Tag: “ Briar pipes

A Kaywoodie Tuckaway Dublin Restoration

December 1st, 2025
Photographed and written by

John M. Young

This is the third Kaywoodie Tuckaway that I have come across. The previous two were purchased and restored before I started blogging restorations, prior to October 31, 2023. They are two of my favorite pipes and have places in a three-pipe rack on my mantleplace. Below is a photo of the three amigos.

The stamping of my original two, the first has KAYWOODIE over Super Grain (in script) over IMPORTED BRIAR (on the shank bottom), a 042 on the right side shank and a logo-less stem. The second pipe has KAYWOODIE over Standard (in script) over IMPORTED BRIAR on the left shank with 022 on the right and a Kaywoodie clover logo stem. I identified the newest pipe from what appeared to be an assortment of pipe parts on eBay. Apparently no one else thought this mess was worth the $9.99 opening bid.

The newest pipe has no discernable stampings but it does have a Kaywoodie clover logo stem. The stems of all three pipes are interchangeable. Below are some photos of the pipe prior to starting work on it.

No stamping bottom, left nor right.

The only distinguishing feature is the stem logo.

The pipe was in relatively good shape. It had a moderate cake in the tobacco chamber and some lava on the rim. The stem showed signs of tooth chatter but without any deep dents or wear. The fit of the stem in the mortise was snug and proper. The grime on the stummel made it a bit difficult to see the grain of the briar but there were hints of beauty under the accumulated dirtiness. As for the slightly off colored clover logo, I thought it would brighten to the original white once sanded. Overall, this looked like a nice and easy restoration.

Background

Kaywoodie has a long and colorful history dating back to their origins, “Kaywoodie name first appearing in February of 1919.” (Kaywoodie History – Greywoodie LLC) The history of Kaywoodie pipes is fortunately well documented thus, allowing rather precise dates for a Kaywoodie collector to declare the provenance of their charges. Rather than deposit it here, I will link the two outstanding histories of KB&B/Kaywoodie – Greywoodie’s site has a well written history of the company (Kaywoodie History – Greywoodie LLC) and pipedia.org has pretty much the same written history with a rich library of Kaywoodie catalogs, photos and images of old print advertisements, (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kaywoodie). I can’t recommend them enough for those interested in reading more about the company and the products. There is a third document which provides information more specific for tracing the providence of a specific pipe or model of pipes and that is he Collector’s Guide to Kaywoodie Pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Collector%27s_Guide_to_Kaywoodie_Pipes).
- Tuckaway. The 1955 catalog shows a Drinkless Tuckaway that was simply a smaller version of other Kaywoodie styles. The Tuckaways of the 1955-1968 period had military mountings, filter-free see-thru bits, and were packaged in a leatherette case. Available in Standard, Relief Grain, and Super Grain grades ($6-$8, depending on grade). Miniatures. Two-inch miniature replicas of “their big brother”, complete with the Drinkless fitment and Synchro Stem. The catalogs show these as individually-cased pipes but multiple pipe sets were apparently available. Price: $5.00 (Collector’s Guide to Kaywoodie Pipes – Pipedia)
Back in October, 2025 Dal Stanton published a restoration blog about a Kaywoodie Tuck away that he did New Life for a Rare, Early 1960s Kaywoodie ‘Tuckaway’ Standard 050B – The Pipe Steward. This well researched and written post does a fine job at documenting the Kaywoodie Tuckaway far better than I have done. Dal’s pipe also has the “filter-free see-through bits” alluded to in the Collector’s Guide quoted above. This forces the question of when did Kaywoodie produce the three examples which I have come across? Well the only thing which I state is the above quote, “The Tuckaways of the 1955-1968 period had military mountings” (Collector’s Guide to Kaywoodie Pipes – Pipedia). The bits associated with these three pipes are not exactly vulcanite, nor are they nylon. They are apparently some different plastics. They do not oxidize like vulcanite but they are softer than acrylic. They dent from tooth chatter more like nylon but they are easier to sand file and sand than the nylon bits of Medico or Falcon pipes. The white clover logo does show a yellowing with age which was refreshed to the white with sanding.

The Restoration

After the “Before” photos the pipe made its way to the workbench.

Reaming was the first task. The PipNet with #1 and #2 blades, the Smokingipes Low Country reamer and the General triangular scraper were recruited for the task.

The PipNet blades did most of the work.

This Tobacco chamber was drilled with a more conical bit, as is traditional for a Dublin shape pipe. The Kleen-Reem fit this chamber better that the PipNet and was used as well.

There was little for the General to do, but for a bit of clean-up.

Below is a down chamber photo of the reaming results.

The chamber was sanded with 320 sandpaper wrapped around a wood dowel. The exposed bare briar showed no signs of any heat damage.

The rim had a layer of lava on the back half. I hoped there wouldn’t be any charring underneath.

The rim was moistened with saliva. I then took the knife upstairs for a resharpening on the sharpening stone. A few minutes later the rim was scraped with a very sharp blade.

I was surprised at how clean, relatively, the airway of the shank was.Some scraping with a dental scraper was done followed by an alcohol soaked shank brush and several bristle pipe cleaners and cotton swabs also dipped in the 99% ethyl alcohol.

Below are two close-ups of the tooth chatter on the top and bottom sides of the bit. Notice how it looks more like the nylon of a Medico pipe.

I was able to file the bite zone to eliminate most of the chatter on both the top and bottom surfaces.

After the file, I moved to an emery board, like for filing fingernails.

The emery board was also used to reestablish and redefine the button.

