain stands out in rugged relief.” “This pipe is so bold-looking, yet so light and smooth-smoking. A special sandblasting process exposes a greater surface area on the bowl, giving a cooler, more satisfying smoke. Centuries-old Heritage Antique is strikingly masculine in appearance.”The number 13 is the shape number for the Dublin shape. It can be seen in the first coloumn second pipe down on the left side of the brochure page below. The seller of the pipe I picked up on EBay included some basic information on the pipe. The said the stamping was Heritage Antique with a 13 on the bottom of the shank. The stem has an inlaid double white diamond on the left side. It is out of a Kansas City estate. It measures:
5-1/2 inches Long
1-3/4 Inches High Bowl
1-1/4 inches Bowl Width
3/4 inch of a Bowl Bore
3 inch long stem

The next eight photos were included with the EBay advert and give a pretty good idea of the type of blast on the briar as well as a good picture of the state of the stem. The pictures show the colour of the pipe in a more red hue than it actually appeared when it arrived. In reality the stain is a brown tone similar to that of the Dunhill Shell Briar.

When the pipe arrived in Canada I was very pleased when I opened the box. The briar was in good but dirty condition and it appeared that the finish was in great shape under the grime and tars. The blast was amazing and craggy – very much like that on my older Shell Briars. The rim had some buildup on it that was flaking off but the bowl was in round and there was no damage to the edges of the rim.

The stem was thin and quite clean. It was oxidized and had some waxy substance on the top side. There were two tooth marks – almost pin prick marks, on the underside of the stem visible in the first photo below. The second photo shows the waxy buildup on the surface of the stem and the oxidation.

The rim of the pipe, shown in the photo below had a thick buildup of tars that were flaking off the surface of the rim. I picked at it with a dental pick and could see that the sandblast surface was undamaged underneath. The bowl was in need of a reaming to smooth out the uneven cake on the sides and bottom of the bowl. The stem was frozen in the shank so a short time in the freezer and the stem was easily removed from the shank. The step down tenon was in great shape and showed no damage and the tenon itself was not tarry. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet Reamer beginning with the first cutting head and finishing with the size 2 cutting head. I reamed it back to bare wood to restart the cake build up.

I picked the flaky buildup on the rim with a dental pick and the scrubbed it with a soft bristle brass tire brush to remove all the grit and take it back to the surface of the rim. I have used this method over years as the bristles remove the tars without damaging the sandblasted surface. Once I had the surface brushed clean with the wire brush I scrubbed the entire bowl and shank with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to get the grime out of the crevices of the blast and remove the oils from the previous owners hands. Once I had scrubbed it I put my thumb in the bowl and rinsed it off with cool water and dried with a cotton cloth. I put the stem back in place and set up the retort. I filled the test tube half full of 99% isopropyl alcohol and heated the alcohol over a tea candle. The alcohol boiled through the pipe and cleaned out the tars and oils in the stem and shank. The alcohol also rinsed the inside of the bowl which was plugged with a cotton ball.

With the inside of the pipe cleaned and the exterior of the briar scrubbed it was time to address the oxidation and the marks on the stem. I put a plastic washer between the stem and shank so that I could sand the stem right up to the shank without worrying about rounding the shoulders of the stem. I sanded it lightly with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the waxy buildup on the stem (turns out it was a varnish) and also loosen the surface oxidation. I followed that by sanding with a medium and fine grit sanding sponge to remove scratching and oxidation.

Once the stem was sanded, I wiped it down with a cotton pad and alcohol in preparation for repairing the two tooth marks. I filled these with black super glue and set aside the stem to let the glue cure. When the glue had dried I sanded the two spots with 220 grit sandpaper and the two sanding sponges to smooth out the patches and blend them into the vulcanite. I then sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil between each set of three pads and also at the end of the sanding process.

I buffed the stem with White Diamond and gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax. I rubbed two coats of Halcyon II Wax on the sandblast of the bowl and then gave the pipe and stem a light buff with a soft flannel buff to raise the shine. The next photos give a clear picture of the finished pipe.

I end with three close-up photos of the bowl to give a good idea of the quality of the sandblast on this piece of briar. It is a stunning pipe with a blast that rivals that found on the Dunhill Shells that are in my collection. I intend to fire up this old pipe and enjoy its trust for many years to come.

