Tag Archives: waxing

Carving one of my own

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Every so often I get the urge to carve a pipe of my own. I have done it from scratch, drilling the airway and bowl but often it is just as much fun for me to buy a pre-drilled block with its own stem and rework it into something I like. The pictures and essay below will take you through my process with a pipe I picked up off EBay for almost nothing. When you look at it some of you will recognize that for awhile in the 80’s and maybe earlier Singleton sold these pipes as Caveman Pipes. They were rough and were stained and waxed, stamped Singleton Caveman pipes and sold as is. I have always thought that they were ugly and looked unfinished. This one just begged to be reshaped – at least that is the excuse I gave when the package arrived and my wife commented on “yet another pipe”.

The first four photos give a good sense of what it looked like when it arrived at my house. It was a fairly small piece of briar and there was no way of knowing what lay beneath the surface of the block. It was stained and waxed. The stem was oxidized a bit but it did not matter as I was going to reshape it and make it my own. The last photo of the four shows the Caveman stamping I was referring to earlier.

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I took out my Dremel with the larger sanding drum, replaced the sandpaper cylinder with a new one and began the process of removing the briar and making a shape that I liked and that I felt the briar held inside. The next three photos show the block with much of the briar removed and a shape is beginning to come out. I bring it to this point in the shaping process with the Dremel and the sanding drum. It works great for me. Some of you may notice the nicks from the Dremel on the saddle of the stem. Those are a pain but I was not worrying too much about it as I planned to shape the stem a bit more as well and those would disappear in the process. Also note, the shank is still not the diameter of the saddle on the stem at this point. From this stage one I do the shaping by hand with 100 grit sandpaper. It makes short work of the remaining excess briar. You will also see some burn marks at the bowl shank junction from the sanding drum – nothing that will not sand off. There are also sand pits and flaws beginning to show up in the surface of the briar.

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Much sanding went on before I took the next series of three photos. I used the 100 grit sandpaper to remove much of the excess and then progressed to 220 and 240 grit sandpaper to bring the shape to the stage in these photos. I also sanded the saddle of the stem and the edges of the blade to match the line of the shank. I wanted the flow to be uninterrupted by the juncture of the two materials and I wanted the transition to be smooth. There were many sand pits visible at this time on the sides, top and bottom of the bowl and the shank. It is always a bit of pain to get to this point in the shaping and sanding and not be able to get rid of them. This left me with a bit of a quandary. What should I do to get the best finish on this pipe? I dislike fills and did not want to use putty in any form on this pipe. I figured the next bet would be to rusticate the pipe and give it an interesting texture for the prestained finish.

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I used a tool that I fashioned out of a fistful of galvanized nails, a piece of steel pipe, a cap and nipple coupling. It looks like the photos below. It is the tool on the left. I also used a florist’s frog (pictured on the right) to give the finished surface a different touch.

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Before I used the tool on the surface of the briar, I wrapped the saddle of the stem and a 1/8th inch band with black electrical tape. I wanted to protect the saddle and the small band of briar from being rusticated with the tool. It is a work horse but is not subtle in its deep cuts. I wrap the cap end with a thick towel to protect my hand when I pushed the points of the nails into the briar. I pushed the head into the briar and twisted the tool back and forth to cut the surface of the briar and roughen it. The next series of four photos show the rusticated surface of the pipe after I finished with the nails and also after I rubbed the florist’s frog across the surface to knock off high points. I was aiming for a finish that has the look of aged leather so I wanted no roughness left but I wanted a crinkled, wrinkled look to the briar.

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The next two photos show the pipe after I gave it a black understain. I used black aniline stain and applied it with a dauber. Once the pipe was covered I used a lighter to flame the stain to set it deeply in the briar. My goal was to have the black stain set deeply into the crevices of the rustication once I had buffed it. (I have learned that when I am staining to always start with the darkest stain and work toward the final lighter coat.) Once the stain was dry I took it to my buffer and buffed it with Tripoli. The buffer removed all of the black stain from the smoother, higher surfaces and the band next to the stem and the rim. The only black stain remaining was in the crevices and pits in the briar. At that point I restained the pipe with a medium brown aniline stain and flamed it as well. I took it to the buffer and this time buffed with Tripoli and White Diamond. I wanted the brown to give a top coat and allow the black to show through. I also wanted to smooth the surface a little to make it smooth in the hand.