There were still some minimal dents which were being difficult. I thought, “maybe a flame painting”. This is where the flame from a lighter is moved along the dented surface. In my experience this is usually to minimal effect but it did seem to work.

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

Back at the workbench I rubbed the stummel with a make-up pad wetted with 99% ethyl alcohol. This produced some color on the pad as dye or stain was removed from the briar.

I wanted this pipe to be lighter in color to show off the briar grain. I first started a light sanding with a 320 grit sanding sponge.

The sanding helped but not as much as I had hoped. Hmm, plan-B: An application of oxalic acid was the remedy that came to mind.

The crystals present at the bottom of the jar indicate the solution is fully saturated. Oxalic acid is known to bleach stains in woods. My hope was to lighten the color of the briar. Previous attempts at this have met with varying degrees of success.

I applied the first coating of oxalic acid to the stummel with a cotton swab.

This was allowed to sit for 30 minutes while I finished watching an episode of Homeland (glad that it finally made it’s way to NetFlix).

After 30 minutes I recoated the stummel with a second application of the oxalic acid solution.

This one sat for another 20 minutes. The photo below shows what it looked like dried.

The stummel was returned to the sink for rinsing with copious amounts of water. To make sure the oxalic acid was completely rinsed and neutralized I scrubbed the stummel with Castile soap and a nylon brush. I figured that the basic nature of the soap would neutralize the remaining acid.

More rinsing and then some more rinsing, oxalic acid can continue the bleaching if not completely removed.

Once dried I wiped the stummel with 99% ethyl alcohol on a make-up pad again. Far less color came off on the pad and the stummel did appear lighter, though not to the extent I was hoping for.

The only fills that I thought necessary were two on the lower left of the stummel.

The pits were filled with briar dust which was pressed into the pit. The dust then received a small drop of thin cyanoacrylate (CA, super glue). The CA was absorbed into the briar dust and bonded the dust to the stummel nearly instantly.

The fill was then sanded smooth with a 400 grit sanding sponge.

The aluminum collar was covered with masking tape, then the stummel was sanded with a series of sanding sponges from 400-3500 grit. Between sponges the stummel was wiped with an alcohol moistened make-up pad to remove sanding debris.

The stem was sanded with a series of sanding sponges from 400-3500 grit. The masking tape remained on the collar for this sanding. Between sponges the stem was rubbed with mineral oil and wiped with a paper towel. This wiping was to remove any sanding debris. Once the sanding was finished the masking tape was removed and the stem oiled with Before and After Hard Rubber Balm.

I thought that the entire pipe would look better with a buffing with white buffing compound.

After cleaning the buffing compound residue from the pipe I was happy with the briar and the collar but not with the stem. I worked the stem with a series of micro-mesh pads from 4000-12000 grit. Between each pad I rubbed the stem with Obsidian oil and wiped it with a paper towel. The stem looked better but not as well as I thought it could look.

I got out the Before and After Fine and Extra Fine polish and worked the stem, especially the bite zone with these and a soft cloth.

That did the trick, the stem looked good. Next I returned to the buffer and applied several coats of carnauba wax with the buffer.

The final step was to hand polish the pipe with a microfiber polishing cloth.

This Kaywoodie Tuckaway turned out beautifully. I was pleased with the way that the briar lightened with the oxalic acid and subsequent sanding. The briar needed no additional stain or dye and has a lovely warm brown appearance. The stem did turn-out nicely. I cannot say that I like working with whatever plastic it is made of but the end result is attractive. I do wish that this pipe had some official Kaywoodie stampings though. I know they would not affect the pipe’s performance and I am certain of this pipe’s provenance, still I do miss the stampings. The dimensions of this Kaywoodie are:

The dimensions of this Kaywoodie are:
- Length: 5.54 in./ 140.72mm.
- Weight: 1.03 oz./ 29.20 g.
- Bowl Height: 1.74 in./ 44.20 mm.
- Chamber Depth: 1.51 in./ 38.35 mm.
- Chamber Diameter: 0.72 in./ 18.29 mm.
- Outside Diameter: 1.32 in./ 33.53 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 finished Kaywoodie Tuckaway.
A Mountbatten Billiard Restoration

October 28th, 2025

Photographed and written by

John M. Young

You may have noticed that I have begun to only post one restoration blog per week. I am sure that you are thinking that the writing quality will certainly improve with more time spent on each individual post. Or, that I will make fewer mistakes because I have more time for perfection. Yeah right, like either of those are going to happen. Anyway, we are gathered together today for a pipe restoration, so here it is: A Mountbatten that came in with an estate lot back on February 6th, 2025. The pipe was stamped MOUNTBATTEN over MADE IN ENGLAND. There was another stamp but I didn’t notice it until after I’d started the restoration. See, I’ve already proven that I continue to make mistakes. Here are some photos of the pipe before work was started.

The pipe had obviously been smoked as evidenced by the lava deposits on the rim and the cake built up in the tobacco chamber. The stem was oxidized with some tooth chatter, more dents actually. The finish looked rather drab, which seemed strange because the sandblast texture was very nice with numerous bird’s eyes on both sides and straight grain on the front and back. I thought that some contrast dye would improve the look dramatically. Overall, this appeared to be a rather straightforward restoration.

Background

For some reason I always associated Mountbatten with Blatter of Montreal. Perhaps it is due to my lysdexic (or is that dyslexic?) brain wanting to see a pattern with pipe names and “tt”. This was the first Mountbatten that I recall working on. The pipe was well crafted with the fit of the stem to the shank excellent. I started with a search on pipedia.org for “Mountbatten”. Here I found the following:

“Mountbatten is often referred to as a Charatan second, but apparently the Mountbatten pipes were made by Charatan apprentices. So while they are not Charatans, they are perhaps on their way to becoming Charatans. A second would tend to be a pipe with a deficiency (in material or workmanship), a Mountbatten would perhaps be closer to a Charatan in quality.

