NebraskaPeteGeek

A Mokin Prince Restoration

January 23rd, 2025
Photographed and written by

John M. Young

I have been wanting to practice my skills with horn and bone lately. Unfortunately, both materials are slightly more difficult to find nowadays. How could I resist this Mokin prince that popped up on eBay in early December of 2023? I saw the seller was from France and wondered how in the heck shipping was only $6? When the auction was won with only a $7 dollar bid I felt like I’d like a jackpot. A weird aluminum stinger (I like weird), horn stem, pretty grain, great shape, unfamiliar maker, great price, what wasn’t to like? Well, it took a couple of weeks to arrive, got to love the delayed gratification but, arrive it did. The pipe was stamped MOKIN within a circle over RESERVE on the left shank. The right shank had the number 7706. The stem was stamped with a white painted MOKIN circled. This stem logo looked to be embedded into the horn and painted. I found that interesting, not knowing much about the properties of horn. Here are some photographs of the pipe as it appeared before any work:

Now, I cannot say that I am a “green” or “sustainability” minded guy though, I have kept an active compost pile since 1998. That is more due to me being too cheap to buy someone else’s dirt for the garden. I find the idea of natural-ish materials for pipes is interesting. This pipe did not look like it would require a tremendous amount of work. Sure, a good cleaning, reaming, stem restoration but, overall it looked good.

Background

I have restored a couple of French pipes with similar aluminum tenons over the past year: A Country Panel Bent Rhodesian Restoration and A Super Majestic System V.D. Billiard Restoration. All three of these pipes have a cork lined mortise. I pondered the reasoning behind such a mortise and tenon. All I could come up with is that the heating and cooling of the aluminum tenon created greater expansion than the expansion of the shank’s briar. To allow for this the maker used a cork liner to absorb the aluminum expanding without stressing the briar. Well, that is thought anyway. For whatever reason it would certainly have been a labor intensive structure and was surely more costly than just a standard mortise and tenon. After thinking about this I turned to researching the maker – Mokin.

I began with a search for Mokin at pipephil.eu, the usual stop for all things logos. Here I found the following:

(Ml-Moq — Pipes: Logos & Markings). That diagram really made me want to find a “Neverbreak” pipe and restore it. Refocusing on the pipe at hand and attempting to subdue my attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) I thought back to the other French makers who employed the cork lined mortise. The small French flag, in the upper right, helped confirm my French connection but was far from definitive.

Next, I turned to pipedia.org and searched Mokin. No results came up. I tried “Neverbreak”, “HPF”, “Brevete” and “SGDG”. Only Brevete returned a lead.

well, it was not much to go on and it looked like a stretch but, follow it, I did. The link was to a French pipe maker LMB. The only text was the following and it appears roughly translated from French to English: “From Les Pipiers Français — Histoire et Tradition. Gilbert Guyot

LMB in 1911, rue du Mont-Thabor, assures that “his systeme is recommend by the Medical profession, the efficient only one positively imbouchable, condensing 38 % of nicotine, getting clean avtomatiquement, and approve by the Societe d’ Hygiene of France”. He adapts the conduit in plexiglass transparent has the modern pipe by 1960.” (LMB – Pipedia). The photos from the pipedia.org site were interesting and the brochure dates were from the correct era, whichI suspected the pipe was made (1911-1930s). I will include some of these images below.

Above images of brochures and pipe are from (LMB – Pipedia).

Nothing from the LMB information looked like it pertained to this pipe other than the intricate nature of the aluminum stinger.

The research on this pipe was looking to be limited. I tried a general Google search for “Mokin tobacco pipes” and came across a listing from a Worthpoint auction with no photographs and one restoration of a Mokin Corsair pipe by Anthony Cook on Steve Laug’s rebornpipes.com (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/mokin-corsaire-pipe/). The restoration by Mr. Cook was nice but lacked any historical information on the maker. It did however show a photograph of the logo for affirmation of the logos and stampings of the pipe. The Corsair pipe also sported a bone stem and had a 4 digit number.

(https://rebornpipes.com/tag/mokin-corsaire-pipe/).

All of this leads me to the conclusion that this lovely Mokin prince was the product of a French maker prior to World War Two. If you have any additional information pertaining to the brand please feel free to include it in the comments.

The Restoration

This little round bottomed mademoiselle made her way to the bench and received a cleaned denim piece.

The first task was relieving the stem of its stinger. I quickly discovered that it was threaded. The threads were held fairly tightly with smoking residue and aluminum oxidation.

The stinger was placed in a medicine cup with 1bout 10 ml of ethyl alcohol. The alcohol was also used to dip bristle pipe cleaners for cleaning the stem airway.

After cleaning the interior of the stem I started to removed the tooth chatter with a small flat file. This slightly reduced the horn around the dents.

The same process was repeated on both top and bottom.

The filed areas were lightly sanded with 320 and 400 grit sanding sponges and the aluminum stinger was cleaned.

I used brown cyanoacrylate (CA, super glue) to fill the dents in the horn stem. The drying.curing of the CA was sped up with the use of a CA accelerator. The spots were filed and sanded smooth with a 400 sanding sponge

I then turned my attention to the reaming of the tobacco chamber. The PipNet, Smokingpipes Low Country Reamer and General triangular scraper were used to remove the light cake from the chamber.

The chamber appeared free of any damage due to heat.

The stummel was then taken to the sink for a scrubbing with undiluted Murphy Oil Soap and a nylon scrub brush. The soap was rinsed with warm water and the stummel dried with a cotton hand towel.

Returning to the workbench, the stummel was wiped with a make-up pad wetted with 95% ethyl alcohol. Little color came off on the pad. There did appear to be some type of finish remaining on the stummel.

I wetted another make-up pad with acetone and repeated the wiping. This time more color was removed.

A light sanding of the stummel and another wipe with acetone removed the remaining finish.

The only remaining finish was around the stamping. I avoided this area with the sanding but you can see it in the photo below.

Next came the removal of the old fills. There were a few scattered around the stummel.

The old fills were picked out using a fly tying bodkin.

The plan was to apply a small drop of brown CA with the bodkin, press sone briar dust into the wet CAthe sand the new fill with a sanding sponge. Topping of the new fill would be done with another dab of CA, if needed.

Below is a photo of the new fill prior to sanding.

With the fills redone, I taped over the stamps on both sides of the shank and the stem with masking tape. I wanted a tape that was thinner than painter’s tape and tried to cut it as close to the stampings as possible.

Before sanding I wanted to clean the stummel airway. I started with cotton swabs dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol , bristle pipe cleaners and a shank brush..

The cork shank liner made accessing the airway slightly problematic. I did not want to get too aggressive with the cleaning in fear of damaging the cork. I have successfully replaced a cork lining but it is a rather tedious process which I hoped to avoid.

I thought that a cotton alcohol treatment would be a less vigorous way to soften and remove the smoking residues from the airway. Instead of packing the airway with cotton I folded a fluffy pipe cleaner 3 times. This filled the airway nicely.

The bowl was stuffed with cotton as usual.

Using a pipette, I saturated the cotton and pipe cleaner with 95% ethyl alcohol.

A little bit of overflow showed that the cotton was saturated. The alcohol was allowed to sit and evaporate overnight.

The next day the alcohol had dissolved the smoking residues which inturn had migrated into the cotton/pipe cleaner as the alcohol evaporated.

The cotton and pipe cleaner were removed.

The cleaning proceeded while the residues were hopefully still softened by the presence of the alcohol. There was still a good deal of yuck (that is the highly technical term for accumulated smoking residue used by highly trained pipe restorers) remaining in the airway. Many cotton swabs, some scraping with a dental scraper, some scrubbing with a folded bristle pipe cleaner, some more scrubbing with a shank brush… Well, you get the idea.

With all the scrubbing I feared that the cork lining may have suffered some catastrophic trauma. I tried to seat the stem and assess the damage. It fit fairly tight and sealed well. Yay, no sign of impending cork replacement was needed.

The sanding of the stem and stummel together proceeded. A sequence of sanding sponges in grits from 400-3500 was done with the pipe wiped with a make-up pad wetted with alcohol between each sponge to remove sanding debris.

The pipe was then worked with a sequence of micro-mesh pads 4000-12000. The wiping between pads was done as with the sanding sponges.

The pipe, both stem and stummel, were then coated with Before and After Restoration Balm and let alone for about 8 hours. Normally I only leave them for 20 minutes or so but I had errands and stuff to do.

Upon returning to the workbench, I wiped the pipe with an inside out athletic sock to remove the remaining Restoration Balm.

The stem was then polished using Before and After Fine and Extra Fine Polish. The polish was applied and hand rubbed with a soft cotton cloth.

The last steps were to apply several coats of carnauba wax with the buffer followed by a hand buffing with a microfiber cloth.

I was very pleased with how well this restoration went. The shape is becoming a favorite and the horn stem just makes it more attractive. Kind of like this was the original cumberland before the Dunhill boys made a synthetic version. The briar grain is attractive and the stem is both visually attractive and feels great while clenching. The pipe smokes very well, yeah, I think I’ll keep this one in the collection unless someone else really wants it. Don’t worry, I’ll clean it up again for you. The dimensions of the Alpha Calabash are:

Length: 5.47 in./ 138.94 mm.
- Weight: 1.29 oz./ 36.57 g.
- Bowl Height: 1.37 in./ 34.80 mm.
- Chamber Depth: 1.20 in./ 30.48 mm.
- Chamber Diameter: 0.69 in./ 17.53 mm. (Conically bored diameter is at the top)
- Outside Diameter: 1.57 in./ 39.88 mm.
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.

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Below are some photos of the completed Alpha Calabash pipe.
An Alpha Galaxy Calabash Restoration

January 21st, 2025
Photographed and written by

John M. Young

This is only the second Alpha pipe that I had laid hands on. Oh wow, that sounds like some religious experience. Let me rephrase that, this is the second Alph pipe that I had ever worked on. Whew, much less responsibility, there. Although, this pipe may need a miracle to save it. The first Alpha was many years ago and I still see it when I visit a buddy at his farm a couple miles south of here. It was a sandblast Dublin which became his birthday present and still sees its share of tobacco. This pipe may make it his way as this year’s birthday present and to keep the other Alpha company. Don’t tell him, okay? The Alpha was part of an estate lot from only a few miles away, Falls City, Nebraska. Falls City is also the hometown of Larry the Cable Guy. Well, the pipes were in rough shape but, I figured I would support a local antique dealer. The below photo is of the lot.

I did the math and it was cheaper to actually have the pipes delivered than to make the drive in my 20 year old pickup. A short time later the dilapidated darlings arrived. This Alpha was stamped ALPHA over GALAXY on the left shank. The GALAXY was hard to make out as it looked like the stamper was only applying pressure to the top of the stamp during the stamping. The A logo on the stem was clear but light and appeared to be more paint than a true stamp. No other marking could be discerned. Below are some photographs of the Alpha Galaxy before work had begun.

It was safe to say that this was someone’s favorite pipe judging by the wear on the blast pattern. Perhaps a local farmer who frequently had extra grit on his hands of gloves to abrade the pipe surface. The pipe had seen a good deal of use as evidenced by the wear, cake, lava on the rim, stem oxidation, tooth chatter and general brokenness. Yeah, that would probably have to be dealt with too, the broken stem, that is. I bet a new Delrin tenon would work. This was not going to be an “easy button” restoration.

Background

I started researching Alpha with a look on pipephil.eu. This is my go to site for logos and often a first step in seeking answers to pipeological questions. The screenshot below shows two country of manufacture (COM) flags. That usually indicates a more convoluted history. The A on the pipe’s stem was a match with two of the photos.

(Alf-Alz — Pipes : Logos & Markings)

There was a second set of photos which were shown as American made Alphas but here, the stem logo was far different.

(Alf-Alz — Pipes : Logos & Markings)

Next I turned to pipedia.org and a search of Alpha. Here I found the following information:

“Alpha was originally a brand of the Shalom Pipe Factory in Israel, owned by Bernard Hochstein, former CEO of Mastercraft. The Alpha line was made exclusively for export to the United States. They were made in Israel from the 1970s into the 1980s, at which point the name was sold to Mastercraft, and later to Lane, Ltd., who produced very few Lane Alpha pipes at the end of the 1990’s. Lane Alphas were sold in five finishes, each denoted with a Greek letter. After Lane, Mastercraft again marketed the Alpha, under the name Alpha USA, with finishes named Sierra, Delta, Mark V, Blue Ridge, Sabre, and Big Boy, some of which were not stamped with the Alpha name.

Alpha Citation, shape 2535

Among others, the Israeli made Alpha pipes were available in a line marketed as “Citation”.” (Alpha – Pipedia)

I thought that it made sense that Israel would be a pipe producing country due to their Mediterranean geography which would place them in the natural range of briar (Erica Arborea). Well in looking up the range of Erica Arborea, I was surprised to see that it does not encircle the Mediterranean. Poor Israel seemed to have an abundance of enemies and a dirge of briar. The world not making sense returned to normal and I continued my research.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erica_arborea#/media/File:Erica_arborea_range.svg)

Within the first pipedia.org article there was a link to the Shalom Pipe Company. I followed this and was rewarded with the following:

“Not much is known about Israel’s sole pipe factory though it’s reported to have operated quite successfully on international markets.

Shalom Flyer, courtesy Doug Valitchka

Beside the brand “Shalom” the mainstay brand was Alpha – especially well known in the USA. Alpha was popular for a range of fresh and unusual shapes. Series (afaik): Caprice (s), Citation (s), Classic (b), Pedestal (s), Regent, Region (b), Rex (s). (1)

(1) (b) = blasted, (s) = smooth

Alpha also produced at least one of its Citation forms for Carey’s “Magic Inch” series.

Mentioned in context with Shalom Pipe Factory was a Danish pipemaker named ‘Muki Liebermann’, who later lived and worked in the USA. Muki is known for his unique briar bending technique and his original shapes that gave inspiration to many of the most praised Danish pipemakers.