Restoring pleasant lines on a damaged stem – home grown hack job repaired

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Blog by Steve Laug

I have wanted to focus a blog on reshaping a damaged stem for a while now but did not have either the stem or examples I needed to document the process. The Everton pipe I restored recently provided the example and it was a matter of documenting the process in a broad way that was applicable to whatever stem you may have that needed to be reworked. So while the photos may be the same as those used in that blog on the Everton the documentation regarding the stem reshaping and restoration is a newly written blog.

If a stem is too thick to your liking please don’t afflict the kind of horror on it that this older BC pipe experienced at the hands of a previous owner. Obviously the stem felt too thick to his liking and he took matters into his own hands. Hey, what’s to lose? It is just a matter of cutting back the thickness to the degree it meets the expectations right? Wrong! In many, many ways that is just wrong. It is far more than just hacking off material to get the “right” thickness. The taper needs to be adjusted, the flow and lines of the pipe stem need to be considered in the process. Trying to keep the surface smooth and not rippled are just some of the challenges. Well, this individual figured that cosmetics, flow and appearance made no difference whatsoever as long at the thing felt better. In my mind the cosmetics are not mere accoutrements to the functionality they actually facilitate the functionality. A smooth surface in the mouth feels better and is far more sanitary that the rough ridged and hacked surface visible below. The stem “surgeon/hacker” had inflicted far more damage to the underside of the stem that he had to the topside. But both bore marks of his inordinate attention. The top of the stem had a flattened appearance that ruined the crowned look of the old vulcanite stem. It had deep gouges and marks from files and knives but the “hacker” had partially smoothed these out. Against the button there were some deep marks. It was a sheer miracle that the hard rubber was high quality and did not oxidize over time. To address this kind of issue with a stem looking at repair you are left with two options – repair or reshape. To repair would involve filling the surface grooves with black superglue or epoxy and vulcanite dust. To reshape would involve more work in changing the profile of the stem to remove the damage, to retaper the stem and flow to make the transitions smooth. The choice of method really is affected by the thickness of the stem material. Would there be enough meat to the stem to allow for reshaping and reinventing the stem without compromising the strength and integrity of the stem?

Because of the thickness of this stem I decided to reshape it rather than repair it. Even the deepest gouges could be removed and the look and flow of the stem adjusted to look very close to the original. The adjustments would also make the thickness in the mouth better. I started the process with 180 grit sandpaper. Some would think that grit was overkill but the overall damage to the stem surfaces demanded this drastic grit to cut deeply enough to remove the damage. I sanded it enough to remove the surface cuts on the top and bottom sides. In the photos below of the underside and topside of the stem the deep gouges remain and are visible. You can see the angularity and randomness of the cuts that had been made. Add to that the lighter cuts that are gone with the initial sanding and you have some idea of the ugliness of this hack job.

I continued to sand with the 180 grit sandpaper until the majority of the gouges were smoothed out. There were still several that would require more work with a higher grit of sandpaper. I moved on to sanding the stem with 220 grit sandpaper. I moved up this amount because there was still significant damage to remove but also because that incremental step up in grits really minimizes the scratches left behind by the 180 grit paper. The next two photos show the change after sanding with the 220 grit paper. The grooves on the underside have all disappeared save one deep gouge that will soon disappear. The ones on the topside are all gone and the surface is once again curved, tapered and smooth.

I worked on the groove on the underside of the stem with the 220 grit paper until it was gone. I also worked on the tapered edges of the stem to remove the cuts and gouges along the edges and smooth out the taper. The two photos below show the transition from the groove being gone and the edges being rough to a smooth flowing underside of the stem – gouge-less and well tapered.

With the rough shaping done it was time to fine tune the reshaping. In the next step of the process I use a medium and fine grit sanding sponge to smooth out the flow and lines of the stem. I cut the sanding sponges into 1 inch squares to allow me to work closely against the button and follow the curve of the stem. These sanding sponges remove the scratching left behind by the 220 grit paper and move the stem a step closer to polishing. While I only show one photo of this step it is probably one that I spent the most time on. It is important to work the surface to remove as much scratching as possible before polishing the stem with micromesh sanding pads. The initial reshaping took about 45-60 minutes. This sanding took 60-80 minutes to complete. It is easy to remove damage but hard to not create more damage in the process of its removal. With reshaping completed and the surface scratches minimized with the sanding sponges it was time to move to the polishing phase of the process. For this I use micromesh sanding pads. I wet sand with 1500-2400 grit pads. This involves a small bowl of water near at hand when I am sanding with the pad. I used to dip the pad in the water and then sand with the wet pad. Now I dip the stem itself into the water and sand the wet stem. I shifted the method as I found that with repeated dipping the pads began to fall apart and separate from the foam core centre. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil before moving to the dry sanding step of the polishing. I dry sanded the stem with 3200-12,000 grit micromesh sanding pads. Each successive grit of pad really heightens the polish and shine on the vulcanite. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil after using the 4000 grit pad. I then sanded it with the final four pads and finished with a final coat of the oil.