The following is originally from a pipes.org forum post by Bill Ramsey.

“Friends, after 40 years of nosing around pipes, what I have gleaned is this: Charatan sold its seconds under private labels and later acquired the English rights for Ben Wade for just this purpose. Mountbatten, on the other hand was not a “second”(in that there was some physical deformity in the pipe) but rather a first line production from Charatan’s apprentice program. Each Charatan carver might have four or six apprentices at any one time of various skill levels. As they improved and started cutting pipes themselves, these pipes had to move… thus the Mountbatten. These were made on Charatan tooling with Charatan materials and teaching. Bear in mind that there was a high attrition rate and , perhaps, one apprentice in nine or ten made it to cutting their own bowls much less a Charatan carver. This is why you see more Charatans than Mountbattens on the market. You’re never going to put your kid through college by selling one but you’ve got a day to day workhorse of the first order. Good luck and happy puffing.”

Pretty interesting! This is information comes to us from an interesting post on rebornpipes.com about restoring the pips bellow” (Mountbatten – Pipedia).

So, I apparently had a pipe made by an apprentice that had mastered the fitting of stems to a shank and had advanced to blasting, which they were quite good at, then attempted finishishing blasts, which they were not quite as good at, yet. I merely say that because I was not impressed by the finish of this pipe. It looked kind of Play-doughy – unicolor and lacked definition.

I still wasn’t sure when the pipe was made. Reading through the pipedia content on Charatan led me to a convoluted history with several “eras” for Charatan pipes but little to no information of Mountbatten. If I assume the shape numbers remained the same for Chatatan and Mountbatten which I thought was a reasonable assumption, then they would be consistent. Hmm, I was wrong about that. 818 was never a Charatan shape. The pipedia.org does have a single photo of a Mountbatten with a very similar shape number and finish:

(File:Mountbatten 812, courtesy of Chris Rigol.jpg – Pipedia)

The Restoration

As per tradition, I placed a relatively clean denim piece on the work surface.

The ream team was gathered and included the following: PipNet with the #2 & #3 blades, the General triangular scraper with the tip ground round and the Smokingpipes Low Country reamer.

The PipNet’s #2 and #3 blades did the majority of the reaming.

The clean-up was done with the other two scrapers.

After Reaming the tobacco chamber was sanded with 320 sandpaper wrapped around a wood dowel. There were a couple of gouges on the walls of the tobacco chamber from previous scraping/reaming but no signs of heat damage. I thought that a bowl coating may be beneficial and hoped that I’d remember to do it. The below photo also shows the lava deposits that I hoped the stummel scrubbing would eliminate.

The stem was cleaned with bristle pipe cleaners and 99% ethyl alcohol. The stem was surprisingly clean.

A pipe cleaner was inserted into the stem to act as a handle for removing the stem from the Briarville Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover (lovingly called deox).

The shank proved to be a bit more difficult to clean than the stem. This cleaning was done in similar fashion to the stem but with a nylon shank brush joining the assault.

Once the shank was cleaned the stummel was taken to the sink for a scrub. Here I used a nylon brush with Murphy Oil Soap, undiluted. The soap was rinsed with warm water.

Not being completely satisfied with the scrubbing, I upgraded to a brass brush and repeated the process. After the rinse I dried the stummel with a cotton hand towel.

Back at the workbench the stummel was wiped with 99% ethyl alcohol on a make-up pad. This removed a little bit of color, perhaps a stain or wax residue.

I wanted to give this pipe an alcohol-cotton treatment to eliminate any remaining smoking residue from the airway/tobacco chamber. The tobacco chamber was packed with cotton along with the shank. I figured that 10 ml of alcohol would be the right amount.

The 10 ml of alcohol was applied with a disposable pipette. It saturated the cotton completely and would dissolve the smoking residues and deposit them onto the cotton as the alcohol evaporated overnight.

The next day I saw a purple color on the cotton packed into the shank. This purple was usually from potassium permanganate (KMnO₄). KMnO₄ is an oxidizing agent that is/was used as a stain for wood. Maybe the shank end had been stained this way, certainly the whole stummel had not been.

The cotton in the tobacco chamber did not have any of the purple coloring.

The cotton was removed and the stem cleaned again to remove any of the remaining residues that the alcohol may have softened but not liberated from the airway.

I removed the stem from deox. It was placed on a coarse shop rag where I vigorously hand buffed it. This removed some of the oxidized rubber which had been softened by the deox process.

Bah! The deox had removed some of the definition of the logo. This occurs when the oxidation is deeper than the stamping. The stem was returned to the workbench where it received a coating of mineral oil to keep it from further oxidizing.

I thought that this stummel would look better if the low spots of the blast were darker than the high spots. To achieve this I thought a base coat of Fiebing’s Dark Brown Leather Dye would work nicely. The tobacco chamber was sealed off with a wine bottle cork. A folded pipe cleaner acted as my applicator for the dye and a lighter provided a flame to burn away the solvent portion of the alcohol based dye.

A single coat of dye was applied and flamed.

I allowed the dye to dry then took it to the buffer. I only wanted to remove the dye from the high spots so a light touch was used when buffing with rouge buffing compound.

TO give the pipe more definition I lightly sanded the high spots with a 400 grit sanding sponge.