Shalom was taken over by Robert L. Marx of New York City, later Sparta, NC, then of Mastercraft. Mastercraft continued the Alpha pipes introducing new lines.

Other brands from Israel:
- Andersen
- Burl King (Best known for their Danish-looking “thumbhole” pipes with plateau tops.)
- Fader (Presumably for Fader’s Tobacco Shop, Baltimore. Also known: Fader – Made In Denmark.)
- Goliath Briar (huge pipes)
- Krisson
- Mastersen
- Trophy” (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Shalom_Pipe_Factory)
Interesting information but lacking the details, such as dates of purchase or sale. These details might be helpful in narrowing the dates of origin of this pipe. I knew that Robert Marx started Marxman Pipes in 1939 and sold it to Mastercraft in 1953. This made the initial dates given in the pipedia.org article confusing. It states that, “They were made in Israel from the 1970s into the 1980s”. Israel was formed May 14, 1948. It is very doubtful that any COM would predate that. With no other information I will defer to the 1970s-1980s quote as the probable date of manufacture. Pipedia.org did have a few photos of the Alpha Galaxy which appears to be a smooth twin to the Alpha Galaxy in hand.

(Alpha – Pipedia). The purchase of Alpha by Mastercraft appears to have come with changes to the stem logo. I use that bit of evidence to be the upper limit of production for this pre-Mastercraft Alpha.

The Restoration

The broken beauty, well potential beauty, received a cleaned denim piece on the workbench.

The first task was to free that broken tenon from the mortise. I used a disposable pipette to drip some 95% ethyl alcohol onto the seam of the mortise/tenon. Then screwed a drywall screw into the airway.

It took some wiggling and tapping but the broken tenon came loose.

Next came the reaming of the tobacco chamber. This was done with the PipNet, General triangular scraper and Smokingpipes Low Country Reamer.

The PipNet was used with the #2 and #3 blades.

The chamber looked good for a pipe used as much as this one had been.

The lave on the rim was further evidence of the use this pipe received.

The rim and chamber were brushed with a brass shotgun bore brush. On the rim I wetted the surface with alcohol and wiped it with a paper towel, after brushing.

The tobacco chamber was sanded both with the sandpaper wrapped wood dowel as well as by hand. Wide diameter bowls make this a much easier task.

The shank airway was cleaned out first by running the Cleen-Reem tool’s shank drill through. This required several starts/clean the tar from the dril/restarts. Bristle pipe cleaners folded and dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol and a nylon shank brush were used to clear the airway.

The stummel was then taken to the sink for a scrub with undiluted Murphy Oil Soap and a nylon scrub brush. Thesoap was rinsed with warm water and the stummel dried with a cotton hand towel.

Back at the workbench the stumble was wiped with a make-up pad dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol. The lack of color on the pad indicated that the stummel was clean and free of any finish.

I cannot say how or why I neglected to photograph the treatment of the stem before going into the Before and After Extra Strength Deoxidizer (deox) other than perhaps I was thinking that the entire stem may have to be replaced if the attempts at restoring it failed. After having soaked for several hours in the solution I removed the stem and allowed it to drip excess solution back into the jar.

The stem was then vigorously rubbed with a coarse shop rag to remove the remaining solution and some of the loosened oxidation.

I cleaned the airway with bristle pipe cleaners dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol.

The surface of the stem was scrubbed with Soft Scrub cleanser applied to make-up pads.

The remaining tenon was filed with a flat file. I did not want to get too close and risk filing the shoulder of the stem thus rounding it and making the shank to stem joint look ill fit.

The plan was to use increasingly large drill bits to enlarge the draft hole until I could insert a replacement Delrin tenon. Delrin is the preferred material for replacement tenons. According to the Great Google AI: “Delrin is a high-performance, semi-crystalline thermoplastic that’s a popular choice for engineering applications:
- Properties
  Delrin is known for its high strength, stiffness, dimensional stability, and low moisture absorption. It’s also chemically resistant to solvents, hydrocarbons, and neutral chemicals.”
(https://www.google.com/search?q=delrin&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS1028US1028&oq=Delrin&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqCggAEAAYsQMYgAQyCggAEAAYsQMYgAQyCggBEAAYsQMYgAQyDQgCEAAYgwEYsQMYgAQyBwgDEAAYgAQyBwgEEAAYgAQyBwgFEAAYgAQyBggGEEUYPDIGCAcQRRhB0gEIMjQ3N2owajSoAgCwAgE&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8”

That and it’s what the replacement tenons from Tim West (https://jhlowe.com/) are made of. He sells various sizes and styles of tenon material and is a pleasure to work with.

Back to the subject at hand. To center the drill bits as best I could using hand tools, I chose to chamfer the existing hole using a countersink bit. Yeah, I know, I need a drill press.

I used tape to mark each bit to the depth that I desired , about 5 mm. In the photo below you can see the replacement tenon immediately above the drill bits. This tenon was 5/16 inch (0.31in. or 8 mm) in diameter.

I stepped up the hole size with increasingly large bits until I got to a size where I no longer felt comfortable drilling by hand. I was afraid I’d break the stem.

I used the tenon cutting tool from the boys at Vermont Freehand (https://vermontfreehand.com/)to cut one end of the tenon to fit the hole.

I left the surface of the cut purposefully rough to allow the epoxy greater surface area to adhere to. I tested the fit and depth. The fit was good but the length was too long. That was an easy fix – shorten it.

Using a Dremel tool and cut-off bit I trimmed the tenon.

There, I had a nice fit. The tenon itself was far too long but that was another trim from the opposite end.

Below, you can see the final fit of the stem with the replacement tenon.

Glueing was done with 2 part JB Weld epoxy.

The mixed epoxy was applied to both the stem and the replacement tenon using a fly tying bodkin.

The replacement tenon was inserted into the stem then a pipe cleaner dipped in acetone was run through the airway several times to clear it of any overflow epoxy. The stem was interested in the shank and wrapped tightly with painters tape. This project then was set aside for a couple of days to allow the epoxy to set and cure.

After curing, the joint between the stem and shank was filed for a perfect fit/seam. I wrapped the shank slightly below the shoulder with painters tape to protect the stampings but allowed the briar to be sanded with the stem to further reduce the seam. The stem was sanded from 400-3500 grit sanding sponges. Between each sponge the stem was rubbed with mineral oil and wiped with a paper towel. After the curing period I placed the pipe in a 220°F (104 c) oven for 8 minutes then bent the stem to shape. Personally, I prefer to use the oven over a heat gun for shaping stems. Besides, I was going to be using the oven anyway.

The tape was removed and the stem worked with 4000-12000 micro-mesh pads. I rubbed the stem with Obsidian Oil and wiped it with a paper towel between each micro-mesh pad.

The stummel was coated with Before and After Restoration Balm and allowed to sit for 20 minutes.

The remaining balm was hand buffed with an inside out athletic sock to remove the balm.

There remained a stubborn patch of brown oxidation on the stem right at the joint where it connected to the shank. I hoped that the Before and After Fine Polish would work at removing this. The stem was polished using a soft cotton cloth and the Fine Polish.

The Fine Polish was followed by the Extra Fine Polish. The brown spot was eliminated.

I gave the stummel an overnight treatment of cotton and alcohol to rid it of the slight Old tobacco smell. Cotto was stuffed into the bowl and airway and approximately 10 ml of ethyl alcohol was added via pipette.

The next day, I removed the cotton and ran alcohol dipped pipe cleaners through the airway again as well as a couple of dipped cotton swabs around the bowl.

The pip was then taken to the buffer for several coats of carnauba wax. The sandblast of this pipe was not very deep and I thought that applying carnauba would work with the texture.

Overall I am quite pleased with how well this restoration turned out. The worn sandblast has a wonderfully comfortable feel in the hand and makes you think that this pipe has been yours for many years. The vulcanite took quite a bit of extra effort to get to look good, unfortunately at the cost of the stem logo. The logo is barely observable but you can still see it. The pipe has a lovely set of curves and is equally comfortable to clench. The dimensions of the Alpha Calabash are:

Length: 5.43 in./ 137.92 mm.
- Weight: 1.22 oz./ 34.59 g.
- Bowl Height: 1.06 in./ 26.92 mm.
- Chamber Depth: 0.85 in./ 21.59 mm.
- Chamber Diameter: 0.80 in./ 20.32 mm. (Conically bored diameter is at the top)
- Outside Diameter: 1.48 in./ 37.59 mm.
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.

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Below are some photos of the completed Alpha Calabash pipe.
A SAMHARA Pipe Restoration

January 16th, 2025
Photographed and written by

John M. Young

I am strangely attracted to pipes that I call curiosities. Pipes with potentially innovative designs created by dreamers who certainly thought they were creating a better way to enjoy the smoking of a pipe. Reality frequently enters into the scene with most of these innovations and as usual, puts the invention to the test of the laws of physics and renders the idea a mere advertising ploy which does little but attract a buyer. This reinforces the old saying, “A fool and his money are soon parted.” Thank you Thomas Tusser for your words of wisdom from the mid-1500s. And thank you inventors and dreamers for allowing me to test both your ideas and Mr. Tusser’s prediction. I saw this SAMHARA pipe and was immediately attracted to it. It reminded me of the Needham pipe (below photo) that I restored last year except this one has the screw placed on top of the shank rather than below.

I wondered what kind of internal drillings were used to rout the smoke from the bowl to the mouthpiece. Well, curiosity and Mr. Tusser’s saying both won and enabled me to win the auction. Surprisingly there were 3 other fools who were also intrigued by this curiosity. The pipe made the journey from Scarborough, Maine to the wilds of southeast Nebraska and into my eager and foolish hands. The pipe was stamped SAMHARA over PAT.PEND. over IMPORTED BRIAR. Below are some photos of the pipe as it appeared shortly after being unboxed.

The stem was oxidized and would need a good deox regimen. The briar had decades worth of accumulated dirt and dust to be cleaned off. There was also a clear coat finish of some sort which I wanted to remove. The tobacco chamber looked used but only lightly caked. This looked to be a relatively easy clean-up and restoration.

Background

Surprisingly there was actually some information available on the Samara Pipe Company of pipedia.org. Since it is fairly short I will include it in its entirety.

Samhara Pipe Co.

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Here we have an interesting system pipe. The Samhara Pipe Co. appears in U.S. patent records circa late 1940s.

Example and details, courtesy Benny King

Karl Harris, writes:

“The inventor was Samuel Harris from Dayton, Ohio. He was President of the Globe Clothing Company, Money Back Harris and Harris Clothing. He was born in Detroit Michigan, raised in Oakland, California which is across the Bay from San Francisco. The Family story was he slept through the legendary San Francisco earthquake of 1906. He graduated from the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio. He served as a Rabbi in Toledo Ohio for 4 years before settling in Dayton. He is my grandfather and last night I discovered four of his original unused Samhara Pipes in their boxes along with his notes and drawings.”

Note: Fantastic to have this information and history directly from Samuel’s grandson. Hopefully we will have more photos and additional notes to add soon.

Samhara Pipe ads, courtesy Karl Harris

Samhara Pipe Co. – Pipedia).

The above advertisement clippings show a date of December 3, 1946 printed at the top of the above left photograph. This leads me to the conclusion that this pipe is from that time.

The only patent I could find for Samuel J. Harris is the below diagram and link to the text of the patent. There was no mention of the SAMHARA pipe like the pipe in hand.

(1498405586974277000-01976496). There are two other applications filed, from Samuel J. Harris from Dayton, Ohio for a Combination skirt and trousers hanger and a Trousers display device. With the same name, city, professional background (Clothing industry) and correct years active, I think it is safe to assume that this is the same Samuel J. Harris who was the inventor of the SAMHARA pipe.

Using photos and measurements from my pipe I was able to sketch out the drillings to approximate scale. The photo below shows the drilled out area in light gray. A photo of the actual tenon was scaled to fit the diagram. At the time of this writing I have not yet begun the restoration, much less actually tried to smoke the pipe. I have to say that I have reservations about the effectiveness of this system. I can imagine the smoke leaving the tobacco chamber, being drawn up the angled airway expanding and cooling slightly in the small top chamber, then proceeding into the stem and to the smoker. I cannot see the smoke going into the lower chamber (bowl-ward from the stem. I can see condensation flowing down from the upper chamber into the stem. I can also imagine condensation flowing into the lower chamber if the pipe were held at an angle where the bowl was lower than the button. I cannot imagine the smoke circulating in the lower chamber as it would be drawn towards the mouth of the smoker. The more I look at this diagram, the more I think that Samuel J. Harris’s invention was far less effective than he dreamt it was. I am getting ahead of myself with this prediction though. I need to get on with the restoration and test drive this old gal before making any claims.

The Restoration

As usual things began with a cleaned denim piece protecting the work surface.

The stem and airway screw were removed for cleaning. I started with the stem on this restoration.

The screw was placed in a medicine cup with about 5 ml of 95% ethyl alcohol.

The stem was cleaned with bristle pipe cleaners dipped in the alcohol. The exterior of the stem was rubbed with 0000 steel wool.

A pipe cleaner was inserted into the tenon of the stem to act as a hanger suspending it in the Before and After Extra Strength Deoxidizer.

I turned my attention to the stummel. The reaming tools were gathered. The PipNet, General triangular scraper, Smokingpipes Low Country Reamer and a wood dowel with 220 wrapped around it. A dental scraper and brass shotgun bore brush was also used for cleaning the grooves inside the tobacco chamber.

The PipNet with it’s #2 blades did the majority of the reaming with the dental scraper used for the grooves.

The below photo is of the reaming with the dental scraper but also shows the one large fill which would be replaced.

Below is a photo of the reamed, clean grooved, and sanded tobacco chamber. I noticed some charsing of the groove ridges. This idea of providing grooves or ridges to help speed the cake building is an interesting idea but in my mind it would do little but provide greater surface area for fire to char the briar. Which it appears to have done.

