Photographed and written by

John M. Young

OK, I made up a new word.  “Prestoration”, meaning to make a brand new pipe more usable.  I hear folks saying. “Can’t you just leave well enough alone?”  Hmm, probably not.  I mean I tried.  When I got this pipe, I thought, “Oh cool, it’s a reverse calabash.  I like the ugly little bugger.”  I then loaded it up with Uhle’s Perfection Plug Burley, which is a cube cut burley.  The pipe smoked very nicely.  About ¾ of the way through the bowl, I noticed a reddish stain on my left hand.  That’s the pipe holding hand, if you are wondering.  I thought, “Was that there before?”  My hands are typically only clean before a meal, after a shower or after scrubbing a stummel.  It had been several hours since any of those. 

I took the pipe downstairs to the workbench and started to wipe the stummel with a make-up pad dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol and yikes!  Wow, I am really getting ahead of myself here.  Let’s back up and do this right.

About a week ago I came across the Pipes and Cigars (PIPES and CIGARS – Shop Tobacco Pipes, Pipe Tobacco & More) Father’s Day sale special.  This offer allowed you to choose a pipe, a lighter, a tin of tobacco, a pouch of tobacco and a travel pouch all from various selections, oh yeah, a Rockwell pipe too too.  The total price of your customized assemblage was $99.  I thought, “Hmm, I’ve never had a Viking pipe before and that one has some darn thick walls.  I am out of Peterson De Luxe Navy Rolls, that’s a neat little Lane lighter, I’ve always wondered about C’est LaVie pouches and I can always use another leather tobacco pouch to forget in a pocket.”  So, I ordered that set of stuff and it arrived today.

Okay, to be honest the above pipe is how it looks now, not like when it arrived.  

The below photos show how the Viking Thor looked upon arrival.

The mailman also delivered three blends from Uhle Tobacco Company (Uhle Tobacco Company).  I had never tried any of their blends and was curious.  

Now we can pick up the story from the previous “yikes!”

I took the pipe downstairs to the workbench and started to wipe the stummel with a make-up pad dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol and yikes!  As you can see below, there was plenty of red dye on the pipe.  Enough to stain my left hand for years and years.  Excuse the photo-bombing Peterson, Stay tuned that restoration  will be published next week.

The Viking without all that excess red stain was more of a sickly pink.  Though RF Kennedy would probably concur that living without all that RED DYE #5, or whatever it was, was a good thing.  That was not why I removed it.  I reverted to being a 10 year old, “Thor started it.  He put the dye on my hand first.  I had to do what I did because of him.”

Leaving well enough alone has never been one of my strengths.  I did need to return this pipe to some semblance of its original condition though.  I guess I am restoring it, eh?  I decided to re-dye the pipe with Fiebing’s Dark Brown Leather Dye.  This would hopefully darken the briar and still keep some of that original reddish tint.

I assembled the dye kit.

Using a folded pipe cleaner, I applied two coats of Fiebing’s Dark Brown Leather Dye to the briar.  I tried to flame the dye after the first coat but too much alcohol had evaporated.  The large size of this stummel made it difficult to get the whole thing dyed and flamed.  I tried again after the second coat.  This corked slightly better but only a partial burn was achieved.

I let the dye dry for a few minutes then wiped the stummel with a paper towel.

I was quite pleased with the color of the pipe at this time.  I allowed the pipe to dry for another 30 minutes.

I then buffed the stummel with rouge buffing compound.

Back at the workbench I wiped the stummel with an alcohol moistened make-up pad to remove any remaining buffing compound.  I got the compound and a bit of dark brown dye.  At least this pipe wouldn’t be staining my hands red.

I then took the pipe back to the buffer for several coats of carnauba wax. 

DOH!  I forgot that I wanted to add some pizazz to the logo.  I cleaned the wax from the logo with a cotton swab and 95% ethyl alcohol.

I chose Silver Leaf Rub’nBuff for coloring the stamped depressions of the logo thinking that it would look like the steel of a viking sword.  The silver leaf was applied with a fly tying bodkin and worked into the stamp.

The excess silver leaf was buffed from the surrounding area with a cotton swab and then with a paper towel.

Back to the buffer to redo the carnauba wax over the logo.  The last thing was a hand buffing of the pipe with a microfiber polishing cloth.  Below are some photos of the finished Viking Thor 520.

If you are interested in Viking pipes here is their website:  Viking Pipes Website – Premium Classic, Smoking Tobacco Pipes.  Be warned though that clicking the provided link to “Check Price” will take you to Amazon and it was not the same pipe nor even a Viking pipe.  Weird but true.

The only remaining question I had was who was actually making the Viking pipes.  The Viking website had photos of a bearded man with a pipe and talked about, well here is a quote,

“In the windswept fjords and dense forests of the North, the inspiration for Viking Pipes took root. Drawing from the rich traditions of craftsmanship passed down through generations, the brand was created to honor a time when tools weren’t just objects but an extension of their maker’s hands. The name “Viking” reflects strength, resilience, and a connection to the land and sea—a tribute to those who balanced practicality and artistry in their everyday lives.” (Viking Pipes Website – Premium Classic, Smoking Tobacco Pipes).

Back at the Pipes and Cigars website I looked at the specifications of the Viking Thor again and found the following:

(Viking Thor Smooth Pipe – PIPES and CIGARS)

Apparently I was unaware of the Italian “windswept fjords and dense forests of the North”.  I mean no disrespect to Italian pipes or their makers.  There are great makers and brands throughout Europe, Italy included.  I also appreciate the ability to buy a good quality briar pipe at reduced cost.  This pipe is that.

I do hope that you have found something here useful to your own pipe care, maintenance or restorations.  If you like this sort of thing, please click the like and subscribe buttons.  Thank you for reading the ramblings of an old pipe lover.