by Steve Laug

The next pipe I chose to work on was one that we purchased on 12/28/2024 from as part of an estate that belonged to a pipeman and carver, Byron Harwood from Missoula, Montana, USA. This Olivewood pipe was one of Byron’s own handmade pipes. It is a lovely piece of olivewood that was shaped with an apple bowl that highlighted the grain. The bowl and shank were smooth and highlighted some beautiful grain around the bowl sides and shank. The airway in the mortise and shank are well executed and the draught is very good. The bowl was lightly smoked and there was debris in the bowl. There was some darkening around the inner edge of the bowl and top. The stem is a clear acrylic with spots or bubbles of white that look quite intriguing. It has a great fit to the shank, has been bent to fit the angles of the pipe. The tenon is a white Delrin that is screwed into the stem. The button is fishtail and well finished. The pipe fit well in the hand and had a small bowl but there was a charm to it! Here is what it looked like when Jeff received it. He took some photos of the rim top and bowl from various angles to give me a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. You can see the light cake in the bowl and the darkening and light lava coat on the inner edge and rim top. He also took photos of the stem. It is dirty and has light tooth chatter on both sides at the button. Jeff took some photos of the sides of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos showed grain around the bowl sides. Under the oils and grime it was a nice looking bowl. It is a large pipe with a smooth rim top and heel. Jeff did his usual thorough job cleaning the pipe which I really appreciate because of the freedom it gives me in dealing with pipes. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. The stem was scrubbed with Soft Scrub and had a soak in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. One it was rinsed off, it came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I unpacked it. I took a close up photo of the bowl and rim top to show how clean the pipe was. The stem looked good just some light tooth chatter and marks near the button. Overall the pipe is a beautiful looking piece.I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts. The stem is long but the pipe is mini Churchwarden.I sanded the olivewood bowl with 320-3500 sanding pads. I wiped the briar down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. It began to look very good. I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. The grain of the olivewood began to shine. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface with my finger tips. I let it sit on the bowl for 10 minutes and then buffed it off with a paper towel and soft cloth. The product is a great addition to the restoration work. It enlivens, enriches and protects the wood while giving it a deep glow. It is a product I use on every pipe I restore. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. I sanded out the light tooth marks and chatter with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad. The stem looked better at this point. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I buffed the stem with a soft cloth to raise the shine. I gave it a final wipe down with Obsidian Oil to protect the stem from UV and slow down future oxidation. I don’t know what it is about finishing a restoration but I have to tell you that it is my favourite part of the process. It is the moment when everything that I have worked on comes together. I can compare it to where I started and there is always satisfaction that it does indeed look better than when we picked it up. As always, I put this Byron Harwood Olivewood Mini Churchwarden back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad and hand buffed it to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like along with the polished clear acrylic stem. This Byron Harwood Olivewood Churchwarden is a great looking pipe and I am sure that it will be comfortable in hand when smoking as it is light and well balanced for a pipe of this size. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 7 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 5/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.80 ounces/52 grams. It is another beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store soon. You can find it in the section of Pipes by American Pipe Makers. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.