I tried to remove the existing finish from the stummel with a cotton swab dipped in acetone to test the effect. It worked but was very slow.

The solution was an acetone bath. The stummel was placed into my jar of acetone. Fresh acetone was added to fill the jar completely. The stummel was allowed to soak for 45 minutes.

The stummel was then removed from the acetone. I used a brass brush dipped in the acetone to work the rusticated surface of the stummel and free any softened finish that remained.

The stummel was then wiped with a couple of make-up pads wetted with fresh acetone to remove the remaining clear coat.

While the tars in the airways were still soft from the acetone, I cleaned the airway with bristle pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol.

The acetone had evaporated during the airway cleaning and only a slight aroma of it remained. I took the stummel to the sink for a scrub with a nylon brush and undiluted Murphy Oil Soap. I thought that I may have done the scrubbing sequence out of order and maybe should have done it before the acetone bath. It did remove debris from the stummel and discolored the soap lather so something was being removed. The soap was rinsed with warm water and the stummel dried with a cotton hand towel.

Returning to the workbench, I wiped the stummel with a make-up pad dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol and ran an alcohol dipped pipe cleaner through the airway. Both the make-up pad and the pipe cleaner came back with very little color. This indicated that the inside and outside had been thoroughly cleaned;

The stem was allowed to spend 3 hours in the Before and After Extra Strength Deoxidizer (deox). I removed it and hung it by the pipe cleaner to drip excess solution back into the jar.

I used a coarse cotton shop rag to scrub the stem. This absorbs the remaining solution as well as helps to remove loosened oxidized vulcanite.

The below photo shows the removed material.

The stem was scrubbed with make-up pads sprinkled with Soft Scrub cleanser to further remove the oxidized vulcanite. I failed to photograph this, apologies. The stem was oiled and the project took an overnight break.

The next day I began sanding the stummel looking for fills which would need to be replaced or repaired.

I only found one that I thought needed attention and it was actually in two places as it went from the side to the rim.

The old fill was picked out using a fly tying bodkin.

The plan was to apply a coating of brown cyanoacrylate (CA, super glue) to the pit then add briar dust to fill the missing material.

The CA was applied.

Briar dust was then added and pressed into the wet CA.

A top coat of brown CA was applied. This was allowed to cure on its own.

Once cured, the new fill was filed with a small flat file then sanded with a 400 grit sanding sponge.

A second view of the fill from the side.

A view of the fill from the top (it is at the 11:00 position)

The pipe was then sanded with a sequence of sanding sponges from 400-3500 grit. The stampings on this pipe were very deep. This led me to think that I could sand the stamped area very lightly without protecting it with a layer of tape. The stem and stummel were together as I was sanding both pieces. Between each sponge I wiped the stummel with an alcohol wetted make-up pad. The stem was rubbed with mineral oil and wiped with a dry paper towel.

The pipe was then worked with micro-mesh pads 4000-12000. Between each pad the stummel was wiped with a make-up pad dipped in alcohol. The stem was rubbed and wiped as above but Obsidian Oil was used in place of mineral oil.

I coated the briar with Before and After Restoration Balm worked into the rustications with a baby toothbrush. The balm was allowed to sit and work its magic for 20 minutes.

The remaining balm was removed with an inside out athletic sock.

The pipe was then taken to the buffer for several coats of carnauba wax. I applied minimal pressure to the stummel while waxing in an attempt to keep the wax only on the smooth surfaces. The rustications would receive Renaissance Microcrystalline Wax applied with a baby toothbrush and hand buffed with a microfiber polishing cloth.

Overall the restoration of this SAMHARA pipe restoration ended very well. The finish of the briar provides a glimpse of lovely grain on the smooth surfaces. I think the carvings are less than attractive and seem a bit cartoony. The stem polished very nicely and provides a nice contrast to the rustic briar. The one large fill that was redone blended in well and is barely noticeable. Now the big question: “How does the SAMHARA System perform?” For this test I wasted a neutral Virginia based tobacco so, I chose Orlik Golden Sliced tobacco. The bowl was filled to approximately 2/3rds. The pipe had a nice draw though it did feel slightly constricted. Once lit the pipe performed well. The briar of the bowl was thick enough to disperse the heat of smoking without getting hot in hand. The smoking session lasted around 45 minutes and was cool and dry to the mouth. I usually sip Virginias but I tried to push this one a couple of times. The smoke never did feel too hot in my mouth nor with the pipe in hand. Was this a great “game changing” invention? No, I don’t think it was. Clever and innovative yes, but hardly providing noticeable improvements. The grooves to aid cake development merely provide more surface for charring of briar to occur. The convoluted airway path perhaps would have led to condensing some water from steam but nothing that Peterson System pipe had not been doing for over 50 years. Alltold, this is an interesting pipe and another advertising gimmick more than an improvement for the pipeman. If you are interested I thoroughly cleaned the pipe after the Orlik Golden Sliced smoke and documented that at the very end, after the “finished pipe” photos The dimensions of the SAMHARA are:

Length: 5.61 in./ 142.49 mm.
- Weight: 1.45 oz./ 41.11 g.
- Bowl Height: 1.85 in./ 46.99 mm.
- Chamber Depth: 1.46 in./ 37.08 mm.
- Chamber Diameter: 0.78 in./ 19.81 mm. (Conically bored diameter is at the top)
- Outside Diameter: 1.50 in./ 38.10 mm.
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.

Below are some photos of the completed SAMHARA pipe.

The test smoke: ⅔ bowl of Orlik Golden Sliced.

The post smoke ash tray.

The down bowl photo post smoke.

I cleaned the airway with alcohol dipped pipe cleaners.

The down mortise photo. This shot was taken after cleaning the airway and does contain some alcohol from that cleaning in the lower chamber thus making it look “wetter” than it did after the test smoke.

The stem was then cleaned with alcohol dipped pipe cleaners.
A Kirsten Restoration

January 14th, 2025
Photographed and written by

John M. Young

Whenever I read about a pipe with a cult-like following I get interested, “what is it that all those people know, that I don’t”. Maybe it is the fear of being left out or just a general need for ignorance mitigation. Either way, I am drawn to finding out what it is that I have been missing. It was that way with Kirsten pipes, for me. I had read about them, seen people discuss their virtues on Facebook groups, and watched many auctions sell for what I considered high prices. Like the old codger tobacco blends, they must be good or they would have never lasted this long. I finally came across a Kirsten as part of an estate lot. This pipe wore the stamps Kirsten in a scroll type script on the left shank and PATS & PATS PEND with an M offset towards the stem. Below are some photographs of the Kirsten before any work had begun.

This pipe’s greatest issue was the oxidation of the stem. The aluminum was in great shape, needing only some buffing. The interior probably would require a good cleaning but it didn’t appear too bad. The bowl was in fine shape with little cake build-up and only moderate lava flow on the rim.

Background

The story of the Kirsten pipe begins with the inventor, Frederick K. Kirsten. According to wikipedia, the greatest source of information and spoken of with disdain by my sister the librarian, “Frederick Kurt Kirsten (born Kurt Friederich Johannes Kirsten, March 13, 1885 – November 19, 1952) was an American professor, engineer and inventor.^[1]

Kirsten was born in Germany and immigrated to the United States in 1902. He graduated from University of Washington in 1909 and later taught there as a professor of aeronautical engineering. During his life he was granted numerous patents on a wide variety of subjects.^[2] Among his inventions were the Kirsten pipe ^[3] (a tobacco pipe), and the Kirsten-Boeing propeller (a cycloidal propeller ).^[4] The Kirsten Wind Tunnel at University of Washington was promoted by and named after him.^[5]“ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Kirsten). I understand why librarians are so critical of wikipedia.org, the notion of people being able to openly edit entries without verifying content can be problematic for scholarly writing. It nevertheless is a wonderful source for general knowledge.

Turning to a more trustworthy though questionably objective source, the Kirsten Pipe Company website. Here is a short description of the founder and inventor:

“Professor Kirsten

It is by no means merely puffery to say that Professor Frederick K. Kirsten was a genuine American original. He first sailed to this country in 1902, as a cabin boy from Hamburg, Germany. After successfully rounding the Horn and eluding the Shanghai gangs of the West Coast, he navigated the educational system at the University of Washington to become a Professor of Aeronautical Engineering. Here, his inventive spirit took wing. He created the world-famous Kirsten Wind Tunnel, Air-washing equipment for factories, an air-cooled Utopian Bed, and, most notably, a revolutionary propeller which enables boats to stop and turn on a dime. Today, in the same waters where he jumped ship almost 100 years ago, ocean-going vessels are landed by sturdy tugs driven by Kirsten cycloidal propellers, piloted by equally sturdy captains smoking cool Kirsten pipes.

Rightly called the coolest pipe in the world, this latter innovation came about when a doctor advised Professor Kirsten to switch from cigarettes. He quickly dreamed up a way to trap the moisture, tars and tongue-biting acids which attack the users of briar pipes. After 80 years and counting, Kirsten pipes are still produced by the Kirsten family, faithfully following the basic designs of this father of invention.”

Professor Kirsten
- Inventor and Founder
(https://www.kirstenpipe.com/history.html).

The next source comes to us from the University of Washington, where Professor Kirsten was a staff member. Here too the information may have a slightly romanticized bent, it is still a fun and informative read and gives examples of his contributions in science and the university.

“The Inventive Mind

Frederick Kirsten — 1915-1951

I am a research man.

Frederick Kirsten

Fredrick Kristen explaining one of his inventions. (aa.washington.edu)

Frederick Kurt Kirsten was one of the founders of the UW Department of Aeronautics. He earned the first patent awarded to a UW faculty member. He was the public face of UW engineering for three decades, tirelessly promoting technology as the future’s greatest hope.

Born in Germany, Kirsten graduated from the UW in 1909 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He was immediately hired by an industrial firm and by 1913, was supervising construction of the underground electrical service at MIT. Recruited back to UW, he agreed in 1920 to teach the entire curriculum of the new Department of Aeronautics: aerodynamics, airplane design, and propulsion.

On December 1, 1921, Kirsten filed the first patent awarded to a member of the UW faculty. He and William Boeing went into business together as the Kirsten-Boeing Engineering Company to develop Kirsten’s invention – the cycloidal propeller, first for aircraft and then for boats. He obtained a $290,000 grant from the Guggenheim Foundation to build the UW aeronautical engineering laboratory in 1926, and led the campaign to finance a state-of-the-art wind tunnel in 1936.

Kristen Wind Tunnel – February 1939

The team lowers an experimental Kirsten cycloidal propeller boat for testing. (Kirsten Collection. University Archives. Special Collections, UW Libraries)

Kirsten was confident and stubborn; his designs were based more on trial and error than on analysis. Endlessly inventive, he never gave up the quixotic effort to perfect the cycloidal propeller, and patented more than two dozen other inventions, including the Kirsten pipe, air-raid sirens, fire extinguishers, neon lights, and air cleaners.” (https://www.washington.edu/innovation/the-inventive-mind/)

“It’s variations like this that give some of the Kirstens extra individuality. There is one pipe, a Generation 1.5, that shows up occasionally and has an entirely different valve than any others. It is a pipe that I have never seen in old Kirsten catalogs or brochures. In addition to the different shaped valve, which has an “O” ring while the mouthpiece does not, the pipe has a flat top with no bowl basin on top of the radiator tube. It usually has the Kirsten script logo but never a model letter on it. It is a short, straight pipe.

Kirstens are kept track of by their model numbers. The following table is an attempt generation by and shape to provide some guide to Kirstens and their genesis:
- 1st Generation No O rings – stamped “Pat. Appl. For” and “Pats. & Pats. Pending”
  - Straights
    
    Companion First edition in rough finish.
    
    S Standard 1st generation with full-length cooling fins
    
    M Medium
    
    L Large
    
    A Aristocrat Extra large 1st generation
- 1.5 Generation O rings either valve or mouthpiece, none on other end – stamped “Pat. Pending” and “Pats. & Pats. Pending” some with “Made in U.S.A.”
  - Straights
    
    K Companion
    
    M Medium
    
    L Large
- Other Transition Models
  - Thrifty Nice early model with black offset valve that works in reverse – O ring on valve, none on stem … takes same mouthpiece as No Letter/No Name model
  - No Letter/No Name Unmarked short pipe w/different valve and O ring, no O ring on stem
- 2nd Generation O rings – Stamped “Pat. & Pats. Pending” and “Made in U.S.A.”
  - Straights
    
    K Companion
    
    G Gem
    
    S Sportsman
    
    SX Sportsman Brass
    
    M Mariner
    
    MB Mariner Black
    
    L Lancer
  - Quarter-Bents
    
    A Aladdin
    
    V Vagabond
    
    CX Cavalier Brass
    
    T Tyrolean
  - Full bents
    
    W Westerner
    
    B Beau Geste
    
    P Premier
    
    F Firesider
- 3rd Generation O ring current models stamped “Made in U.S.A.”
  - Straights
    
    JX Jewel Brass
    
    M Mariner
    
    L Lancer
  - Quarter-Bents
    
    RX Regent Brass
    
    H Horizon
  - Full bents
    
    EX Esquire Brass
    
    DX Designer Brass”
(https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kirsten_Pipe_Company)

The next piece of information here is the original patent drawing from 1938. I will include the link to the PDF of the patent for those interested in reading that as well here: 1499073238500980922-02200237

()1499073238500980922-02200237. The diagram above is quite detailed and can be further explained by the writings within the patent documentation found in the PDF. For ease of understanding, I refer to a much simpler diagram of the Kirsten pipe from pipedia.org. Here we can see the four main parts of the Kirsten pipe; the imported briar bowl, the valve, the Kirsten “Radiator Stem” and the vulcanite mouthpiece. It could be argued that the screw holding the bowl to the stem is a fifth part.