The stummel was wiped with a make-up pad dipped in alcohol to remove buffing compound and sanding debris then a coating of Before and After Restoration Balm was applied and worked into the briar with a baby toothbrush.

After about 15 minutes the Restoration Balm was hand buffed with an inside out athletic sock to remove the remaining balm.

I covered the stem logo with a piece of masking tape to preserve the remaining logo.

The shank was covered with a layer of masking tape to avoid sanding a well.

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

The stem was then micro-meshed with the 4000-12000 pads. Between each pad, I rubbed the stem with Obsidian Oil and wiped it with a paper towel.

I buffed the stem with a blue compound on the dedicated blue compound buffing wheel.

After buffing the stem, I removed the tape from the shank and the stem logo. The logo was still slightly degraded by the deox process. Hmm, I had hoped it would heal. Yeah, unreasonable and foolish but still a hope. It didn’t.

To bend the unsanded/micor-meshed/buffed logo area, I tried to polish it with Before and After Fine Polish applied and hand buffed with a soft cloth.

I chose this white acrylic paint because I had it available, it’s water soluble, dries quickly and it reminds me that I need to paint a few miniatures for gaming.

I worked the white acrylic paint into the stampings of the logo with a cotton swab.

The excess white acrylic was buffed off with a soft cotton cloth then re-micro-meshed the logo with a 12000 pad.

I reassembled the pipe and thought back to the before photo.

And compared it to the after. I think the contrast dye brought out the texture of the blast better and added depth and character to the pipe.

The pipe was then returned to the buffer for several coats of carnauba wax.

The final step was a hand buffing with a microfiber polishing cloth.

Well, I thought I was finished then I saw the bowl when I was going to take the finished photos of the pipe. DOH! I forgot that I wanted to give this pipe a bowl coating. I coated the interior of the chamber with 100% applied with a cotton swab. A capsule of carbon powder was poured into the chamber after I had blocked the airway with a pipe cleaner.

The rim was covered with a piece of painters tape. The stummel was shaken for about one minute. I removed the tape, pipe cleaner, dumped the excess carbon powder and blew through the airway to clear the remaining powder.

The final step was a hand buffing with a microfiber polishing cloth (the real final step).

This Mountbatten Billiard turned out very nicely. The contrast dye helped eliminate the unicolor of the original finish. The stem polished-up nicely even though I did lose some of the detail on the logo. I went with a bowl coating to address a couple of gouges in the tobacco chamber from overexuberant scraping. The blast texture is very pleasant in hand and brings out the lovely grain to this pipe. Overall this pipe looks well made and of quality briar that should provide years of enjoyment for the next owner. The dimensions of the Mountbatten Billiard are:

Length: 5.61 in./ 142.49 mm.

Weight: 1.41 oz./ 39.97 g.

Bowl Height: 1.92 in./ 48.77 mm.

Chamber Depth: 1.63 in./ 41.40 mm.

Chamber Diameter: 0.74 in./ 18.80 mm.

Outside Diameter: 1.48 in./ 37.59 mm. (from cheek to cheek)

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 finished Mountbatten Billiard.
A Peterson Croydon Square 42 Apple Restoration

September 25th, 2025
Photographed and written by

John M. Young

I remember reading my first Sherlock Holmes in middle school, The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I loved the idea of a mystery, even though I knew about the great detective, the solution to the mystery was all new to me. I feel that way about this pipe, a Peterson Croydon Square 42. I had above average knowledge of Peterson pipes but had not heard of the Croydon Square line. Where would this mystery lead me?

The pipe was another single target eBay acquisition. I paid more than I really wanted to but it was a specimen that I had not seen before and I wanted to work on it. After a quick trip from LaGrange, Georgia to the wilds of southeast Nebraska, I had my prize. The photos below show the pipe prior to any work.

The Croydon Square looked like a well loved and used pipe. The restoration looked straight forward; cleaning, reaming, sanding of the stummel, deoxidation of the stem with sanding and polish. There did not appear to be any glaring issues with this old pipe, just use and time.

Background

Being unfamiliar with London, I’d not heard of Croydon nor of Croydon Square. I am familiar with Peterson pipes though, yet Croydon was an unfamiliar line of Petersons to me. I first wanted some information about the geography.

(London Borough of Croydon – Wikipedia)

Apparently Croydon dates back to:
- Croydon was first recorded in 809 CE as the site of a Saxon minster church. It later grew into a major medieval market town.
- Surrey Street Market has traded since 1276, making it one of the UK’s oldest continually operating markets.
- Croydon Palace and Addington Palace served as archbishops’ residences for over 500 years, notably under John Whitgift.
- Croydon Aerodrome pioneered international passenger flights and established the world’s first air traffic control tower.
- Modern Croydon blends cultural venues, a tram network and major office space, anchored by Fairfield Halls and St George’s House.
(Croydon’s History | Saxon Settlement to South London Hub)

With my curiosity settled on that account, I turned my gerbil-like attention to the pipe. I cannot give Kapp and Peterson the credit they are due. In the most comprehensive guide to the history of Peterson Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg wrote a wonderful book The Peterson Pipe (Irwin, Mark and Malmberg, Gary. The Peterson Pipe; The Story of Kapp and Peterson. 2018, Briar Books Press, Canada. First edition, second printing.). According to Irwin and Malmberg, the legacy of Peterson as “the world’s oldest continuously operating briar pipe maker” (Irwin, p. 3). This is a treasure trove of information for those interested in Peterson pipes. It is currently “sold out” from The Peterson Pipe Book (Softcover) | Smokingpipes.com.