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The final series of photos show the finished pipe. I think I achieved the look of old worn leather I was aiming for with this rustication and staining. I worked on the stem and smoothed it out with 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper and water. Once the scratches were gone I worked through the usual regimen of micromesh pads from 1500 to 6000 grit. These gave the stem a good polished look. I finished it on the buffer with White Diamond and multiple coats of carnauba. The bowl was waxed with Halcyon 2 wax so that I could avoid the wax build up from carnauba in the crevices of the rustication. I gave the entirety a final buff with a clean flannel buffing pad. This one has become a favourite smoker of mine. It is perfect size to fit in my jacket pocket and it is a veritable furnace for good Virginia Flake tobacco.

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Edwards Contour or Criterion Restoration

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I found this old Edwards pipe while I was visiting a small community in Washington in the US. My wife and I were away for our 36th wedding anniversary and always love visiting second hand shops and antique malls. We must have visited a dozen or more shops on that trip. This older Edwards pipe was in the last shop we visited. It was an interesting shape and intrigued my eye. I made an offer for it and it soon became mine.

Once I got home I decided to refurbish it as one of the first I dealt with. I am not sure of the name of the particular Edwards line this one came from but on one of the online forums someone thought that it belonged to either the Contour or Criterion line. He had pointed out that the lines were carved in France but the only sign of that was that the word France was usually stamped on the underside of the stem. However, on this one there was no stamping on the stem – no France or other name, just smooth brown oxidation. The stem also had tooth marks on the top near the button and a very prominent dent on the underside of the stem near the button. The finish on the pipe was dirty but in great shape. There were no dents or scratches and the pipe seemed to have been well cared for. Edwards did not stain their pipes as is evidenced by the natural finish on this one. The rim was probably the most potentially problematic area on the pipe. It was tarred, caked and possibly charred on the bevel inward.

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I reamed the bowl and cleaned the inside of the bowl and the shank. I wiped down the entire pipe with undiluted Murphy’s Oil soap on a cotton pad and removed the grime and old waxes. I scrubbed the bevelled rim with the oil soap as well to remove the tars and the surface carbons. I used some 1500 and 1800 grit micromesh to remove the rest of the tars and bring it back to a smooth surface. I was pleased to see that there was not any charring or burn to the surface of the rim and once cleaned it looked pristine. The pipe has not been stained but had a natural finish so I buffed and polished the rim and the rest of the surface of the pipe to get the shine back. While I was at the buffer I also buffed the stem with Tripoli to break up the oxidation and then took it back to my work table. At the table I used nail polishing sticks (these are fingernail polishing stick and come with micromesh sandpaper on a foam stick) to sand out the bite marks on the top and underside of the stem. I worked with the 1500-6000 grit micromesh pads to polish the stem and remove the remaining oxidation. A folded pad worked well to sand in the grooves of the stem to give even that area a clean glow. I coated it with Obsidian Oil and once it was dry I buffed the entirety with several coats of carnauba wax.

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A WDC Milano Hesson Guard Reworked

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I just worked over this old timer – A WDC Milano Hesson Guard. In order to know more about the pipe I was working on I searched for information regarding the patent number stamped on the pipe and went to the US Patent site where I found documentation. The patent was filed for it in 1932. It is an early example of the pipe. It is in the acorn shape. It has the patent number stamped on it as well as the other WDC labels. The triangle on the stem is silver or steel inlay. For me this is a part of the mystery of unpacking the history and life of the brand and mark. I always like to know as much of the back story as I can find on any of the pipes I refurbish. Patent numbers stamped on the pipe provide a means of ferretting out information on the design and the particular part of the pipe that is patented. I have included the patent site information on the pipe for your reading pleasure. At least to me this part is fascinating information.