(https://pipedia.org/wiki/File:Kirsten-Diagram.png)

Using the information from the pipedia.org article:
1. “It was determined that the ‘PAT APPLIED FOR” stamp was only used for a couple of years so I concluded that those pipes were probably produced in 1936 and were produced until 1938 and the ones stamped “PATS & PATS PENDING” were most probably made from around 1938 until about 1958” (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kirsten_Pipe_Company),
2. “1st Generation No O rings – stamped “Pat. Appl. For” and “Pats. & Pats. Pending”
  1. Straights
    
    Companion First edition in rough finish.
    
    S Standard 1st generation with full-length cooling fins
    
    M Medium” (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kirsten_Pipe_Company)
I can safely conclude that this pipe is consistent with a Generation 1 thus produced between 1938-1958.

The Restoration

The restoration began with a clean denim piece on the workbench.

The bowl was drilled with a pronounced taper so the only tools used would be the General triangular scraper and the Smokingpipes Low Country Reamer. Of course the sandpaper wrapped wood dowel would join for the bowl sanding.

The light cake was quickly removed.

The bowl was sanded to bare briar and showed no signs of heat damage.

The lava on the rim was obvious and I hoped that it did not conceal any underlying charing.

A moistening with saliva and scraping with a sharp pocket knife removed most of the lave

The bowl screw was removed and further cleaned with 95% ethyl alcohol dipped cotton swabs.

The bowl was taken to the sink for scrubbing with a nylon brush and undiluted Murphy Oil Soap. The soap was rinsed with warm water and the bowl dried with a cotton hand towel.

Back at the workbench the bowl looked clear of finish and grime.

I wiped the surface with a make-up pad dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol, which removed a bit of dye from the briar.

I started cleaning the aluminum parts with the valve. This piece looked fairly clean until I saw the inside. Here it was coated with black hardened smoking residue. The outside cleaned-up quickly with an alcohol dipped make-up pad.

The valve was placed in a medicine cup with 95% ethyl alcohol.

A few minutes later the alcohol had begun to dissolve the residue inside the valve.

Several cotton swabs were required to clear the residue along with a small piece of 0000 steel wool also wetted with alcohol.

The valve was eventually cleaned of the hardened yuck.

The body of the pipe or, “Radiator Stem” as Kirsten nomenclature called it, was also quite dirty with dried hardened smoking residue. Here a nylon scrub brush dipped in the ethyl alcohol and a bunch of folded over bristle pipe cleaners were used to clear the radiator stem.

The piece of 0000 steel wool was also wetted with ethyl alcohol and pushed back and forth through the stem.

The mouthpiece consisted of the vulcanite bit and an aluminum rod. The two were molded together and the aluminum exterior was cleaned with the alcohol wetted steel wool while the interior and vulcanite were cleaned with alcohol dipped pipe cleaners from the button end. was cleaned

The vulcanite was initially sanded with 320 and 400 grit sanding sponges.

A pipe cleaner was threaded through the draft holes and made into a hanger which suspended the vulcanite portion of the mouthpiece into the Before And After Extra Strength Deoxidizer solution.

Below is a side view of the mouthpiece suspension hanger.

After 4 hours in the solution the mouthpiece was removed and vigorously rubbed with a coarse shop rag to absorb excess solution and remove oxidized rubber.

Back at the bench, the vulcanite was worked with Soft Scrub cleanser applied to a make-up pad and rubbed aggressively. The mouthpiece was then worked with a series of sanding sponges from 400-3500 grit. Between each sponge I rubbed the stem with mineral oil and wiped it with a paper towel. I failed to photograph these steps.

The stampings on the aluminum were covered with strips of masking tape to preserve them from the buffer.

The radiator stem, valve and mouthpiece were then taken to the buffer and worked with the rouge compound.

The bowl was micro-meshed with pads 4000-12000. Between each pad I wiped the bowl with an alcohol moistened make-up pad to remove debris.

The bowl was coated with Before and After Restoration Balm and allowed to sit for 20 minutes.

I hand buffed the aluminum with a Cape Cod Polish Cloth. I absolutely love the smell of this product. It almost makes polishing silver bands on a pipe enjoyable.

The Restoration Balm was wiped from the bowl using an inside out athletic sock.

The stem still had areas of brown that I was not happy with. Mark Hoover, creator of the Before and After products, told me that he will give tough to clean stems a second dip in the Extra Strength Deoxidizer for 45 minutes. I tried it, and I left the mouthpiece in for a bit over an hour. Removed it and did the coarse rag rubbing.

Mark said that he just uses the Before and After Fine Polish hand rubbed with a piece of t-shirt material. I tried that, as well.

Under normal room lighting the stem looked nice. When I placed it under the bright photo lights the stem looked like the below photos.

I was about to claim defeat with this stem. Then I decided that two dips in deox and all of the sanding and micro-meshing could not be for naught. Those damned brown smudges had to go. I took the pipe back down to the workbench and started filing the oxidized vulcanite from the stem. This was an extreme measure for an extremely cool looking pipe.

Focusing on just the areas that had brown oxidation proved difficult so nearly the whole mouthpiece was eventually touched with the files.

For the curved area at the saddle a rounded file was used.

All this filing did mean that the entire sanding process would need to be repeated. And it was from grit 320-3500 to the mineral oil rubbing and paper towel wiping.

I micro-meshed with the 4000-12000 pads. Betweeneach pad the mouthpiece was rubbed with Obsidian Oil and wiped with a paper towel.

The Before and After Fine Polish was used again with a soft cotton cloth and was followed by the hand polishing with Before and After Extra Fine Polish. The pipe was then taken to the buffer for several coats of carnauba wax to the mouthpiece and high spots on the bowl. The pipe was hand buffed with a microfiber polishing cloth as a final step.

I have to admit to being smitten by this old pipe. Having seen them only in photos and wondering about them for so long, I finally got to lay hands on one. I was impressed by the simplicity yet ingenuity of the design. I tried smoking the pipe shortly after finishing it and it performed very well. The Radiator Stem absorbed the heat from the smoke and dissipated the heat quickly, living up to the “radiator” name. The stem did indeed trap condensation and I was impressed with the amount of liquid collected. Cleaning was fairly easy with a disassembly and washing with soap and water. I appreciate the aesthetic of the aluminum and how it is set off from the black of the mouthpiece yet it retains the old school look of briar with the briar bowl. Overall a lovely old pipe that performs as advertised. The dimensions of the Kirsten are:
- Length: 5.43 in./ 137.92 mm.
- Weight: 1.22 oz./ 34.59 g.
- Bowl Height: 1.06 in./ 26.92 mm.
- Chamber Depth: 0.85 in./ 21.59 mm.
- Chamber Diameter: 0.80 in./ 20.32 mm. (Conically bored diameter is at the top)
- Outside Diameter: 1.48 in./ 37.59 mm.
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.

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Below are some photos of the completed Kirsten pipe.
A Czech Churchwarden Restoration

January 9th, 2025
Photographed and written by

John M. Young

I picked up a pipe rack for churchwardens the other day and upon placing pipes in it I realized I was short one churchwarden. Well, my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) could not stand for that. Actually I think it should be CDO (compulsive disorder of obsessions) that way it is in alphabetical order. Anyway, I did happen to have a little churchwarden in need of restoration. I had apparently led a life of sunlight exposure and wore the oxidation scars to prove it. The little Czech appeared as below prior to any work done.

Yeah, she looked rough. The glaring issues were the chipped faded clear coat, the charred rim and the heavily oxidized stem. The good news was that the briar was nice, thick and looked structurally sound, there were no deep bite marks on the stem and the mortise to tenon fit was tight. This restoration would be some work but it looked promising.

Background

I did not have much to go on researching this pipe. The only stamp was CZECH on the left shank. Both pipephil.eu and pipedia.org came up empty for that stamp. Surprisingly, pipephile.eu only has 6 makers listed from the Czech Republic and they all appear to be artisan carvers. This pipe does not strike me as artisanal. Pipedia.org lists significantly more than 6 with nearly all of them also artisan pipe makers. The one factory pipe maker mentioned was BPK. The BPK name in the country index listed had the following:

BPK Czech inexpensive brand with long tradition. Factory made pipes mainly for export.

(Pipe Brands / Makers – Pipedia)

Upon following the link to BPK this short entry is all the information to be found,

“A long tradition of producing pipes. BPK company exports pipes to more than 40 countries. The production of pipes has been traditionally connected with small town Prosec u Skutce since 1842. Prosec is situated in the heart of Czech Republic, approximately 150 km (93 miles) far from Prague. Since the change of political situation in 1989 the company BPK, Ltd has been continueing in the traditional production.” (BPK – Pipedia).

BPK

Located in the town of Proseč, Czech Republic, the BPK workshop makes pipes since 1842. The firm succeeded at a time when pipe market was growing. At first, BPK pipes were actually not made with briar, but with other types of wood: alder, maple or pear tree. M. Zabor Bernard Kopperle (officer of the company) will only begin to use briar in 1910 for his pipes. The result is stunning because of the briar properties, particularly for tobaccos combustion: more heatproof and better for smokers when it comes to the taste. The BPK pipes success was immediate, and pipes were therefore exported in numerous neighbor countries. In the late 30s, more than 600 craftspeople worked for the production of BPK pipes! Nowadays, these pipes are still liked by smokers thanks to their classical design. Their silhouettes are simple and without any flourishes. Last criterion, and an important one: BPK pipes are proposed at an affordable price!

(BPK pipes from 1842, made in Czech Republic – La Pipe Rit)

The Restoration

I think I need to get some larger and fresher denim for workbench working surfaces.

The reaming tools were gathered.

The #1 blades of the PipNet did the majority of the work with the Smokingpipes Low Country Reamer and the General Triangular scraper just finishing up the process.

The interior of the tobacco chamber was sanded with 320 sandpaper wrapped around a wood dowel. No signs of any damage were observed in the bare briar.

The rim was scraped with a sharp pocket knife to remove the lava. The stummel was topped using a piece of 320 sandpaper laid flat on a counter. This was followed by topping the stummel with 400 grit sandpaper. I then tried a technique described to me by Sascha Mertens, a pipe restorer from Germany, where petroleum jelly is rubbed onto the charred briar and then gently scraped with a sharp knife. This application of petroleum jelly and scraping was repeated several times.

The stummel was then taken to the sink for a scrubbing with Undiluted Murphy Oil Soap and a nylon scrub brush. The soap was rinsed with warm water and the stummel dried with a cotton hand towel.

Back at the workbench the now clean finish could be seen more clearly.

I tried dissolving the clear coat with an acetone dipped make-up pad. The finish did surrender to the acetone but the process was slow. The remaining finish was thickly applied and soaking the stummel seemed to be a more effective approach.

The stummel was submerged in a jar of acetone for 30 minutes.

Upon removing the stummel from the acetone, I could see the finish had softened and bubbled up from the briar. This was rubbed off with a couple of make-up pads dipped in acetone.

In places the remaining finish was scraped with my thumbnail while it was still soft. As the acetone evaporated the finish rehardened but was far easier to remove with additional rubbing with the make-up pads.

While the airway was still moist with aceti=one I quickly worked with folded bristle pipe cleaners to remove the softened tar. Additional cotton swabs dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol were used to clean the shank along with more pipe cleaners.

The rim looked far better than it did originally however there remained a darker area where the charring was the worst. This can be seen in the below image even with the poor focus.

I decided to try to lighten the briar by bleaching it with a saturated oxalic acid solution.

Rather than just treating the darkened areas I treated the entire stummel. An empty 20 gauge shotgun shell was used as a handle as it fit tightly into the tobacco chamber. The oxalic acid solution was painted using a cotton swab. As the solution soaked into the briar and/or dried additional oxalic acid was applied.

The stummel was allowed to dry and to let the oxalic acid work. 30 minutes later the dry stummel appeared as below.

The stummel was taken to the sink where it was rinsed with warm water and scrubbed with a dish detergent. My thinking was that the basic nature of the dish soap would neutralize any acid remaining. Back at the workbench the stummel was wiped with a95% ethyl alcohol on a make-up pad. No significant color came off the stummel with the alcohol.

The pits and old fills were picked with a fly tying bodkin to remove the old fill material. New fills were done using brown cyanoacrylate (CA, super glue) and briar dust. The CA was placed into the pit with a fly tying bodkin then briar dust was pressed into the wet CA. The subsequent fills were filed with a small flat file then sanded with a 400 grit sanding sponge. This was repeated for larger pits.

To further conceal the slightly darkened rim and the new fills as well as accentuate the briar grain, I decided to give the stummel a contrast dye with black Fiebing’s Leather Dye. The counter was covered with a folded paper towel. The 20 gauge shell was wrapped with a layer of masking tape to tighten the seal to the tobacco chamber and limit dye from entering. A folded pipe cleaner acted as the applicator for the dye.

The black dye was applied with the pipe cleaner then flamed with the lighter. This allows the solvents in the dye to burn off and fix the dye to the briar. The process was then repeated.

The dye was allowed to dry for about 30 minutes. The stummel was then sanded with a 320 sanding sponge to remove the outermost layer of black dyed briar. The dye penetrates more deeply in the softer grained wood. By lightly sanding the surface and removing only the outermost layer the briar grain can be differentially dyed. The stummel was then sanded with a series of sanding sponges from 400-3500 grits. In between each sponge the stummel was wiped with a make-up pad moistened with alcohol to remove sanding debris.

The stummel was then worked with 4000-120000 micro-mesh pads. Between each pad the stummel was again alcohol wiped.

The stummel was given a liberal coating of Before and After Restoration Balm and allowed to sit for 20 minutes while the balm worked its magic on the briar.

The balm was then wiped from the stummel using an inside out athletic sock.

This heavily oxidized stem was so long that I couldn’t manage a container which could hold Before and After Extra Strength Deoxidizer. Removing that from my restoration arsenal, I had to rely on sanding alone. I knew that this would probably result with a finished product that retained some brown rather than the desired black. The brown oxidized vulcanite would probably be near the shank end where extra sanding would remove so much material that the fit to the shank would be negatively affected. Oh well, I figured that I would cross that bridge when I got there. I started the sanding with a light touch and the 320 grit sponge. The oxidation removed better than I had hoped. I proceeded through the series of sponges 400-3500, though the photo below only shows 400-1500. Between each sponge I rubbed mineral oil onto the stem and wiped it with a paper towel to remove sanding debris.