As complete a guide to Peterson pipes as this book is, it was lacking in much information regarding the Croydon pipe in hand. I was able to glean additional information from Mark Irwin’s Peterson Pipe Notes (PPN) (Peterson Pipe Notes – Peterson Pipe Notes: Celebrating Peterson Pipes). Within the blog entry, “136. Filling the Gap: The 1939 Rogers Import Peterson Catalog & Download” (136. Filling the Gap: The 1939 Rogers Import Peterson Catalog & Download – Peterson Pipe Notes), I read the following:

“I’m also happy to report that a few revisions of the book are now in order. That didn’t take long, did it? So get out your pencil, it’s time to annotate your copy: (1) The Croydon Square origin date is given as 1949 in the book, as we only had an RDTA Almanac an unhallmarked specimen to go by. But now—surprise!—it’s clear that the line was being made as early as ’39. (The similarity between the name of Croydon Square and Trafalgar Square also has me wondering if the latter didn’t replace the former at some point.) (2) We can also pencil in ’39 as the earliest documented date (so far) for the Captain Pete. (3) The ad copy in the catalog also suggests that, at this date, the line was made exclusively at the London factory. (4) And if that’s not enough, at the beginning of the “N” section in the Information Guide, you can write, “An N prefacing two-digit shape numbers of English-made pipes refers to a natural finish.”” (136. Filling the Gap: The 1939 Rogers Import Peterson Catalog & Download – Peterson Pipe Notes)

In the above quote from Mark Irwin, the “RDTA” refers to “Retail Tobacco Dealers of America. The forerunner of the current Premium Cigar Association with a few name changes in between.” (Mark Irwin, personal communication. September 22, 2025). Don’t worry, I had no idea what it meant either. I emailed Mark and got a quick reply. The PPN blog also had the following page from a 1939 Roger’s catalog:

(136. Filling the Gap: The 1939 Rogers Import Peterson Catalog & Download – Peterson Pipe Notes)

AHA, specific historical information about the Croydon Square pipe was at hand. This put the pipe’s provenance from at least 1939 to ? and also the shape 42. Although this information led to more questions. There is no mention or illustration of fishtail stems, only P-lips. The pipe in hand had been smoked quite a bit leading me to the thought that the stem of this pipe may be a replacement.

In The Peterson Pipe, where the London production of pipes is discussed at length, was another interesting piece of information. Here, Irwin and Malmberg say, “Apparently, the London factory did not order a MADE IN ENGLAND die until after the war. Any Peterson stamped with an English COM must be no older than the later 1940s” (Irwin, p.150). If it is assumed that this pipe was not stamped due to there not being a stamp available then it would date from 1939-late 1940s. If it was merely not stamped with a COM then it is assumed to be made during the years of pipe production at the London factory 1936-1962. I prefer to think that it is due to the former. This is actually a selfish desire to have the dates of production to be a more definitive late 1930s-late 1940s. I know, too much conjecture…

The Restoration

The restoration began with a clean denim piece protecting both the work surface and the pipe.

I began with the stem. This was cleaned with bristle pipe cleaners and 99% ethyl alcohol.

The stem was then submerged in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover (deox). It bathed for 18 hours.

In the meantime, I worked on the stummel. The ream team was gathered.

The PipNet #1 and #2 blades were both put to use. The General triangular scarper was also used to do some cleanup of the tobacco chamber and the rim.

Below is a photo of the tobacco chamber after the reaming.

The chamber was then sanded with 320 sandpaper wrapped around a wood dowel. No damage to the chamber was observed.

The rim however was encased in a layer of lava.

The lava was softened with saliva and scraped with the blade of a sharp pocket knife.

Next came the shank airway cleaning. Again the 99% ethyl alcohol and bristle pipe cleaners were used. There was also a good deal of scraping with a dental scraper and use of a nylon shank brush.

I was not completely happy with my efforts to rid the airway of the residue of tar and general yuck. I thought an alcohol and cotton treatment would do the airway some good. The tobacco chamber and the airway were stuffed with cotton.

99% ethyl alcohol was applied via a disposable pipette to the cotton until it was saturated. This took about 10 ml of alcohol.

The alcohol was allowed to evaporate overnight. This allowed the alcohol to dissolve the tars and transfer them to the cotton as the alcohol evaporated. The next day the cotton was stained, telling me the process worked.

The cotton was removed and the airway was cleaned again. The below photo shows the 2nd cleaning and the tars that were removed after the overnight cotton alcohol treatment.

The stummel was then taken to the sink for a scrubbing with a nylon brush and undiluted Murphy Oil Soap. 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 dipped in ethyl alcohol.

The stem was removed from deox and rubbed with a coarse shop rag. This removed a good deal of the oxidized rubber from the stem.

The stem was then worked with Soft Scrub cleanser on make-up pads to remove more of the oxidation.

I then oiled the stem with a liberal coating of mineral oil and let the stem sit for several hours. Oh yeah, I also ran a pipe cleaner through the stem and oiled the interior as well.

The rim looked far better but still rather rough. I thought that a light topping was in order.

The topping was done with 320 sandpaper laid on a flat counter top followed by a piece of 400 sandpaper. This revealed two additional areas of concern. A deeper dent or ding in the inner rim (about 5:00) and a hairline crack (at about 7:00).

I used a wood sphere wrapped in sandpaper to reestablish the inner rim bevel and smooth the rim.