Once it had been absorbed and the stem was dry I buffed the stem with White Diamond. In the bright light of the flash several scratches are still visible from the sanding process on the underside of the stem. I buffed this section with red Tripoli and then back to White Diamond to further erase these scratches. The final photos of the stem show a stem whose taper has been reshaped, whose lines and flow restored and whose stem has been given a finished look. It took patient sanding and reshaping to move the stem from its original corrugated shape to this final polished look but in my mind it was definitely worth the effort. It is also clear that the proper choice or reshaping had been made.

If you should decide to reshape a stem why not aim for doing even better work in shaping and polishing the stem. Never leave a stem in the condition this one was in when I received it. While it was terrible I have seen worse and in the back of mind are residual memories of having inflicted terror to a lesser degree on several of my early restemming jobs. Work hard to reshape a stem to a place where it looks like it was made that way at the factory.

Reworking a horn stem on a Regent Pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

I restored this old horn stem on June 9, 2012 and fit it to an old horn-shaped bowl I had in my box. The bowl is stamped The Regent arched around a star. I wrote about the restoration of the stem and the bowl previously in this post: https://rebornpipes.com/2012/06/09/refurb-on-an-old-the-regent-fit-a-horn-stem-7/ I love the translucence of the horn material. I trimmed off excess horn material to fit the end of the shank. The first photo shows the stem when I started. The next three photos show the stem after I had trimmed it to match the diameter of the shank band.

This holiday season I find that I am out of pipes to restore – I have finished the last of the ones in my box. So during the doldrums of no pipes to refurbish I spent time looking through my collection. I took on the horn stem pipes to look at. I posted on PSU – Pipe Smokers Unlimited – Forum about horn stem pipes. I have quite a few in my collection as I really like the look and feel of a well restored horn stem. I posted the above photos and really did not like the overall look of the stem. It did not seem to flow with the lines of the bowl. In those days I was just starting out on restoring horn stems and I was fearful of ruining the old stem so I did not shape it as aggressively as I do now. I don’t know if it fearlessness or just stupidity but I still am not careless in the work.

I took the pipe out of the cupboard and reworked the stem. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to match the angle of the shank – top and sides. I wanted to take out the bulging look, the pinch at the shank stem union. I took off quite a bit more material until the flow looked better and the bulge was gone. I worked to also straighten the sides of the stem from that junction to the button on the end of the stem. I sanded it with medium and fine grit sanding sponges and a fine grit sanding block to flatten angles from shank to button. I finished by wet sanding with 1200-3200 grit sanding pads and then buffed the stem with White Diamond. I took it back to the work table and dry sanded it with 3600-12,000 grit micromesh sanding blocks. I rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil and then gave the bowl and pipe several coats of carnauba wax. I finished by buffing it with a soft flannel buff until it shone.

The finished pipe is shown below. I like the new look of the stem far better than the previous fitting. The pipe is sitting on my desk now and will be in my rotation for this weekend.

Refurbishing a Heritage Heirloom

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Blog by Andrew Selking

I recently stumbled across the Heritage line of pipes. These pipes were made in the Kaywoodie factory, but on a completely separate line. Heritage pipes were Kaywoodie’s answer to Dunhill. According to one of their brochures, Heritage pipes were made from “briar burls seasoned and cured for up to 8 months,” with only “one briar bowl in over 300 selected to bear the Heritage name.” “Heritage stems are custom fitted with the finest hand finished Para Rubber stems. Mouthpieces are wafer thin and concave.”

The Heritage line began in the early 1960’s, with the trademark issued in 1964. The line was started at the request of Stephen Ogdon, (who worked for Kaywoodie in 1962). Mr. Ogdon had previous experience working for Dunhill, either running the New York store or working for Dunhill North America. Mr. Ogden was made President of Heritage Pi pes, Inc., Kaywoodie Tobacco Co.,Inc. and Kaywoodie Products Inc. as well as a Vice President of S.M. Frank & Co. Heritage Pipes were produced from 1964 until 1970 (Source Kaywoodie.myfreeforum.org).

Here is a copy of the Heritage brochure. (Courtesy Kaywoodiemyfreeforum) The pipe I found was the number 72 Medium Canadian, oval shank. Interestingly, the one thing the Heritage line shared with Kaywoodie was the size and shape numbers. Unlike Kaywoodies, the Heritage pipes are normal push tenons.