I cleaned the airway with bristle and soft pipe cleaners dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol. I had to approach the stem from both ends for the cleaning due to the length.

The stem was then worked with micro-mesh pads 4000-12000. Between these pads I rubbed the stem with Obsidian Oil and wiped it with a paper towel.

The final polishing was done with Before and After Fine Polish hand rubbed with a soft cotton cloth. This was repeated several times with fresh Fine Polish. I eventually ended with the Before and After Extra Fine Polish and the soft cotton cloth. The stem looked good but did show slight oxidation at the shank end. I hate it when I’m right about these things.

The pipe was taken to the buffer where it received several coats of carnauba wax. The final step was a hand buffing of the pipe with a microfiber polishing cloth.

All told, this lovely Czech churchwarden turned out very nicely. The best part is that it completely fills the 6th slot of my churchwarden pipe rack enabling me to sleep OCD free at night. The contrast dye worked at accentuating the briar grain while concealing the previously charred rim and numerous fills. The stem polished up better than I had anticipated. And looks very good in normal room lighting. Bright lights do allow the oxidized vulcanite to be seen at the shank end. The dimensions of the Czech Churchwarden are:
- Length: 10.75 in./ 273.05 mm.
- Weight: 1.35 oz./ 38.27 g.
- Bowl Height: 1.59 in./ 40.39 mm.
- Chamber Depth: 1.19 in./ 30.23 mm.
- Chamber Diameter: 0.63 in./ 16.00 mm.
- Outside Diameter: 1.38 in./ 35.05 mm.
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.

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Below are some photos of the completed Czech Churchwarden.
A Baronet 906EX (Savinelli) Restoration

January 7th, 2025
Photographed and written by

John M. Young

I like big pipes. No, it’s not the first line from a Sir Mix-a-lot parody. I can’t say I like to smoke them but I love the way they feel in my hand. The word substantial comes to mind. I also like the general hand warming powers they emit – it is winter. Anyway, this pipe has all of those characteristics. Well, maybe not the emitting heat one. I haven’t smoked this pipe but I’m sure it would excel at it. I am not sure sure when this bountiful beauty arrived due to my less than good record keeping but it has been patiently waiting in the queue for some time. The pipe is stamped with a winged crown over BARONET over BRUYERE. Offset to the right is 906EX over ITALY. Below are some photographs of the pipe as it appeared prior to receiving any work.

For comparison purposes I photographed her with a Peterson of more standard size.

The Baronet was in need of a good deal of attention. The outer surfaces had the expected dirt and grime associated with a well used pipe. The tobacco chamber needed to be reamed and inspected for any heat damage. The airway is nearly always expected to be yuck filled. The stem on this pipe seemed to be the most in need of attention. Previous experience with Savinelli pipes lead me to expect the oxidation removal from this stem would be troublesome along with some reconstruction of the button.

Background

Baronet is not a brand nor line which I had heard of. The stampings did look very familiar though. I first went to pipephil.eu, there I found Baronet without any trouble.

(Baro-Bd — Pipes : Logos & Markings)

The stampings on the Baronet in hand looked remarkably similar to the top two photos from pipephil.eu. I could not make out any stamping on the stem but that could just be to the state of heavy oxidation on the rubber. The crown of both photos lacked the wings which I thought were quite apparent on this Baronet.

Next I searched for “Baronet” on pipedia.org. There I also found a result immediately though not what I was expecting.

“The following pipe, marked Baronet with *** underneath, perhaps a grading system, was made in Denmark. Baronet is also a Savinelli Sub-brand, as well as a GBD brand. This one being made in Denmark, is apparently a different brand altogether.”
- Example and details, courtesy Doug Valitchka
(Baronet – Pipedia). The same name, similar shape, similar rustication but from a country of manufacture which was not supported by stamp evidence. Again the reference to Savinelli existed, so that is where I went next. The link from the above entry led me to the following.

Savinelli made sub-brands, seconds & order productions
- Alligator
- Amalfi
- Arnold’s – 40-50’s sub-brand
- Aurelia Ex.
- Baronet
- Bent Bob Pipes – Distributed in US
- Big Nine
- Bing’s Favorite
(Savinelli – Pipedia). The above list continues for quite a few more names. A total of 114, I counted. Baronet is number 5 on the list. Savinelli is a prolific producer of pipes, I’d say. This is wonderful if you are in need of a Savinelli pipe as the number of options is truly amazing and can fit nearly any style or budget. From a research perspective it is not so wonderful. Finding detailed information on an individual name is daunting.

I tried my luck at searching via Google for “Savinelli Baronet”. I thought, “this will never work” and was quickly proven wrong. The first result was the following:

(https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/savinelli/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=71710). The product description was pretty much spot on in describing a large pipe with a very generous bowl. There were a few others on the usual auction sites; eBay, Etsy and CollectionHero. There was an almost identical pipe featured as the subject of a Steve Laug restoration Breathing Life into a Savinelli Made Baronet Bruyere Blasticated 606EX Bent Billiard. Yet none of these carried the 906EX stamp. I checked against the Savinelli shape chart and again could not find a 906.

(https://www.smokingpipes.com/smokingpipesblog/single.cfm/post/our-favorite-savinelli-shapes). Perhaps the pipe was so big that the inclusion on the chart would have made it aesthetically unpleasing to the eye. Okay, I completely made that up. What was certain was that this was a pipe made by Savinelli, It was darn big and received the EX suffix due to that and that it was probably made in the 1970-80s based solely on the amount of oxidation on the stem.

The Restoration

The Baronet made her way to the workbench. I wondered about the word, “Baronet”, isn’t Baroness the correct feminine. I had to search for that. According to AI Google: “”Baron” and “baroness” are the correct terms, with “baroness” being the female equivalent of “baron”; “baronet” is a separate, lower ranking title in the British nobility system, where a baronet is addressed as “Sir” and a female baronet as “Dame”.” I learned something new.

The ream team was gathered and given a rousing, morale lifting speech.

The PipNet with it’s #2 blades lead the assault against the cake.

The #3 blades followed and served the cake a rounding defeat. The tobacco chamber was sanded to bare briar and proved most unphotogenic (kind of like photographing a black hole) but it showed no signs of heat damage.

Next came the cleaning of the stem.

The outside of the stem was far worse than the airway. A few 95% ethanol dipped bristle pipe cleaners and the interior was clean.

The exterior of the stem was lightly sanded with a 320 grit sanding sponge to remove the worst of the surface oxidation and the tooth dents were lightly filed.

A pipe cleaner was slipped into the tenn to act as a hanger and the stem was introduced to the Before and After Extra Strength Deoxidizer. It spent 6 hours in the solution.

The next task was dealing with the airway of the shank. The Kleen-Reem shank drill helped clear out a good deal of the tar but many cotton swabs, bristle pipe cleaners, and alcohol/nylon shank brush scrubs were required to exorcize the tar demons from the shank.

The lava flows on the rim were a concern. Lava on a rusticated rim can be problematic to remove without altering the rim. I thought maybe it could be removed during the stummel scrub.

The scrub was carried out at the sink with undiluted Murphy Oil Soap and a nylon scrub brush.

I spent extra time working the rim with the scrub brush.

The soap was rinsed with warm water and the stummel dried with a cotton hand towel. I was not pleased with the resulting scrub. The rim, especially, was still fouled with lava. I decided on a second scrub but with a brash brush. This removed more grime.

Back at the workbench the rim looked better but still not great.

The stummel was definitely clean but now showed serious signs of wear with missing finish.

I decided to file the rim and work towards a generally smooth finish but with spots with rustication.

I like what I saw.

The inner rim was beveled using a 2 inch round plumbing cap wrapped with 220 sandpaper. The outer rim was filed to a matching bevel.

The rim and bevels were sanded with a series of sanding sponges. I really liked the look of the smooth rim with a few spots of rustication.

Now to restore that black dye to the stummel while preserving the non-rusticated areas. I opted to use a product intended for use in the painting of miniatures for gaming – Vallejo Liquid Mask. The Liquid Mask applies as a thick liquid and dries clear. It is a rubber-like product which can be rolled or peeled off without damaging the covered surface.

I applied it to the rim, stamp area and shank end and allowed it to dry.

The stummel was taken to the kitchenette and an area was prepped for dying. This required a paper towel covered surface, Fiebing’s black Leather Dye and folded pipe cleaner applicator and a lighter. Oh, and a cork for the tobacco chamber opening which stops dye from entering the chamber and provides a handle.

The dye was applied and flamed with the lighter. This flaming fixes the dye to the briar and burns off the alcohol solvent of the dye.

A second coating was applied and flamed.

The result was a nice fresh black finish. This was allowed to dry for an hour.

The mask was rolled from the surface. It did a finance job of keeping the black dye from affecting the underlying briar, as seen in the photos below.

While the dye was drying, I removed the stem from the Deoxidizer and allowed excess solution to drip back into the jar.

The remaining solution was absorbed by a coarse shop rag during a vigorous rubbing of the stem. This removed some of the newly loosened deoxidized rubber.

The stem was looking better but I could still see areas of brown.

The stem was worked with make-up pads drizzled with Soft Scrub cleanser. This stem had a great deal of oxidation and it seemed to have worked its way deep into the vulcanite.

Below is a poorly focused shot of the tooth chatter that remained after filing and sanding the area..

I was still unhappy with the oxidation removal after sanding the stem. Back into the Before and After Deoxidizer for another hour. The drip dry and rubbing with the coarse shop rag followed. After round two there was still some slight browning. I hoped that the subsequent sanding and micro-meshing would remove this.

The tooth chatter area on both the top and the bottom of the stem were given a coating of black cyanoacrylate (CA, super glue). This was spritzed with a CA drying accelerator.

I must have been getting tired of working on this stem as I failed to take many photos. The cured CA was filed then sanded smooth. The stem was then sanded with a series of sanding sponges from grit 400–3500. Between each sponge the stem was rubbed with mineral oil and wiped with a dry paper towel.

The sanding was followed by a series of micro-mesh pads 4000-12000. Between each pad the stem was rubbed with Obsidian Oil and wiped with a paper towel.

There still remained areas of light browning from oxidation. I had chatted with Mark Hoover, the creator of the Before and After products, about how he uses the Before and After Extra Strength Deoxidizer. He said that he usually gives the stem a 4 hour soak followed by a buffing with a recycled t-shirt where he rubs hard. This was then followed by Before and After Fine Polish hand rubbed with t-shirt material. I figured I would give that a try. Many applications and a great deal of rubbing did indeed reduce the browning significantly.

The stummel was waxed using Renaissance Micro-Crystalline Wax applied with a baby toothbrush. The waz was allowed to dry for a few minutes and was taken to the buffer and buffed with a clean flannel wheel.

The stem received several coats of carnauba wax. The entire pipe was then hand buffed with a microfiber polishing cloth.

I am impressed by several parts of this pipe. It is a very large specimen with great hand feel and very ample bowl size. I love the shape with its massive yet graceful look. The black rustication works nicely with the areas of smooth lighter colored briar. I am also impressed by what a pain if the arse it was to get the stem looking acceptable. I can’t say that I am happy with the deoxidizing of the stem but I am calling it quits. In normal room lighting the stem looks great. Bright lighting however, allows the areas of brown oxidation to shine through. I was defeated by this stem and called it done. The dimensions of the Baronet 906EX are:
- Length: 6.14 in./ 155.96 mm.
- Weight: 2,43 oz./ 68.89 g.
- Bowl Height: 2.67 in./ 67.82 mm.
- Chamber Depth: 2.17 in./ 55.12 mm.
- Chamber Diameter: 0.81 in./ 20.57 mm.
- Outside Diameter: 1.62 in./ 40.89 mm.
I do hope That you have found someThing here useful to your own pipe care,

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.

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Below are some photos of the completed Baronet 906EX pipe.
A Custom-Bilt Circle Stamped Restoration

January 2nd, 2025
Photographed and written by

John M. Young

The story and mystique of Custom-Bilt or Custombilt pipes and their inventor, Tracy Mincer, are things of pipe legend. I have to admit to having only restored one Custombilt pipe and it was a pipe actually made after the death of Tracy Mincer in 1964. My only Custombilt was a Wally Frank ere pipe probably made in the 1970s (that restoration can be found here: https://wordpress.com/post/scimansays1787.com/3262). Although, I also did restore a Doodler. Declaring that pipe an actual Tracy Mincer piece would be fraught with uncertainty (https://wordpress.com/post/scimansays1787.com/369) This pipe was older and wore the following stamps Custom-Bilt on the left shank, IMPORTED BRIAR on the bottom and a circle on the lower right shank. Below are some photographs taken prior to working on the pipe.

As you can see it was a rusticated pipe typical of Mincer Custom-Bilts. The size was smaller, what I would call medium sized. The most glaring issue was the chipped mouthpiece which would require some creative repairs. The tobacco chamber had a significant cake build-up indicative of a well used pipe. This was also evident in the lava flowing onto the rim. There was also the expected dirt and grime ground into the rustications. This was going to be fun.

Background

The standard starting point for researching a pipe typically includes pipedia.org. The query of Tracy Mincer, originator of Custom-Bilt, will take you to this brief entry:

“Tracy Mincer started the original Custom-Bilt pipe company in 1934. 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. n 1952, Mincer began a new pipe, The Doodler, that due to the holes in the bowl had to made primarily in a billiard type shape in three sizes. In the early 1950s, National Briar was turning the bowls for Mincer. Based upon the documentation, it appears that Mincer made the pipe until the mid 1960s, when National Briar Pipe Co., Inc. began making and selling the Doodler.

