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.
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.”
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.
Below are some photos of the completed Alpha Calabash pipe.
NebraskaPeteGeek 