I deemed the crack to be superficial and not structurally important. It was given a dab of Thin cyanoacrylate (CAl super glue) to seal it and was topped a second time with the 400 sandpaper. The ding was filled by packing it with briar dust and then applying a small drop of CA. This was repeated a second time. The wooden sphere and sandpaper was used to smooth the fill and the rim was topped again with the 400 sandpaper.

The stamps were taped off with masking tape to protect them from sanding.

I prefer asymmetrical pieces of tape because they leave a less noticeable mark on the briar where sanding was not done.

The first two sanding sponges used were the 320 and 400 grit. Sanding with these two showed me where several dents and pits were. All of these blemishes were small so they were filled by placing a tiny drop of Thin CA on the spot and sanding it with a very dirty sanding sponge. By dirty, I mean a sponge that has a large amount of briar dust on it. Even with the extra briar dust sometimes the CA gets onto the sanding sponge. This can be seen below as the dark spots on the sponges.

The small fills were sanded with 324 and 400grit sponges.

Below are some photos of the fills after they’d been filled.

The pipe was then sanded with the full series of sanding sponges from 320 -3500 grit. Between each sponge the stummel was wiped with a make-up pad wetted with alcohol. 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. The wiping of the stem and stummel was done as with the sanding sponges except the stem was rubbed with Obsidian Oil.

I took the pipe to the buffer and buffed it with blue buffing compound.

After wiping any remaining buffing compound from the pipe it was given a coating of Before and After Restoration Balm and allowed to sit for an hour. Why an hour? Because I got side-tracked with another project.

The excess balm was wiped away using an inside out athletic sock.

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

The final step was another hand buff with the microfiber polishing cloth then off to the final photo shoot.

This beautiful Peterson’s Croydon Square 42 is a great example of Peterson’s English workmanship. The stain of the original pipe was maintained and gives the pipe a slight contrast-dye look. It was finished with careful sanding and just carnauba wax. The stem sanded and polished to a gorgeous glossy luster. Though lacking any stunning briar grain there is some nice flame grain on the rear left. The dimensions of the Peterson’s Croydon Square 42 are:

Length: 5.67 in./ 144.02 mm.

Weight: 0.95 oz./ 26.93 g.

Bowl Height: 1.43 in./ 36.32 mm.

Chamber Depth: 1.25 in./ 31.75 mm.

Chamber Diameter: 0.71 in./ 18.03 mm.

Outside Diameter: 1.37 in./ 34.80 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 finished Peterson Croydon Square 42.
A Captain Fortune (John Redman) Bulldog Restoration

September 2nd, 2025
Photographed and written by

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John M. Young

Decisions, decisions. I had the urge to work on a bulldog this week but which one from the queue would be the lucky victim?

I had worked on Peterson and Marxman pipes recently, so they were out of the running. That left the Briars and Blends pipe (bottom) and the Captain Fortune (top). Well, from the title of this blog you have probably surmised my choice. TheCaptain Fortune was a purchase made to help out a Nebraska antique dealer I came across while looking for restoration subjects. I don’t usually opt to lend a hand to specific businesses but these guys were new, from Nebraska and had a pipe that I found interesting. Below is the original listing:

After submitting an offer, which was accepted, The pipe was on its way from northeast to southeast Nebraska. Upon arrival the pipe looked like the below photos.

The pipe had definitely been used. The condition of the stem with its calcium deposits, discoloration and bite hole on the underside indicated that. The bowl, as well, showed substantial cake. The rim had a lava deposit and several chips indicating that the dottle was knocked out on hard rough surfaces. There was also an area on the inside front of the rim that looked like charring from lighting the pipe from the front with a non-pipe lighter. The stinger looked surprisingly clean but oxidized. Perhaps the previous owner loved this pipe and a clean airway. That would explain the lack of smoking residue on the stinger. I doubted that the additional markings of Rudy and 1977 were factory marks, but they did add some context to the age of the pipe and when it was being smoked.

Background

Captain Fortune is a brand of pipes made by John Redman Ltd. and British Empire Pipe company. According to pipedia.org’s brief entry,

“Other lines include Aristocrat, Buckingham, Buckingham Palace, Canberra, Captain Fortune, Dr John, Golden Square, Redonian, Richmond (not Sasieni), Twin Bore

Former factory located at 3-11 Westland Place, Hackney, London N1 7LP” (John Redman Ltd./British Empire Pipe Co. – Pipedia). That was not much to work with then I recalled working on another John Redman pipe back in December of 2024. I will link to that restoration here. The research for that pipe was more productive and I will include a quote from it below:

“My thirst for knowledge remained unfulfilled. I tried searching the internet without a guide and found a wonderful article by an anonymous author on the vkpipes.com site.

“This famous picture above is perhaps the only broad known illustration to materials about John Redman LTD & British Empire Pipe Co. And the majority of sources doesn’t move usually far beyond a couple of sentenses: this company did really exist, it was located at this address and there is their former building. However…

However, this Edwardian building on Westland Place was only an annex and no actual manufacturing was located there. The principle place of business and offices were located in Whitecross Street 123/5/7, within 15 minutes of slow walking from Westland Place. Therefore, one of their series was named Whitecross – you may find it in the catalogue below. The building on Whitecross St. still stands there and you may see it on the picture below. The crossing street is the Fortune St., so we have got an explanation of another Redman’s brand name – Captain Fortune.

Indeed, many Redman’s brands bear such toponomical signs: the “Golden Square” series comes from the Golden Square located between the Lower John and Upper John streets, “Dr. John” is the most probably related to the abovementioned John streets. There are also Canberra road and Canberra House in London (which might inspire stamping of the famous Canberra pipes) as well as Canterbury House (Canterbury series). Burlington pipes named after the Burlington Arcade (see also H. Simmons). The majority of them are located quite close to John Redman’s main office. No wide explanations are needed for the series Westminster and Kensington. And of course, some British imperial charm was added with names Aristocrat, Redman’s Royal, King’s Ransom.