Mincer died in 1964. Based upon the information provided, Mincer seemed to always have money, production, distribution and other problems. Mincer was probably a terrific craftsman but a very poor businessman and administrator. To me, Mincer sounds like your typical small business entrepreneur who always knew what was right and if you disagreed¼problems. Mincer always seemed to be on the brink of going out of business, not meeting payroll and so on.

Claude Stuart purchased the Tracy Mincer Pipe Company and began making pipes using the Tracy Mincer stamp. Stuart finished nearly all the pipes produced, mostly carved and textured bowls and the occasional straight grain. Claude made the Tracy Mincer Pipe Company a moderate success. Stuart became ill and in 1990 The Tracey Mincer Pipe Company went out of business. Currently, Jim Tedesco owns the Tracy Mincer name.

These interesting examples bellow are pipes made with the Tracy Mincer stamp. If you any additional information about these pipes, or can otherwise add to the history of this interesting pipe man, please add it here, or send it to sethile.pipes@gmail.com, and we can add it for you.” (Mincer – Pipedia).

There is a book written by William E. Unger, Jr.,Ph.D titled “As Individual As A Thumbprint”: The Custom-Bilt Pipe Story. This book appears to be self published by Dr. Unger at The Graphic Touch, of Columbus, Ohio. Printed in 2001 and bound with a black plastic spiral, the book states that the entire contents are “All rights reserved…without permission in writing from the author”. Dr. Unger passed away January 1, 2013 (obituary: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/dispatch/name/william-unger-obituary?id=12197453) and the book is no longer in print. This unfortunately means that I will not be including any quotes from the book. We’ll see how I get around that, I guess. I got lucky and purchased a copy from eBay for under $30 (with shipping) earlier this year, after watching several copies sell for what I considered astronomical prices. The book is a remarkable piece of work and is the definitive history of the Custom-Bilt pipe. The research that Dr. Unger put into getting the story correct is amazing. Fortunately there were several past employees, friends and relatives associated with Tracy Miller and the company that were able to give interviews and explanations to the inner workings of the company.

In regards to the stamps on the pipe in hand, I will speak to what I have found in Unger’s book, without quoting any of it. The first thing that needs clarification is the Custom-Bilt vs. Custombilt name. I’ll paraphrase William Unger here, the first stamps used by Tracy Mincer were “Custom-Bilt”. These were used from 1938-1946 definitively and less definitively prior to 1938. You could, perhaps, find reference to this in the book on page 91. There, I think that should give me legitimacy and keep any lawyers at bay. Next we examine the IMPORTED BRIAR stamp on the bottom of the pipe. Unger states that he has inspected a large number of Custom-bilt pipes and that about ½ of them do not have this stamp. He declares that he is at a loss to explain either their absence or presence This lack of explanation might be seen towards the bottom of page 114. The final stamp on this Custom-Bilt is the geometric circle stamped on the shank. Certainly these stamps have some utilitarian meaning. Nope. Unger declares that he is not able to explain any system where shapes such as circles, triangles, stars, rectangles, half moons or even trapezoids have any systematic meaning. This may or may not be seen on the top of page 114.

Pipephil.eu does allow quotations with proper referencing and shows nice examples of the above-mentioned geometric stamps.

(Cos-Cz — Pipes : Logos & Markings)

The Restoration

The photos don’t show it very well but I didn’t feel too bad about the stains on the denim in comparison to the dirtiness of this pipe.

The first step was to gather the remaining tools: The PipNet, Smokingpipes Low Country Reamer, General triangular scraper and 320 sandpaper wrapped wood dowel.

The #2 and #3 blades of the PipNet did their work beautifully with little need for the other scrapers.

The tobacco chamber was sanded to bare briar and showed no signs of any damage.

The shank was cleaned out by running the Kleen-Reem drill through the airway. The drill had to be cleaned out several times as the tars from the airway filled the grooves. 95% ethyl alcohol was used with the nylon shank brush, bristle pipe cleaners and cotton swabs to clean out the yuck.

The stummel was taken to the sink for a scrub with undiluted Murphy Oil Soap and a nylon scrub brush. The soap was rinsed with warm water and the stummel dried with a cotton hand towel.

There remained some ground in dirt and grime in the rustications and the rim did not clean-up as well as I like so a second scrubbing with the Murphy’s was done. This time with a brass brush. That worked a bit more aggressively to remove the external yuck.

Again, the stummel was rinsed with warm water and dried.

Back at the workbench the stummel was wiped with a makeup pad dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol. The wiping removed a bit more of the accumulated grime but the briar looked much better.

The stem was quite dirty and required a good number of bristle pipe cleaners dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol to clean out the airway.

The stummel was given a coating of Before and After Restoration Balm and allowed to sit for over an hour.

After the break I returned to the stummel and wiped the remaining balm from it with an inside out athletic sock.

Also during the break I came up with a plan for repairing the chipped section of the button. I planned on using the Dremel tool and the bit I use for cutting a new slot in a mouthpiece. The below photo shows the bit.

The next photo is the bit in reference to a piece of 2 mm brass rod.

The goal was to use the Dremel to cut a channel for the brass rod to fit into spanning the missing section. Below you can see the brass rod cut to fit into these grooves. The piece of green plastic is a piece of a lid that I cut to act as a dam, preventing glue from seeping into the airway.

I used cyanoacrylate (CA, super glue) to fix the brass rod into position.

To make sure the brass rod did not emerge through the new button material I ground the brass down using the same Demel bit. The photo below shows the tapered brass after grinding.

With the brass rod in place and held at its opposite ends with CA, I planned on building up the missing material with black two part epoxy. To prevent the epoxy from adhering to the dam, I coated it with petroleum jelly and reinserted it into the airway.

The epoxy was mixed on a piece of plastic. I accidentally got more of one part than I intended, thus the usable part of the mix in the half below the fly tying bodkin in the below photo.

The epoxy was applied to the stem thickly enough as to rebuild the missing button.

The shank of the pipe was wrapped in masking tape to protect it from any sanding of the stem. Since the area to be replaced was the underside or bottom of the button, I let gravity pull the curing epoxy earthward. This allowed the “drip” to thicken the button where I wanted more material.

After 2 hours I removed the dam. The button looked rough but the epoxy had provided enough material to be reshaped into a new button.

After curing for about 2 hours the epoxy had assumed its shape and was no longer flowing. It did remain soft though. Soft enough for me to cut a nice straight edge with an Exacto knife.

The epoxy was allowed to cure for an additional 4 hours. After this time it was hard enough to allow me to file and sand the button to an appropriate shape.

The below photo shows the slight color difference of the black epoxy prior to it being finish sanded, micro-meshed and polished.

The stem was sanded with a series of sanding sponges from 400-3500 grit. Between each sponge I rubbed the stem with mineral oil and wiped it with a paper towel.

The stem was then worked with micro-mesh pads 4000-12000. Between each pad the stem was rubbed with Obsidian Oil and wiped with a dry paper towel.

With a surface as rusticated as this I opted to apply Renaissance Micro-Crystalline Wax instead of carnauba. The wax was applied with a baby toothbrush and allowed to dry for a few minutes. I then took it to the buffer and buffed it with a clean flannel wheel.

The stem received several coats of carnauba wax from the buffer. The entire pipe was then hand buffed with a microfiber polishing cloth.

Overall, this circle stamped Custom-Bilt turned out beautifully. I have a new appreciation for Tracy Mincer’s work. The pipe is smaller than I expected a Custom-Bilt to be but it has thatTracy Mincer look with its deep rustications and hefty wall thickness. It is lightweight and feels great in hand. I am happy with the stem rebuilding but not with the quality of the vulcanite. There seem to be tiny inclusions in the rubber. These are readily available under very bright light yet not noticeable with normal room light. I think they are due to the recycling of tires for rubber during the war years of World War Two. I can certainly understand why the pipes have attracted a following, even 80 years after they were made and 60 years after Tracy Mincer’s passing.

The dimensions of the Custom-Bilt are:
- Length: 4.89 in./ 124.21 mm.
- Weight: 1.28 oz./ 36.29 g.
- Bowl Height: 1.70 in./ 43.18 mm.
- Chamber Depth: 1.36 in./ 34.54 mm.
- Chamber Diameter: 0.79 in./ 20.07 mm.
- Outside Diameter: 1.49 in./ 37.85 mm.
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.

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Below are some photos of the completed Custom-Bilt Circle Stamped pipe.
An Orlik Captain B9 Restoration

December 31st, 2024
Photographed and written by

John M. Young

Orlik pipes have never really been an acquisition nor restoration target of mine. I’m not sure if that is due to the intimidating wig wearing judge on their advertisements or the fact that they don’t show up in estate lots as commonly. I’m going to go with the intimidating judge and my disregard for authority figures. Yeah right, you know it’s because they were a higher quality pipe that didn’t show up in the cheapo estate lots. This wonderfully shaped bent, what I’d call an apple, is robust yet graceful. It wasn’t the target of the lot but it did grab my attention and move forward in the queue solely based on its good looks. The pipe is stamped ORLIK CAPITAN ofer MADE IN ENGLAND on the left with the only stamp on the right being a B9. I assumed this to be a shape number. Below are some photos of the Orlik Captain before work started.

The most obvious issue was the amount of oxidation on the stem. The rest of the pipe looked to be in great shape.

Background

Being generally unfamiliar with Orlik pipes is a curable affliction. I have only restored a couple of Orliks and this one shares little in common with the others. I turned first to pipedia.org. The entry had a very brief history of the brand which I include here,

“In 1899, a pipe manufacturer was founded in London, Bond Street, by Louis Orlik. L. Orlik Ltd. started to produce high quality pipes for a relatively low price but high service and soon became quite popular. By 1907 they used the name L & A Orlik, which apparently added Louis’s brother, Alfred to the company name. In the first quarter of 1900 they also established in Birmingham. This can be verified by silver hallmarks. In 1980 the company was acquired by Cadogan. Like many of London’s other pipe manufacturers they moved to a new built factory in Southend-on-Sea. As all current brands in the Cadogan group, Orlik was being produced in those factories.

Orlik used the slogan “Smoked by all shrewd judges” “(who are also loved by his hard judge)” with a portrait of a judge wearing a wig. The picture is still used in Denmark for manufacturing of Orlik cigarettes.” (Orlik – Pipedia)

Here, I also found a link to an old catalog, date undetermined, with a shape 9 matching the stamp on the pipe in hand.

(Orlik – Pipedia)

(Orlik – Pipedia). Next I wanted to know what the B of the B9 Large Chubby Bent could stand for. There was a section which states the following:

Models & Grades: Pre-Cadogan era
- Virgin (Series Letter:Without letters)
- Old Bond Street (Series Letter:A)
- Old Bond Street Sandblast (Series Letter:AX)
- Supreme (Series Letter:T)
- Supreme Sandblast (Series Letter:TX)
- Meerschaum Lined(Series Letter:M)
- Corona (Series Letter:C)
- Old Root (Series Letter:R)
- De Luxe (Series Letter:L)
- De Luxe Sandblast (Series Letter:LX)
- Double Bore (Series Letter:W)
- Prince Regent (Series Letter:P)
- Major Black (Series Letter:MB)
- Captain Black (Series Letter:B)
- Captain Black Sandblast (Series Letter:BX)
- Clubman (Series Letter:6793)
- Clubman Sandblast (Series Letter:6793X)
- Black Prince (Series Letter:6791)
- Black Sandblast (Series Letter:6791X)
- 3/4 oz De-Luxe (Series Letter:1990)
- 3/4 oz (Series Letter:1986)
- 3/4 oz Sandblast (Series Letter:1986X)
(Orlik – Pipedia the bold and blue was added by me). The only problem with this discovery was that it refers to Captain Black and the pipe is only stamped with CAPTAIN. I did give some insight to the B. It also indicated a pipe that was made prior to the 1980 purchase by Cadogan.

I went to pipephil.eu seeking clarification of the CAPTAIN vs. Captain Black. Iere I was rewarded with greater confusion. The fonts from the below screenshot all look like the Orlik in hand. The stem of this pipe does not have the iconic brass circle though. Perhaps it is indeed a replacement stem.

(Op-Oz — Pipes: Logos & Markings)

The Captain Black stampings look vastly different than the block sans serif font stamped on this pipe.

(Can-Car — Pipes : Logos & Markings). The script like stamps from the photos are more a match for the Captain Black font used by the tobacco maker.

(https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipe-tobacco/CaptainBlack/original-1.5oz/product_id/105169)

I returned to the pipedia.org entry to look for clarification. Michael Lankton authored an entry titled DATING ORLIK PIPES (Talk:Orlik – Pipedia). In this piece he discusses the pre-Cardogan, desirable, and the Cadogan “These are not the pipes you’re looking for, move along.” (Talk:Orlik – Pipedia). He states that the pre-Cadogan pipes are stamped as follows,

“The Orlik series proper will be stamped in all caps in a sans serif font on the port side of the shank one of two ways

ORLIK SERIES_NAME

MADE IN ENGLAND

or

ORLIK SERIES_NAME

LONDON MADE” (Talk:Orlik – Pipedia)

He goes on to state:

“The following series are probably of little interest to Orlik collectors but I am including them for the sake of completion. In any event, if you picked up one of these pipes it would probably share the superior smoking qualities of their better lines, with obvious trade offs in the interest of producing a lower priced pipe.

We pick up where we left off above, again in descending order of quality with the series code in parentheses:
- Prince Regent(P)
- Major Black(MB)
- Captain Black(B)(BX)
- Clubman(6793)(6793X)
- Black Prince(6791)(6791X)
- 3/4 oz De-Luxe(1990)
3/4 oz(1986)(1986X)” (Talk:Orlik – Pipedia).

So, what do I make of all this? Well, I think this is an Orlik pipe made in England. Thank you Captain Obvious. Seriously, the stamps are indicative of a pre-Cadogan pipe but there is no mention of a CAPTAIN line without the “Black”. The pipe does have the “B” from the Captain Black line. Together this leaves me confused. The good news is that I can carry out a restoration while in a state of confusion. Perhaps a reader can add an explanation in the comments.