When the pipe arrived, it had some tar build up on the rim and a thick layer of cake.

The stem had some oxidation, but minimal chatter.

The finish was in nice condition, so I decided to forgo the alcohol bath and attempt to keep the original finish.

The first thing I did was ream the bowl. I used my Castleford reamer and was delighted to find that the cake was very loose, mostly old tobacco, and it easily cleaned back to the wood. Next I decided to find out how the bad the rim was under the tar build up. After a light buffing with 0000 steel wool, the tar was gone and I could see a pristine rim. Since I was on a roll, I decided to re-tort the shank. I normally show pictures of a brush loaded with gunk, but in this case the brush came clean on the first pass. I proceeded to use some q-tips and fuzzy sticks on the shank. Most of the tar came off with the first couple of q-tips, after that it was just a matter of a few more and the shank was clean. Since I didn’t soak the bowl in alcohol, I decided to soak it with some alcohol soaked cotton balls. While the bowl soaked, I retorted the stem. It was just as clean as the shank (this was the first fuzzy stick I passed through after the retort).This was the cleanest “dirty” pipe I’ve ever had. Since the stem was so clean inside, I skipped the Oxyclean bath and tackled the oxidation. I used my normal progression of 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper with water, followed by 1500-2400 grit micro mesh pads with water. The finish seemed really dark, probably the result of oil from the previous owner’s hands, so I used some 0000 steel wool and acetone to clean the outside of the bowl and shank. The steel wool worked well on the bowl, so I skipped the 1500-2400 grit micro mesh and started at 3200. I used a progression of 3200-12,000 grit micro mesh for the bowl and stem in preparation for the buffing wheel. After an uneventful spin on the buffer, here is the finished pipe.

This line of pipes might be one of the best kept secrets out there. I find that the quality of the stem compares to Dunhills and the wood is spectacular. I highly recommend these pipes.

Cutting back a broken stem – rescuing a potential cast off

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Blog by Steve Laug

When I recut the button on a recent Peterson Shamrock stem I thought I would use the opportunity to go into more detail on how I cut back the stem and shape a new button on the end of the cut off. The photo below shows the state of the stem when I received it. While I had other options in terms of repair of the stem I decided to cut it back. I have a Dremel that is my go to tool for cutting off a stem. Others use a saw – coping or hack saw, but I use the Dremel. The photo below shows the sanding drum that I use. It is pretty coarse sandpaper and makes short work of trimming back the vulcanite or Lucite of a stem. The trick is to hold the stem and the Dremel steady while you work the end of the stem against the sandpaper. Over time I have learned to hold it steady and work the cutting line straight. I take off all of the damaged material so that I have some thickness on the top and bottom of the stem that will accommodate a new button without making the stem too thin in the process. In this case I removed the funneled portion of the airway in the button and what remained was the round airway that would need to be reshaped. The line across the stem is pretty straight considering I do it by eyeballing it rather than using a straight edge.

The next step in the procedure is to cut a straight line equidistance on the top and the bottom of the stem that will be the sharp edge of the button. The outer edge is slightly rough in the photos but that does not matter as that edge will be bevelled toward the airway in the shaping process. I use a flat blade needle file with a square edge for this initial cut.

Before I put the flat blade needle file away I use it to shave some of the material that is directly ahead of the sharp line of the button and begin the tapering process. I follow that up with an emery board to get a feel for the look of the stem and to assess how much material I will remove in the process.

The next step in the process is to shave more of the material away and adjust the angles of the stem to the button. I use a needle file with a knife shaped blade and draw it across the stem toward the button edge. As I draw the file toward the button it peels the material away. I work it from the point on the stem that I have picked as the place where the new taper will begin. I lightly draw it across the upper portion and deepen the cuts the further I go down the stem. I clean up the sharp edge with the straight file once again. I cut a groove in the material next to the button edge that sets the depth of the bottom of the taper. I work the stem angles until they taper directly into the button and the groove disappears. I used 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the file marks and smooth out the transition of the angles to the button. At this point the definition of the button is finished. All that remains is to shape the button and clean up the marks on the material.

I used the oval needle file to open and flare the edges of the airway to open the airways. Once I have the funnel cut I use a folded piece of sandpaper to clean up the file marks in the slot and smooth out the end of the button. I also use the sandpaper to shape the button and taper and round the edges to make the button oval and smooth.