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The pipe was caked with a crumbly thick cake that pretty much filled the bowl when I picked it up. I reamed it out to field dress the pipe. I generally do this with most of the pipes I bring home for renewal. It keeps the mess of the carbon from the cake outside and away from my work desk. In the photos below you can see that the finish was pretty dirty with a lot of hand oils and grease ground into the bowl surface. The rim was caked and tarred and it looked like it was damaged. The finish was worn and the stain faded in many places on the bowl sides. The stem was oxidized and had some bubbles in the surface along the button – the bubbles are visible near the button in the second photo below.

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I scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil soap, undiluted. I wipe it on with a cotton cloth and immediately wipe it off. Others have said that it removes the stain if left to long and it does indeed do that. But I have found it unsurpassed in quickly removing grime and grease if rubbed on and rubbed off quickly. I worked on the rim as well with a soft bristle tooth brush and the oil soap to remove the buildup. Once that was done I put it in the alcohol bath and removed the finish that was on it. It seemed to have had some built up waxes and also some kind of varnish coat over the stain. It came off with a bit of elbow grease after soaking. I decided to not stain this pipe as the briar looked great as it was. I just sanded it with the micromesh pads to polish it and remove the surface scratches. Then I took it to the buffer to give it a buff with White Diamond.

I worked on the stem while the bowl soaked in the bath. I soaked it in the Oxyclean mixture for a while to soften the oxidation. I dried it and buffed it with Tripoli to remove the surface oxidation. I sanded it with 240 grit sandpaper to get the deeper oxidation. I also had to lift a few tooth marks from the underside of the stem near the button. I used the heat gun to do that. The bubble on the top of the stem also was heated to try to smooth it out. It was evidently not a blister but a bump from teeth. It went back in place with the heat. I sanded the remaining signs of bite with 240 grit sandpaper and then 400 and 600 grit wet dry and water. I finished it with the normal regimen of 1500-6000 grit micromesh pads to polish. I put it back on the bowl and then gave the entirety a buff with White Diamond to polish it and finished the restoration with several coats of carnauba wax.

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Restored a Comoy’s Tradition from the 50’s

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I have been looking for a Comoy’s pipe in the higher grades since I read a thread on Smokers Forums on the various grades of Comoy’s. On my anniversary trip to the States I came across a nice Tradition at an antique store. With a little bit of haggling the pipe and three others became mine (in the picture below the top pipe is an older Edwards that I picked up the next day at a different shop).

Please forgive the blurry pictures in the next foursome, I was too hurried to get at the clean up and restoration and did not focus them well. They are clear enough to see that the finish was in pretty good shape. The bowl was thickly caked and the rim was gummed up and looked to be dented. The stem was clean but oxidized and had tooth marks on the top of the stem near the button and on the underside in a matching pattern. I did a bit of field dressing to the pipe last evening while we were at the hotel, cleaned the stem and the inside of the shank with Isopropyl alcohol and also sanded the stem with a piece of 240 grit sand paper and some micromesh pads I had in my bag. (I know – it was my anniversary but I had thrown my book bag in from work and when I opened it I found the sanding disks. I have them in the bag when I have a break at work and want to get outside and have a pipe and work on one I have with me.) My wife was occupied with talking to the kids on the phone and looking through her purchases from the days shopping. So I had about an hour to do a bit of work!

I wiped down the top of the bowl with some Murphy’s Oil Soap (undiluted) on a cotton facial cleansing pad I picked up in the US. I had read about that on a post by Alan (Castana on SF) and they work very well. I applied the soap and removed it three times to soften and remove the grime. Once it was gone I found that the rim itself was pretty pristine. Just a little bit of wear on the chamfering on the right front. I reamed and cleaned the bowl and shank. I also used the micromesh pads (1500 and 1800 grit) on the rim and then restained the rim only with a dark brown aniline stain, wiped on and buffed off to match the bowl.