The restoration

The Captain settled onto the workbench with a clean denim piece.

I began with reaming or, I should say with gathering the reaming tools. The PipNet, Smoking pipes Low Country rReamer, General triangular scraper (with the tip ground round) and a wood dowel wrapped with 320 sandpaper.

The tobacco chamber had a light layer of cake and a little lava flowing onto the rim.

The PipNet made short work of the cake. With the other scrapers playing clean-up.

The interior of the chamber showed no signs of damage after being sanded. The rim on the other hand needed some light scraping.

Another photo of the chamber with more light.

The rim scraping was done with a sharp pocket knife and a bit of saliva.

The stummel was taken to the sink for a scrub with undiluted Murphy Oil Soap and a nylon scrub brush.

The soap was rinsed with warm water and the stummel dried with a cotton hand towel. Back at the workbench the stummel showed no signs of clear coat.

A quick wipe with 95% ethyl alcohol removed no stain indicating that this was a virgin finished pipe. The stain on the make-up pad was mainly from smoking residue around the mortise.

The stem was rubbed with 0000 steel wool to remove the outer hardened oxidation. A pipe cleaner was inserted into the stem to act as a hanger for the stem’s bath in Before and After Extra Strength Deoxidizer.

The stem went into the deoxidizer where it remained overnight.

The stummel had a few small dents. These were too deep to be removed by sanding without altering the shape of the pipe. I tried raising the dents with a hot iron and wet cloth.

The below 2 photos are pathetic attempts to show what I was seeing. There was an area that looked like it was from a drop onto concrete and two scratches.

Using your imagination and pretending that my photography is adequate is appreciated. The steaming did help raise the dents.

The next day the stem was removed from the deoxidizer and allowed to drip excess solution back into the jar for a few minutes.

I used a coarse shop rag to absorb the remaining solution and rub away some of the loosened oxidation.

Below you can see the oxidized rubber that was removed.

Back at the workbench the pipe was starting to look better but brown was very evident.

I used several make-up pads drizzled with Soft Scrub cleanser to remove more of the oxidized vulcanite. The shank was taped with masking tape for protection while the stummel gave me a handle for easier holding.

I then covered the stamps with painters tape for thor protection during sanding. The pipe was sanded with a series of sanding sponges. Between each sponge I wiped the stummel with an alcohol wetted make-up pad to remove sanding debris. The stem was rubbed with mineral oil and wiped with a dry paper towel.

Micro-meshing followed the sanding. The 4000-12000 micro-mesh pads were used with stummel and stem wiping as above except the stem received Obsidian Oil in place of mineral oil between each pad.

The pipe was then given a coating of Before and After Restoration Balm. This was allowed to sit for 20 minutes.

20 minutes later the balm was wiped from the pipe using an inside out athletic sock.

BAH! The stem still was showing brown under bright light. That oxidation had penetrated deeply into the vulcanite.

The solution? More time in deox was all I could think. I won’t bore you with the details of this second application of the previous protocols of deox, coarse rag wiping, Soft Scrubbing, micro-meshing and a trip to the buffer. I will show you the resulting stem top and bottom photos:

The pipe was taken to the buffer where it received several coats of carnauba wax. The final step was a hand buffing with a microfiber polishing cloth.

The Orlik Captain B9 is a true beauty. I decline to call it by the official Orlik name, “Large Chubby Bent” as I think that just sounds mean. I was finally happy with how the rim repair went. The oxalic acid treatment allowed me to remove nearly all signs of the charring without severely changing the shape of this wonderful old pipe. The briar grain of a Peterson De Luxe is on full display with this pipe. Beautiful bird’s eyes on both sides and lovely cross grain on the front and back. Though the cross grain is not quite centered it remains attractive. The stem was not severely oxidized leading me to believe this pipe was stored in a drawer and out of the light for a long time. The vulcanite polished up very well and the gloss black accentuates the briar grain. The dimensions of the Orlik Captain B9 are:
- Length: 5.35 in./ 135.89 mm.
- Weight: 1.76 oz./ 49.90 g.
- Bowl Height: 1.72 in./ 43.69 mm.
- Chamber Depth: 1.34 in./ 34.04 mm.
- Chamber Diameter: 0.70 in./ 17.78 mm.
- Outside Diameter: 1.68 in./ 42.67 mm.
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.

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Below are some photos of the completed Orlik Captain B9.
A Peterson Shamrock 5 Billiard Restoration

December 26th, 2024
Photographed and written by

John M. Young

I realize it is Christmas season and Saint Patrick’s Day is a few months away but this Peterson Shamrock was demanding some attention. As you may have surmised, I am a Peterson Pipe lover, also known as a Pete Geek and thus rarely turn away a poor Irish briar in need of attention. This pipe came to me as part of an estate lot from Canada last September. I failed to record or remember precisely from where. The stamps are clear and well defined reading, SHAMROCK on the left shank and “A PETERSON (over) PROCUCT” over MADE IN IRELAND next to a 5 on the right shank. The nickel band has the faux hallmarks of a shamrock, an Irish wolfhound and a round tower. Below are some photographs of the pipe taken prior to any work done.

The plan for the restoration of the Shamrock looked to be straightforward and included the usual cleaning, refinishing and stem oxidation removal. There were a couple of fills of both the briar and the stem but that too would be typical for a used pipe of this age.

Background

I have said it before will likely say it again, I am a slacker, and as such, I will use my own quote to provide the dear reader with additional information regarding Peterson pipes:

“I have written about the restorations of several Peterson pipes over the past 13 months. I will include here good sources of Peterson history for those who would like additional information:

For a great history Mark Irwin and Gary Marlburg’s book is a must read for a Pete Geek.

(Available at https://www.smokingpipes.com/accessories/books/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=471478) Given the price is a bit high but worth every penny for a Peterson aficionado.

The next site is pipedia.org’s History of Peterson by Jim Lilley (Peterson – Pipedia)

Lastly the pipephil.eu site for all things logo: Peterson: historical pipes — Pipes: Logos & Markings (pipephil.eu) They also have a few other links to things like the Peterson timeline and P-lip information.“

The definitive source of “all things Peterson” is The Peterson Pipe written by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg. According to Irwin and Malmberg,

“Shamrock (c.1941-2009) Originally stamped SHAMROCK with no brand name, an inexpensive line first described in George Yale (New York) mail order booklet in 1941, imported by Roger Imports. The line was actively promoted beginning in ‘45, aggressively promoted in US by Rogers from early ‘50s when they registered the Shamrock logo with US Patent Office, claiming propriety since ‘38. Over the years offered with P-lip or fishtail mouthpiece, with or without nickel band, with or without shamrock logo on band, with or without S stamped in white or later in gold on mouthpiece. Appearing in 2008 as unstained smooth and rustic, fishtail mouthpiece with gold impressed P on stem. COMS of MADE IN over IRELAND (c. 1945-c.1965), MADE IN IRELAND forming a circle (c.1945-c. 1965), “A PETERSON”S PRODUCT” over MADE IN IRELAND (c. 1945-c. 1965), MADE IN THE over REPUBLIC OVER OF IRELAND (c. 1948-98) or “A PETERSON”S PRODUCT over MADE IN THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND (c. 1948-98). Model is always difficult or impossible to date. (Irwin, Mark and Malmberg, Gary (2018). The Peterson Pipe The Story of Kapp & Peterson, First edition, second printing 2021. Briar Books Press, Canada. p. 312).

The dates of 1945-1965 can be slightly narrowed with the faux hallmarked nickel band. Again I turn to The Peterson Pipe book, “The stamp was used until about 1963, when hand soldered nickel bands and ferrules were replaced by pressed ferrules and premade bands.” (Irwin, Mark and Malmberg, Gary (2018). The Peterson Pipe The Story of Kapp & Peterson, First edition, second printing 2021. Briar Books Press, Canada. p. 302). In keeping with the author’s terms, this may or may not reduce the production years by 2 to 1945-1963.

The Restoration

The Shamrock restoration began with a clean denim place setting. The stem being the part in most need of attention was the starting point.

I rubbed the stem with 0000 steel wool to remove the outermost oxidation.

Then cleaned the airway. It was surprisingly clean.

Next, I inserted a pipe cleaner into the stem to act as a hanger for its time in the Before and After Extra Strength Deoxidizer or deox as I like to call it.

Suspending the stem in the deox enables the solution better access to every bit of the surface.

I had all day plans so the stem sat in the solution for about 8 hours until I returned to working on it. The stem was removed from deox and allowed to drip excess solution back into the jar.

I like wiping stems with a rough cotton rag after the deox bath.

The coarse material absorbs the remaining solution and helps to remove some of the oxidized vulcanite as well.

Back at the workbench the stem was given a liberal coating of mineral oil and allowed to sit for 15 minutes.

I wrapped the shank with painters tape in preparation for the sanding that was in the stem’s future. The stem was scrubbed with Soft Scrub cleanser applied to make-up pads.

I then turned my attention to reaming the tobacco chamber.

The #1 blades of the PiNet did most of the work with the reaming.

The General and the Smokingpipes Low Country reamer were used for some final scraping.

The chamber was sanded with 320 sandpaper wrapped around a wood dowel. The briar of the chamber looked good and showed no signs of heat damage.

The cleaning out of the airway of the shank was next. This was done with several cotton swabs and bristle pipe cleaners dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol. There was also some drilling with the Kleen-Reem shank drill, scraping with a dental scraper and scrubbing with a nylon shank brush.

The lava on the rim was softened with saliva and scraped with a sharp pocket knife.

The rim showed a bit of a charring around the inside rim edges.

The stummel was taken to the sink for a scrubbing with undiluted Murphy Oil Soap and a nylon scrub brush. The soap was rinsed with warm water and the stummel dried with a cotton hand towel.

The scrubbed stummel looked much better without its accumulated dirt. The alcohol on a make-up pad wiping produced very little color indicating that this stummel was not stained.

Curious to see how well the band would polish-up, I wrapped the shank with masking tape and took the stummel to the buffer. There I buffed the band with rogue compound. The results can be seen below.

The masking tape on the shank was removed and new tape was applied to the band. I also taped over the stamps to protect them from sanding.

There were two fills which needed to be done prior to sanding. The first was on top of the shank.

The second was on the bottom adjacent to the band.

I used brown cyanoacrylate (CA, super glue) and briar dust for the fills. I first applied a small drop of CA to the pit then pressed briar dust into the CA wetted pit. The fills were then filed smooth.

A second application of CA was done on each fill and left to dry on its own accord.

Once dried these were also filed smooth.

There was one dent in the stem that received filling very similar to the above briar fills except this was done with black CA. The photo below attempts to show the dent but the focus is poor.

The stem was sanded with a series of sanding sponges from 400-3500 grit. Between each sponge I rubbed the stem with mineral oil and wiped it with a paper towel.

The stem was then worked with a series of micro-mesh pads from 4000-12000. Between each pad I rubbed the stem with Obsidian Oil and wiped it with a paper towel.

The briar was coated in Before and After Restoration Balm and allowed to sit for 20 minutes.

The Restoration Balm was wiped from the pipe with an inside out athletic sock.

The pipe was then taken to the buffer for a few coats of carnauba wax.

The final step was a hand buffing with a microfiber polishing cloth to raise the shine.

Overall this Peterson Peterson Shamrock 5 Billiard turned out very nicely. The natural briar grain is both straight on the sides and flamed in the front. The band polished up better than I thought possible. The vulcanite lost the oxidation and revealed a lovely high gloss black that accentuates the glow of the briar and the shine of the nickel band. The dimensions of the Peterson Peterson Shamrock 5 Billiard are:
- Length: 5.89 in./ 149.61 mm.
- Weight: 1.31 oz./ 37.14 g.
- Bowl Height: 1.81 in./ 45.97 mm.
- Chamber Depth: 1.52 in./ 38.61 mm.
- Chamber Diameter: 0.69 in./ 17.53 mm.
- Outside Diameter: 1.35 in./ 34.29 mm.
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.

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Below are some photos of the completed Peterson Shamrock 5 Billiard.
A Trypis Freehand Restoration

December 24th, 2024
Photographed and written by

John M. Young

My first reaction to this pipe was a near uncontrollable desire to name it Stumpy. It looked like a gnarled old tree stump. As I held it I came to appreciate the way the grooves fit my hand and saw/felt the practicality of the carvings. This pipe was a great tactile experience. Examining it more closely I saw how the maker had created the grooves. It reminded me of a Tracy Mincer Doodler in that each of the four sides were likely drilled from top to bottom with two holes. These holes were then exposed by further briar removal to create 8 grooves. The overall shape is a highly carved four square panel that I could not classify as anything other than a freehand. I had to know more about this pipe’s maker. I looked at the stampings and read the following: MADE over IN CANADA then Trypis (in a flowing script) over 4. Below are some photographs of the pipe prior to any work done.

There was dirt and grime in the carvings which would clean out easily. The rim had some lava deposits suggesting that the pipe had been smoked quite a bit yet the tobacco chamber was not heavily caked. This indicated a previous owner who used but cared for this pipe. The stem was very oxidized indicating the pipe had been stored or displayed in the light. I could certainly understand displaying such a unique pipe. In general this looked to be a fun restoration.

Background

I was really looking forward to researching this pipe. I was unfamiliar with the brand. I asked Steve Laug about them in a message on Facebook and he said that he had worked on several. I immediately went to his site, https://rebornpipes.com/ and searched “Trypis”. I was rewarded with three blogs to read. While reading, I found that one of the posts was by Charles Lemon and dealt with a shank repair on a short Trypis Dublin (https://dadspipes.com/2019/05/31/quick-shank-repair-for-a-trypis-canted-dublin/). The stamping on all three pipes were very similar to “Stumpy”.

A quick search on pipephil.eu came up with the below screenshot.

(Tp-Tr — Pipes: Logos & Markings). Further reaffirming the stamps on my pipes.