John Redman (as it happened later to Eric Nording) was both a carver and an owner of a business of the same name. The first pipes were born in 1934, but personal efforts appeared soon to be insufficient, what inevitably led to emerging of the name John Redman LTD. Unfortunately, we don’t have artifacts, which could be unambiguously carried to the “pre-war” period. In the WWII years the company could hardly got to the list of lucky manufacturers, who received scarce briar from the state.

But by the end of 1950s John Redman’s firm offered a well balanced portfolio – from popular and practical “Captain Fortune”, “Dr John”, “Golden Square” to top graded Redman’s Royal made of best briar and almost without any stains (comparable to GBD Virgin, but the “Royals” were usually much larger and carved in their own unique style). And of course, we shouldn’t forget about qualitative and still affordable Redonians, Aristocrats and Canberras – a very strong middle (and upper middle) segment. More details, list of offered brands as well as presentation and gift sets can be seen in the catalogue.

It is known that in late sixties and later a part of the production was ordered from subcontractors, for example Blakemar Briars, and since 1992 trademarks of John Redman were taken over by Gerald Grudgings of Loughborough; this company wasn’t a top manufacturer, but many sources attribute the invention of the lovat shape to it.

As the conclusion we are proud to express our sincere and warmest thanks to Robert Deering, who worked for John Redman in 1960s and gave us a number of very important directions.

Below you may enjoy the catalogue of the John Redman Ltd products approximately from the 1960s. A very rare finding!” (JOHN REDMAN Catalogue – Very Keen on Pipes)

(JOHN REDMAN Catalogue – Very Keen on Pipes)” (A Golden Square Apple Restoration – NebraskaPeteGeek)

Now, the Captain Fortune pipe in hand has what I assume to be an owner’s autograph and a date etched into the briar along the underside of the shank. It reads “Rudy” and “1957”. I am going to go out on a limb here and say that those are not factory originated marks. I am also going to say that 1957 was the year that that date was inscribed. That would place this pipe squarely into the time quoted by the above article as of the , “end of 1950s John Redman’s firm offered a well balanced portfolio – from popular and practical “Captain Fortune…” This supposition and the apparent age of the pipe itself would make this Captain Fortune bulldog produced in London during the latter 1950s.

The Restoration

The captain Fortune made its way from the photo table to the workbench, a grueling 18 foot distance and to its denim piece.

Once at the workbench I removed the stem and gathered my official Stinger Extraction Device (SED). The SED is actually a strip of thick leather used to protect the aluminum of a stinger from the jaws of a pliers.

The suckedness of this stinger led to absolute failure in its removal. Not wanting to risk breaking the vulcanite, I devised plan B.

Being a big believer of Plan Bs, in general, I chose to soak the stinger and end of tenon in a medicine cup with 99% ethyl alcohol. Now, I know what you are thinking, “That stem is too heavy to stay in that little medicine cup.” Trust me, it will be fine.

PipNet led the ream team with the #1 blades.

That was until I realized that the cake was much thicker than I thought it was. The PipNet #2 blades came out and earned their keep. The Smoking pipes Low Country reamer was great for the curve at the bottom of the chamber and the General triangular scraper did cleanup on the interior walls.

The tobacco chamber looked much better and more spacious.

The chamber was sanded with 320 sandpaper wrapped around a wood dowel.

Now, normally sanding does create some shaking of the workbench. This shaking was just enough to tell me that the stinger was ready to come out of the stem. No, the top heavy stem did not tip over the medicine cup of alcohol and spill the alcohol all over the workbench. That would indicate that the restorer was a total clutz and perhaps an idiot. No, let’s just say that after some using alcohol to clean the top of the workbench the stinger was ready removed using the official SED.

Now, back to the sanding. Things looked pretty good until I used alcohol wetted cotton swabs to clean out the sanding debris from the tobacco chamber. As the alcohol evaporated I saw several spiderweb patterns of heat damage to the chamber.

The below photo shows the webbing while the alcohol was evaporating, making the lines look darker. There were more spider webs on the interior right than left. None of them were very bad nor deep. The chamber felt nice and smooth to my finger. I thought that I should give this pipe a bowl coating to protect it and aid in the formation of a light cake.

Cleaning the shank came next. This was done with several bristle pipe cleaners and cotton swabs all dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol. There was also some scraping with a dental scraper. Every successful scrape removed reduced the cotton swabs and pipe cleaners needed dramatically.

Next came the rim. I was a bit worried what I’d find under that layer of lava.

The lava was moistened with saliva and allowed to soak for a couple of minutes. Then I lightly scraped with a very sharp pocket knife. This did reveal some charring but not as bad as I had feared.

The stummel was taken to the sink for a scrubbing with a nylon brush and undiluted Murphy Oil Soap. 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 an alcohol wetted make-up pad. This removed remaining wax and some lingering grime.

I turned my attention to the stem. This was cleaned with bristle pipe cleaners and 95% ethyl alcohol. The stem was surprisingly clean.

I inserted a pipe cleaner into the tenon for easier removal of the stem in the morning. The plan was to leave it in deox, that’s what I like to call time spent in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover. I have to say, this product is a good one and is available here: Briarville Stem Oxidation Remover 8oz | Briarville, Inc. And no, your’s will not come looking like this, it will be a bright yellow.