I worked on the stem next. It had bite marks on the top and bottom side near the button. I heated the stem and raised them as far as I could with heat then sanded out the remaining marks. To sand them I used 240 grit sandpaper first then used a fingernail sanding board that I picked up at Walmart this afternoon before coming home. It is pictured below in several of the pictures with the stem. It worked extremely well to remove the remaining tooth marks in the stem. I cleaned the oxidation with micromesh pads (1500-6000 grit) and put it back on the pipe to give it a buff with some Tripoli before returning to finish the polishing with the micromesh pads. I gave the stem a coat of Obsidian Oil and let it soak in before taking the whole pipe to the buffer to buff it lightly with White Diamond and several coats of carnauba wax.

Here is the finished pipe. I have been researching the stamping on this one. I found out that the stamping dates it to the early 1950’s. It is stamped in a circle with “Made” at the top, “In” in the middle and “London” at the bottom with “England in a straight line beneath. From the Derek Green’s History of Comoy’s Article I quote: “I believe this stamp was first used in the export drive in the early 1950’s and I have not seen any pre WW11 Comoy’s stamped in this way”.
http://www.derek-green.com/comoy_history03.htm

Restemmed Red Point Capped Bent

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

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

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

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

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A Nice, Older Henley Billiard Restored

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This old Henley Billiard was made by Masta Pipe Company of England and came to me in pretty clean condition. It is older and the Bakelite stem has an orifice button/airway. You can see from the picture below that the bowl was a little out of round and a small burn on the rim near the shank. It also had an overturned bone tenon. The stem had several gouges and deep scratches. Other than the finish was in great shape and in need of a polish and buff.

I heated the bone tenon as I have described in other blog articles by heating it in a bowl of boiling water. I heated it and screwed it back into the shank and tried to twist it. I repeated the process until it freely turned. I lined it up straight and then ran cold tap water over it to cool it and set the glue again. I cleaned up the dents and gouges with heat to raise them as far as I could and then sanded and filled them with a small amount of clear super glue. Then I sanded them with 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper until they were smooth and polished the stem using micromesh pads up to 4000grit.

I cleaned and reamed the bowl and cleaned the shank with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol. I used a folded piece of sand paper to even out the inner edge of the bowl and bring it back into round. I did this carefully so as not to scratch the finish. When I had it back to round it was time to polish it. I put the stem back on the pipe and the entirety was taken to the buffer for a final buff with White Diamond. This one was in relatively good shape other than the stem.

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Here is the finished pipe, ready to load and smoke.

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Pulling a Broken Tenon

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Over the years I have had my share of broken tenons to remove. Some of them came from carelessness on my part but others I purchased that way. I took pictures of the process I use on two different pipes recently. The first was a little Barling with a broken tenon and a chewed stem. I ended up restemming this one. The second one was a Peterson 999 with a broken tenon that I hope to reuse the stem by drilling/tapping and inserting a new tenon to refit it.

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Insert a screw part way into the airway on the broken tenon in the shank of the pipe. I use a dry wall or gyprock screw. I turn the screw in by hand. I do not want to expand the tenon at all I just want the screw to have a little bite to it so that I can use it to pull the tenon out by hand or with a pair of needle nose pliers. In this case in both pipes I was not able to pull out the tenon easily. Many times I am able to pull it out in a matter of seconds using this method. But both of these were exceptionally tight and immovable. I put them both in the freezer for an hour as I know that vulcanite and briar contract at different rates with a change in temperature. After an hour I removed the Barling from the freezer and was able to pull the broken tenon out very easily. I then unscrew the broken piece and lay it aside to use for a match on the new tenon I will cut as a replacement. It helps me to eyeball the fit. I also measure the mortise and set the tenon turner as closely as possible to the measurements. I then take the broken piece and slide it on the tenon turner to check the fit.

The tenon on the Peterson however, still did not budge after an hour in the freezer. I left it in for another half hour. Still it did not budge. I then dripped Isopropyl alcohol into the exposed mortise and hoped that it would work as a solvent to break the tenon free. I repeated this several times and left the pipe sitting with alcohol in it over night. The next morning the tenon still did not move.