I worked the curve of the underside of the stem to make a smooth and clean angle that matched the curve of the bottom of the bowl of the pipe. I used 220 grit sandpaper, medium and fine grit sanding sponges to reshape the curve. The next two photos show the curve and the shape of the button on the cut off stem.

Once the shaping was finished I sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads. I sanded the blade and the button and slot area of the stem at the same time. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit sanding pads and dry sanded with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I polished the stem with red Tripoli and White Diamond on the wheel and then gave the stem multiple coats of carnauba to polish and raise the shine.

The finished stem is shown below. The goal in the process is to return the stem as near as possible to its original shape and condition. The button shape is determined by photos or by the remnant of the stem prior to being cut off. The buffed and polished stem should look as close as possible to a factory cut stem. While I have done many of these I still feel like I am in the process of learning. The key to the whole thing is to move slowly, carefully and methodically until the stem is finished. Then sand some more and polish some more… I can’t tell you how many times I have gone back after several months of smoking the pipe and doing a bit more reworking until I am happy with the feel in the mouth.

Reviving a Peterson Dunmore 79 with my Son in Law

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Blog by Steve Laug

This past weekend my son in law came over with the Peterson Dunmore pipe that he had purchased on a recent pipe hunt in the US. He picked it up for $15USD so it was a good purchase. We finally got around to working on it. In a previous post on the Dunmore line I had found that the line from Peterson really is a stripped down pipe. The one that we worked on this weekend was in essence a system pipe. The lack of a ferrule is made up for by a stylized carving around the shank end. The stem sits snugly against the end of the shank but is not flush with the diameter of the shank. The saddle on the stem has a slightly different flair than a regular Peterson pipe. It had a Plip stem. It bore the stamping Peterson’s over “Dunmore” on the left side of the shank and Made in the Republic of Ireland and the number 79 on the right side of the shank.

The pipe was in pretty decent shape under the grime and tars on the bowl and rim. It had some beautiful birdseye grain under the grime that would really stand out with a bit of work. The rim was damaged along the back outer edge with small nicks. The build up on the rim was hard and uneven. The bowl itself was out of round and would need to be adjusted. The stem was oxidized but under the oxidation on the saddle it bore the stylized P stamp. The top of the stem near the button had a few small bite marks and some tooth chatter. The underside of the stem near the button had a pin hole in it that would need to be patched.

While my son in law, Lance worked on the bowl scrubbing and cleaning it I worked on the stem. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the tooth marks. I wiped it down with alcohol to clean the areas around the hole. I daubed Vaseline on a pipe cleaner and inserted it from the tenon end of the stem and then used black superglue to repair the hole. I gave it several coats of glue to build up the repair, sprayed it with accelerator and let it dry between applications. Once I had the patch solidly in place I set it aside and let it cure. After curing for about 30 minutes I sanded the patch with 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the surface of the stem. I sanded it with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge to remove the scratches and further blend it.

Lance worked on the bowl while this was going on. He washed down the bowl with acetone on cotton pads to remove the grime and the remaining finish on the pipe. He softened the buildup on the rim surface and then lightly topped the bowl to remove the damage and the buildup. Once it was smooth, he sanded it with a fine grit sanding sponge and then wiped the bowl down with another wash of acetone. We gave the bowl a coat of medium walnut stain mixed with Danish Oil and rubbed it onto the bowl and off again with a soft cotton pad. The bowl looked good when I had finished wiping it down and buffing it with a shoe brush. The grain is quite stunning.

I buffed the stem with red Tripoli and White Diamond to remove more of the oxidation. I rubbed it down with some Obsidian Oil and set it aside for the pictures below. At this point in the refurbishing the stem is looking quite good. I still need to sand with micromesh pads and then reapply the gold in the P stamp on the left side of the stem.

I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh pads and then dry sanded with 3200-12,000 grit pads. In between each set of three pads I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil. I finished by buffing the stem with White Diamond and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a soft flannel buffing pad.

After sanding it with 3200-4000 grit pads I used a gold paint and applied it to the P logo on the stem and then sanded it again with the same three grits of pad.

I put the stem back in the shank and buffed the entire pipe with carnauba wax and with a soft flannel buffing pad. The finished pipe is shown below. The first four photos give a close up look at the bowl so that you can appreciate the beautiful grain on the pipe. The last four photos show the pipe in its entirety. It is truly a stunning piece of briar with no fills or pits. It is ready for its inaugural smoke by my son in law. It looks as good as new and the stunning birdseye grain gives the pipe a rich look. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of his restored pipe and even more what he thinks once he has smoked it.