Next I searched on pipedia.org. Here I found a short article of the carver, Philip Trypis.

“Phillip Trypis has been a pipe maker in Canada for well over 40 years. Originally from Greece, his experience ranges from cutting burls in a briar mill to making literally thousands of pipes out of his home in the hamlet of Oakwood, Ontario. Brigham pipes benefitted from Phillip’s skills where he worked for a number of years. There he directed the pipe production of the company when it was producing over 50,000 a year. Even though he left to start his own pipe shop, he still imported briar and turned tens of thousands of bowls for Brigham not to mention produce a large number of his own branded pipes.

Many of the styles are traditional in form although Phillip has a number of freehand styles that are both familiar and off the beaten path. The vast majority of the higher priced pipes are very large pieces to be sure. Except where the pipe was of unusual shape or size, the frame sizes are 7.15″ x 3″ so you can get an idea of the scale.” (Trypis – Pipedia). The three examples I had read about from the restorations of Laug and Lemon were of more traditional shapes. I would classify Stumpy as one of Trypis’ “freehand styles…off the beaten path.” (Trypis – Pipedia).

My curiosity was still not quenched. I was intrigued by this maker and needed more information. A general search for “Phillip Trypis pipes” on Google led me to a forum post by a member going by the name “User 3604”. I was unable to contact them directly and hope that including his wonderful recollection below will not offend.

A recollection of the maker, Phillip Trypis:

“When I got into pipe smoking and bought my first pipe, (at least my first as an adult that I didn’t try to hide from my parents), I got it from Phillip Trypis whose name is known to most here I expect as a former carver for Brigham pipes back in their heyday. At this time Phillip’s health was in decline, he was in the early stages of dementia and his situation and our three meetings caused me to write about my second visit. Here is is. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy remembering it.

Meeting Phillip Trypis for the First Time – Again

August 2007

I arrived in the little hamlet of Oakwood, just,north of Lindsay, Ontario a little after 12:00 noon. The drive was relaxing and it brought back memories of my days in college there in the late 70’s. My canine buddy Casey was along for the ride. I was making the 2 plus hour trip from Fergus to Oakwood to see Phillip Trypis; in his heyday a former master carver for Brigham pipes whom, in retirement started his own line. I was there to pick up a pipe I’d bought for my friend Don about 10 months ago as a going away gift when he moved to western Canada. Unfortunately, he’d broken the stem off while knocking it on something to get the dottle out after a smoke. I was also buying a few more for Don and hopefully another for myself.

I pulled up in front of the Trypis’s home and saw Phillip and his wife sitting in their screened in front porch. A sign on the front lawn advertised “Auction Sale Saturday”. I was somewhat relieved to see them. I had spoken to Phillip this morning on the phone, (about 3 hours ago now) and he had said to come between 12:00 and 2:00 pm but knowing his short term memory had all but disappeared since he fell and struck his head the previous winter, I wondered if he’d forget and go out. I walked up the steps and realizing that he would probably not remember my face from 11 months ago, I reintroduced myself.

“Hi Mr Trypis, I’m Marlowe Sharp.” The intro was returned with a blank stare. Did he not hear me? “HI MR TRYPIS, I’M MARLOWE SHARP” I said a fair bit louder. Blank look again. I SPOKE WITH YOU THIS MORNING AND TOLD YOU I WAS GOING TO COME AND PICK UP DON’s PIPE?” I saw in his eyes recognition of that name but he still wasn’t putting it all together. Mercifully Mrs Trypis stepped in. “Oh hello.” she said, “You’re Don’s friend.” Then turning to her husband, “Phillip, this is Don Janzen’s friend…Don from Alberta.” I saw the light go on!

“How are you Mr Trypis?” I said much more confidently.

“ I’m peesed off!” he replied glumly in his thick Greek accent. Not a good start.

“Why are you pissed off?”

“This move…I don’t want to move. It’s too much.”

I suddenly felt sad for him. He was being forced, almost to leave a place he loved – a place where he could go to the basement and peeter around his shop and do what ever he liked. The stairs were too much now and Mrs. Trypis had recently been diagnosed with macular degeneration and had her driver’s license taken away. It was time to move into town where she could get around and where Phillip didn’t have to manage stairs. He was losing his independence a brain cell at a time along with all his “stuff” that kept him in a familiar world – sold off to strangers willing to pay the highest bid.

“Can we go into your shop Mr Trypis? I want to buy some pipes.”

At that his face brightened. Familiar territory! Yes let’s go there! At the same time, Mrs Trypis who had disappeared arrived back with Don’s pipe. It had been repaired, (apparently) and was in the box with Don’s original letter wrapped up in a bubble wrap envelope, all ready to go in the mail as he had promised last Sunday…and every other Sunday since October last year. I ran and put it in my van immediately. I didn’t want to take the chance of getting wrapped up in the new pipes and arrive home having left it on the Trypis kitchen table.

We went down to the shop and I pulled the pamphlet of Trypis Pipes from my pocket and told Phillip which ones Don wanted. First the 1/4 bent billiard. I put one aside. Then the 1/4 bent apple. I spent a while over that one because there were a couple of beauties. While I sorted through and put aside some favorites, I asked Phillip what the difference was between a $70.00 pipe and $150.00 pipe. With that question, all the remaining fogginess fell away. He was in his element now, firing on all cylinders as he explained to me about the grain of the wood and spoke about briar, design and workmanship. He pulled out a gorgeous $150.00 bent apple. The grain was lovely and on the stem he had added a piece of yellow lucite. He shoved it in my hand and said, “Here this one is good. Your friend will like this. ”I started to quickly add up the amounts in my head…this could get dangerous. I think Don had said he wanted $300.00 worth of pipes. I was at that price now and hadn’t yet got the Scandinavian pear that I had been eyeing for myself. I was also starting to have difficulty wondering if I might keep that bent apple for me…it was nice!

The next box broke my resolve to only get one pipe for myself. Out of the bottom of a box of $150.00 pipes I pulled a beautifully carved Bent Sitter. It had a tobacco leaf carved into each side. “Uhh…do you have two of these?” I said hopefully. “I don’t think so.” said Phillip.” I think one only was made. Maybe another but it could be anywhere in here.”, he said as he swept his hand toward 30 boxes containing about a thousand pipes. In my head I apologized to Don; maybe I won’t tell him about this one. One day years down the road he’ll oogle it on my mantle. “Oh ya, I picked that up from Trypis some time ago.” I’ll say casually.

Finally we got to the Scandinavian pear box. I selected one and looked it over but Phillip took it from me. Actually, he had done this with all the pipes I selected. He would pull the mouth piece out and reseat it several times before giving it back. I was wondering if he did this to make sure it would come out easily so Don wouldn’t break another one. Phillip didn’t give this one back though. He looked at it, thought a bit and said, “I need a pencil.”

“Why?”

“I show you. Come!”

The next 10 minutes was spent looking for a pencil. What was he doing? We went back into his workshop to continue the search. As we entered the small back room I looked around at one of the messiest shops I had ever seen. Tools were everywhere, not to mention hundreds of partially finished pipe bowls of every shape and size. Everything was covered in wood shaving and dust. I picked up an unfinished bowl and immediately recognized the design as Brigham’s 100 anniversary pipe, a large Bent Square Panel with a maple leaf design carved on either side. They came out about 2 years ago. I looked at Phillip. He smiled and said, “My design. I don’t know if it sold well”.”

For the next 10 minutes we again looked for the elusive pencil finally finding a package of new, un-sharpened carpenter’s pencils hanging on the wall. Next Phillip removed the buffing wheel from his lathe and replaced it with a sanding wheel. I was stumped. Was he going to personalize this pipe some how? Transform it to a one of a kind pipe just for me? Another 10 minutes went by as we traced an octopus of extension cords though the shop to figure out why the lathe had no power. Finally everything was in order, the power was on and the lathe screamed to life.

“WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO MR TRYPIS?” I yelled over the noisy machine. This pipe was a really nice piece and I was wondering whether the old master carver still had the skills in him to do what ever he was about to do. He looked at me and smiled again, “You watch”. He was loving this!

Phillip seated himself on his stool, took apart the pipe and looked at it. Then he looked at his lathe and seemed to think about something. I was getting excited. I was about to witness the master at work. He picked up his brand new carpenter’s pencil, steadied himself and….. sharpened it. He turned off the lathe, rubbed some graphite on the tenon of the stem, tried it a couple of times in the shank of the pipe and handed me the pipe saying, “There, it doesn’t stick any more.” That was it!! 30 minutes to sharpen a pencil. I couldn’t help but laugh. Old Phillip thought I was just as proud of his effort as he was…and I was.

After struggling back up the stairs and giving me a whopping 50% discount on the pipes I sat at his table looking at over $500.00 worth of pipes that he had just sold to me for $255.00. He was exhausted. The fall he had a year ago had taken it’s toll and although he was looking and talking better than when I saw him 11 months ago. He had little strength and I think with the pending move from his home, little spirit.

We talked about my family and work as a police officer and then I took a few photos of Phillip holding my sitter. I shook his hand and wished him luck, which I regretted saying because I don’t believe in luck.

“I’ll need it.” he said. “Thank you, It was very nice seeing you too.”

I left with a tinge of sadness but was hopeful that I could visit Phillip once he gets to his new digs, buy another pipe or three, and meet Mr Trypis again…for the first time.

January 2018

P.S: I later realized that Don’s pipe had not been repaired well and that Phillip had been beyond doing any quality work for a number of years. He hadn’t been making pipes for probably 5 years and all the ones I had seen or bought were from before that time.

I did see Phillip once again around 2011 after he had moved in to his son’s home in Scarborough near Toronto. I took a friend there and between us we purchased about 7 or 8 pipes, again all at a highly discounted price. He didn’t remember who I was that time either.

I spoke with Phillip’s son in 2015 I think, and by that time Phillip was in a long term care facility with full blown dementia. I think that all his remaining pipes have been bought up by a couple of vendors. I still see them around occasionally. Get one if you can. They are lovely pipes.”

https://www.brothersofbriar.com/threads/phillip-trypis-a-recollection.38337/

That recollection satisfied my quest for information about mr. Trypis. I think the photo added the last piece. I am grateful that User 3604 shared this remembrance with all of us.

The Restoration

I began by giving Stumpy a clean denim piece to sit upon during this restoration.

I knew that this stem would require some extra time in the Before and After Extra Strength Deoxidizer so, I started with it. The stem was cleaned out with a couple of bristle pipe cleaners dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol. Earlier I had remarked that the previous owner appeared to have cared for this pipe. This was again made evident with the relatively clean airway of the stem.

The reaming tools were gathered.

The PipNet made quick work of the reaming only requiring light scraping with the other tools. The interior of the tobacco chamber was sanded with the wood dowel wrapped in 320 sandpaper. This sanding was taken to bare briar and revealed no damage to the interior of the bowl.

The lava on the rim was moistened with saliva and scraped with a sharp pocket knife.

The airway of the shank was moistened with alcohol wetted cotton swabs and scraped with a dental scraper then scrubbed with several cotton swabs dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol.

The stummel was taken to the sink where it was scrubbed with undiluted Murphy Oil Soap and a nylon scrub brush. The soap was rinsed with warm water and the stummel dried with a cotton hand towel.

The minimal tooth chatter was sanded with 320 and 400 grit sanding sponges.

The stem received a pipe cleaner inserted into the tenon to act as a hanger for its bath in Before and After Extra Strength Deoxidizer or, as I like to call it, deox.

The deox bath lasted overnight and the next day the stem was removed from the deox and allowed to drip excess solution back into the jar.

I rubbed the remaining excess solution from the stem with a coarse shop rag.

This rag absorbs the deox and abrades the softened oxidized rubber leaving wonderful patterns on the rag, creating a lovely Rorschach lick pattern on the rag.

Back at the workbench I wrapped the shank with painters tape and used Soft Scrub cleanser on make-up pads to further scrub the oxidized vulcanite from the stem. This stem was severely oxidized.

Next the stem was sanded with a series of sanding sponges from 320-3500 grit. Between each sponge I rubbed the stem with mineral oil and wiped it with a paper towel.

There was still lingering oxidation on/in the vulcanite. I had to use the bright lights of the photo station so show it below.

Bah.

I took the stem to the buffer and used the rogue compound on a flannel wheel. Several applications of rogue to the wheel and wheel to the stem later, I could barely make out any oxidized vulcanite. I continued on to the micro-mesh pads. Here I used pads 4000-12000. Between each pad I applied Obsidian Oil rubbed on and wiped off with a paper towel.

I polished the stem with both Before and After Fine and Extra Fine Polish. Each polish was hand buffed using a soft cotton cloth.

The stummel was given a coating of Before and After Restoration Balm applied with a baby toothbrush. I failed to photograph this step and the final waxing of the stummel. The Restoration Balm was allowed to work its magic for 20 minutes before being wiped from the stummel. The stummel was then waxed with Renaissance Micro-crystalline Wax, again applied with a baby toothbrush.

The wax was buffed with a clean flannel wheel on the buffer. The stem received several coats of carnauba wax also applied with the buffer. This final step was hand buffing with a microfiber polishing cloth.

Trypis Freehand is a delightfully carved original one-of-a-kind work. As mentioned earlier the pipe feels amazing in hand. The carvings add character with the smooth rim and side contrasting beautifully. The stem polished up fairly well. In normal room light it looks great, under very bright light residual oxidation can be seen in places. I think that the thickness and the extreme texturing of the briar will make a very cool smoking pipe for the next steward of this wonderful beauty. The dimensions of the Trypis Freehand are:
- Length: 5.83 in./ 148.08 mm.
- Weight: 1.94 oz./ 54.99 g.
- Bowl Height: 1.98 in./ 50.29 mm.
- Chamber Depth: 1.59 in./ 40.39 mm.
- Chamber Diameter: 0.74 in./ 18.80 mm.
- Outside Diameter: 1.58 in./ 40.13 mm.
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.

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Below are some photos of the completed Trypis Freehand.