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I decided to not fiddle around with trying to pull the tenon. I used my small drill bit and began to drill out the tenon. I never start with the exact size of the tenon but rather work with the size of the airway and work my way up. I have found that in the process of working through the bits the tenon inevitably breaks loose or crumbles to pieces. In this case, by the time I got to the third drill bit, when I reversed it the tenon came out with the bit. You will notice that I also flattened the broken portion of the tenon on the stem so that the surface was flat and smooth. I wanted it to be ready for when I would drill it out or tap to receive the new tenon that I have ordered.

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As I close this essay I want to just mention a couple of reminders:

  1. Do not turn the screw into the airway to deeply as it does expand the airway and can actually crack the shank on the pipe. BE CAREFUL and go slowly.
  2. Do not use a tool to turn the screw into the airway – do it by hand so you can feel the progress and the bite before damage is done.
  3. If the tenon is stuck and immoveable in the first try put the pipe in the freezer for an hour or more to expand and contract the tenon and mortise. This usually works to break it free.
  4. Should you have to drill it out – use a bit a little larger than the airway to begin the process and work your way up to larger bits. Do not use a drill bit that is the size of the mortise lest you damage the mortise.
  5. Use a T handle hand drill not a power drill to do this as you can easily drill right through the bowl and ruin the pipe.

Refurb on a Two Point Billiard – Gnawed Stem

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This is the second Two Point pipe that I had in my box to be refurbished. It obviously was owned by the same pipe man as the little Lovat as evidenced by the matching bite marks. The pipe had an uneven cake in the bowl making the bowl conical even though it was U-shaped in reality under the cake. The rim was dirty and tarred but not damaged with dents or knock marks. The finish was spotty and uneven so the bowl would need to be stripped and restained for good coverage. The biggest problem can be seen in the first two pictures below: the stem was very badly chewed. In the first picture it can be seen that the top of the stem had several deep bite marks and the button was eliminated on the left side. It was more of an upward slope to the tip than the sharp angular edge that was originally there. The round cap of the top of the p-lip button was smoothed out and no longer crowned. In the second picture you can see that the bottom tooth marks and bite throughs had been repaired with what appeared to be epoxy that was fairly caked on the stem tip to the point that the lip line and the button were gone. What remained was a working stem that had no beauty to my eye.

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The third and fourth photos show the profile of the button and it can be seen to have been virtually eliminated with the slope of the epoxy on the bottom edge and the chewed top edge. You can also see the state of the finish on the pipe. The spottiness and grime that covered the outside of the bowl are visible. Obviously this was a good smoking pipe that the previous owner cobbed a repair on so that he could continue to enjoy smoking it.

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The next two photos are enlarged to show the state of the stems. The first one shows the top of the stem and you can see the two large dents (interestingly they are in the same place as those on the other Two Point pipe).You can also see the wearing away of the edge of the button to a slope. The crown is also flattened. The second shows the underside of the stem and the remaining two dents – one next to the button on the bottom half of the stem and the second inward from that dent. You can also clearly see the epoxy patch that fills the bite through and the button. The usual line that separates the button on the p-lip from the stem is gone. To repair these two surfaces the dents need to be raised and the holes filled to the point where it is possible to cut a new button on the top and the bottom. The crown will need to be built up a bit and the epoxy patch hidden or blended into the black of the stem.

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I decided to work on the top side of the stem first and heated the surface of the vulcanite to lift the dents as much as possible. Once that was finished I filled what remained of the two dents with black super glue (see the first photo below). The dent next to the button I over filled so that I could have room to recut the edge of the button. When the glue had dried I sanded it back with 240 grit sandpaper to even the surface. I also recut the button edge to give it more of a sharp distinction. The sanded top surface can be seen in the second photo below.

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On the underside of the stem I decided to recut the button and the line with needle files before I refilled the dents and the epoxy patch. I sanded off the extra epoxy to get the surface smooth and level with the surface of the stem. I used 240 grit sand paper to bring the surface down and the needle files to cut the edge on both sides of the line. You can now see that line in the picture below and there is a definite break between the bottom of the p-lip and the stem. It is a duplicate of the button on the Two Point Lovat.

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Once I had that recut the button area I filled the surface of the stem with black super glue as seen in the picture below. I propped it with a pen to keep the surface level as I did not want the super glue to run and pool. I also built up the epoxy patch on the edge of the button as well. Once the glue was dry I sanded the surface and did a bit of work with the needle files to redefine the edges. The second picture below shows the sanded stem with a smooth surface.

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I finished sanding the stem with 400 and 600 grit sandpaper and water and then moved through the micromesh pads from 1500-6000 grit. The trick was to build a black coating on the epoxy patch. This took repeated coats of the black super glue. Once that was complete then the stem could be polished by hand until I finished with the bowl refinishing.

While I had been working on the stem the bowl had been soaking in the alcohol bath. Before dropping it in the bath I had wiped it down with a soft cloth and acetone (fingernail polish remover works very well) to remove the finish and the grime. It was time for it to be removed from the bath so that I could work on it. The three pictures below show the bowl after it has dried off from the alcohol bath. It now needed to be sanded with micromesh to remove any surface scratches and the rim needed to be thoroughly wiped down in preparation for the staining. I sanded and then wiped it down with a soft alcohol soaked cloth and set up the staining area.

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The next four photos show the restained bowl. I used a medium brown aniline based stain (Fiebings Leather Dye) to stain the pipe. Once it was stained I flamed it and buffed it to polish the briar and make the grain stand out. The patterns of birdseye and swirls is quite unique. This is a clean piece of briar – no fills and no problem areas.

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I then put the stem on the pipe and buffed the entirety with White Diamond and carnauba wax to bring it back to a shine. The final four photos show the finished pipe. Pay attention to the stem and button areas as they are now very distinct in the profiles and the build-up on the top and bottom give it back its original shape.

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Rebuilding a chewed and dented stem with super glue

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I just finished reworking this old stem from an Imperial Two Point Made in London Lovat. The stem was very unique in that it is a p-lip design though slotted in the airway. I have a second one that I am working on that has the same stem so I believe this is one of the hallmarks of the Two Point. That being the case I decided to restore the stem rather than cut a new one. You can see the state of the vulcanite from the three pictures below. The first picture is of the top of the stem. There were three major tooth dents in the surface of the stem, two chunks out of the edge of the button and a piece missing out of the edge of the lip of the slot. The second picture is of the underside of the stem. There you can see one major dent from teeth and also several smaller dents. There is also a dent in the edge of the lip of the pipe that has moved the straight line with a dip in it. The third picture shows the slot in the end of the stem, it is a bit out of focus but you can see the missing piece at the left side of the top edge.

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I used my heat gun set on low to lift the dents as much as possible before working on the stem with sandpaper and superglue patches. I cleaned the surfaces of both the top and bottom of the stem after heating and then sanded them with 240 grit sandpaper to remove oxidation and anything that would prohibit the glue from sticking. In the first photo below you can see the two patches on the dents that remained after heating on the underside of the stem and the work that has been done straightening the line. I decided to work on the underside first as it needed a bit less repair. Once the glue was dry I turned the stem over and patched the top side. In the second photo below you can see the super glue patches on the surface of the stem, the two dents on the edge of the button to build up the edge. Once it was dry I planned on using needle files on both top and bottom to sharpen the edge of the button to a crisp restored look.

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The next two photos show the top and bottom surfaces of the stem after sanding with 240 grit sandpaper to bring the glue patches flush with the surface and using the needle files to sharpen the edges of the patched button.

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The next picture (I apologize for the blurriness but I think it still is clear enough to see the point I am making) shows the work that was needed to rebuild the lip of the button on the topside where the chip was. I carefully layered in black superglue making sure not to close off the airway. I used a greased pipe cleaner folded in half in the airway of the slot to provide a base to build on. Once the base was buildt I stood the stem on end and gradually layered in super glue to build up the top edge of the slot. The goal was to return it to a smooth rounded crown with a clean straight slot for the airway.

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The next two pictures show the build up area on the end of the button. It is a shiny black spot in the photo at the bottom right edge of the button. Each one shows a bit more of the build up to give an idea of the process. I would have to recut the edge of the button on the top side when the build up was complete.

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When I had the surface filled to satisfaction I recut the edge of the button with the needle files and also sanded the surface with 240 grit sandpaper and 400 and 600 grit wet dry and water to smooth out the fill. I then proceeded to use my normal list of micromesh pads from 1500-6000 grit to finish the stem. I put the stem back on the pipe and buffed it with White Diamond. I took it back to the work desk and gave it a coat of Obsidian Oil, wiped it off when dry and gave the stem a final coat of carnauba wax. The pictures below show the finished stem. The first one shows the topside and the rebuilt crown of the button. The glare and shadows on the picture do not allow you to see clearly the recut edge but it is straight and clean. The second picture shows the underside of the stem and the crisp straight edge of the button. The final picture is an end shot to show the slot and the curve and flow of the crown of the button.

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Overall I am pleased with the repair and now have a renewed pipe.

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New Life for a Yello Bole Canadian

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On a recent trip to the US to visit my parents I also visited several antique malls in their city. I have three that I usually have on my list when I go there. The one I want to focus on in this post is in an old grain elevator and has three floors of many “antiques” which always surprise me because many are the same age as I am!  Anyway, on the second floor I found a booth with two pipe racks containing over a dozen older pipes. Most were junk in that they had cracked bowls and broken shanks etc. But also in the midst of it was this old Yello Bole Canadian. It had some beautiful briar in it. Yello Bole is the grade down the line for KayWoodie, or so I am told. Pipes that don’t make the grade for KW will often be stamped with the Yello Bole brand. This one was stamped KBB in a cloverleaf on the top of the shank and next to it Yello Bole over honey cured, over imported briar. The stem has the yellow circle inlaid in the vulcanite. If memory serves me correctly this is one of the older pipes in the line.

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The bowl was in pretty clean shape. The yellow coating was still visible in the bowl and the bottom half of the bowl was very clean with just a bit of darkening to the yellow coating. The rim was dirty and dented. There were tars on the rim and some deep scratches to go along with the dents. The bowl however, was still round, it had not been ruined by a reamer going a muck. The stem was oxidized and was slightly brown. There was light tooth chatter but no dents on the surface of the stem. The overall finish of the pipe had light spots and dark spots where the finish seems to have been exposed to light or was wiped down and finish removed. There was no over coat of varnish or of lacquer just solid clean briar with a spotty stain.

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I broke the pipe down as seen in the pictures below. The stinger apparatus can be seen in the pictures. It is an aluminum shovel like contraption with the hole near the tenon and a long shovel like extension that extends through most of the shank. I cleaned out the bowl with an alcohol scrub on cotton swabs and cleaned out the shank with a shank brush, bristle pipe cleaners and fluffy pipe cleaners and alcohol. When they came out clean I worked on the outside of the bowl. I used cotton balls and acetone to wipe down the outside of the bowl and shank. I wanted to remove the rest of the finish so that I could prepare it for restaining. I applied the acetone until the bowl was free of the stain and finish. The pictures below show the cleaned surface of the bowl. I also used the acetone and some 400 and 600 wet dry sandpaper to clean the top of the bowl and rim. A folded piece of sand paper was used on the inner edge of the rim to clean the beveled edge. Before I stained the pipe I decided to clean and polish the stem. I used the Bic lighter method mentioned in an earlier blog post to get rid of the oxidation. In the pictures below the stem has the majority of the oxidation removed using that method. I then used 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper with water and my usual list of micromesh pads from 1500-6000 grit to polish the stem.

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Once the stem was cleaned and polished by hand I inserted it into the bowl and used it to hold the pipe while I restained it. I used a medium brown aniline stain on this pipe to approximate the original stain and to highlight the grain. I applied it with the dauber that came with the stain and then flamed it to set the stain. I then took it to the buffer and buffed it with Tripoli to remove some of the opacity of the medium brown stain and bring the grain to life. Once that was done it was buffed with White Diamond. Both the stem and the bowl were buffed. Care should be exercised in the buffing process to not obliterate the stamping. I use a light touch when buffing around the stamping. The four pictures below show the finished pipe – ready to load with a favourite tobacco and enjoy!

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