I thought this pipe would benefit from an alcohol cotton treatment so I stuffed the bowl and the shank with cotton.

I then poured out 10 ml of 95% ethyl alcohol into a medicine cup, thinking that would be about the amount needed. A disposable pipette was used to transfer the alcohol to the cotton.

Lucky guess, you say. I say I missed it by 1 ml. This needed to sit and evaporate overnight and the stem was soaking overnight, I guessed it was time for me to end this session.

In the morning the cotton was no longer white. The evaporating alcohol had worked to dissolve the tar and smoking residues from the briar and move them into the cotton.

I removed the cotton and cleaned the airway with a cotton swab. It came back with minimal residue.

The stem was retrieved from deox and vigorously rubbed with a coarse shop rag. This removed quite a bit of the oxidized vulcanite.

The stem logo was still visible but it was more faint. Extra care would have to be used to keep this stamp.

I used a piece of a plastic lid to act as a dam to keep the cyanoacrylate (CA. super glue), that I planned on using to fill the hole, from entering the airway.

I added several layers of painters tape to thicken the dam to achieve a tight seal.

The Bob Smith black CA was the product of choice due to having rubberizing agents in the formula. This gives it a bit more flex than regular CA. I applied the CA to the gap with a fly tying bodkin. I intended to allow the CA to cure on its own but after 15 minutes, I got impatient and spritzed it with a CA drying accelerator. I removed the dam and squirted some accelerator into the airway as well to assist in speeding up the curing process.

Once hardened, I filed the fill with a small flat file. There remained a small depression and the button also showed signs of wear.

A second application of the black CA to both the depression and the button edge was done with the fly tying bodkin.

Again lacking patience I spritzed the wet CA and sped the curing along.

The small flat file was again used to smooth the fill and reshape the button and an emery board for getting the angle of the button right.. Ahh, much better.

In preparation of the stem sanding, I covered the stem logo with a small piece of painters tape.

The shank was also masked off to keep the briar stamps from the evils of sanding.

The sanding was done with a series of sanding sponges in grits of 400-1500. Between each sponge the stem was rubbed with mineral oil and wiped with a paper towel. Yeah, the stem logo protector had to be replaced more than once.

The sanding continued with sanding sponges 2000-3500. The oiling and wiping were continued as well.

The next step in sanding/polishing the stem was a series of micro-mesh pads 4000-12000. After the 4000 pad, I removed the masking tape from the logo and cleaned the logo with alcohol.

The 4000-12000 micro-meshing continued. After each pad, I rubbed the stem with Obsidian Oil and wiped the stem with a paper towel.

The stem was looking very good. I now turned to the stummel. There were no areas which required filling but there was a damaged rim to address. The inner front of the rim was charred from a flame and the outer rear was damaged from dottle knocking. I planned on addressing these with a three pronged attack:
1. Topping the rim.
2. Using a wooden ball and sandpaper to establish an inner rim bevel, and
3. Use CA and briardust to build up the damaged outer rim.
Here you can see how the triploid plan is progressing.

And a close-up of the outer rim reconstruction.

Time to sand the stummel. I used a series of sanding sponges here as well. O didn’t mask the shank as the stamping covered the whole length. What I did instead was not sand it. The sanding was only done on the bowl. Between sponges I wiped the sanding debris from the stummel with a make-up pad dipped in alcohol.

The final sanding was done with sponges 2500-3500 with the same wiping as earlier.

The briar was finally micro-meshed with pads 4000-12000. Between each pad I continued to wipe with the alcoholic make-up pad.

The stummel was then coated with Before and After Restoration Balm. This is another great product and since I gave a shout-out to Briarville, I feel I owe one to Mark Hoover as well. Restoration Balm can be found here: Restoration Balm | La Belle Epoque

I waited about 30 minutes for the balm to do its magic before wiping the excess away using an inside out athletic sock.

The pipe was then taken to the buffer where it received several coats of carnauba wax.

The final step was to hand buff the pipe with a microfiber polishing cloth. I then took the pipe to the photography table for the “finished” photos. Upon seeing that I forgot to do the bowl coating I immediately went back to the workbench. DOH! I used a cotton swab to apply a light coat of pure maple syrup to the interior of the tobacco chamber.

I then plugged the airway with a pipe cleaner and dumped about ½ of an activated charcoal capsule into the chamber. The rim was covered with a piece of painter’s tape. The stummel was then vigorously shaken for about a minute. The tape and pipe cleaner were removed then the stem reinserted and given a puff of air to clean excess carbon from the chamber.

The final touch was to hand buff the entire pipe with a microfiber polishing cloth, AGAIN.

This pipe turned out beautifully. I am sure Rudy would agree. I decided to leave the etched name and date because it told a bit of history about the pipe. I doubt any one named Rudy will buy this pretty Captain Fortune but, you never know. The briar has lovely grain and a rich color. The stem polished up beautifully and I think the repair will hold and enable years of faithful use. The dimensions of this Captain Fortune Bulldog are:

Length: 5.60 in./ 142.24 mm.

Weight: 1.02 oz./ 28.92 g.

Bowl Height: 1.64 in./ 41.66 mm.

Chamber Depth: 1.42 in./ 36.07 mm.

Chamber Diameter: 0.72 in./ 18.29 mm.

Outside Diameter: 1.43 in./ 36.32 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 finished John Redman Captain Fortune Bulldog.

Yeah, those first two photos were taken before I realized that I had not done the bowl coating.

The above photo was also taken before the bowl coating was done.
A Peterson Irish Seconds Bent Billiard Restoration

August 26th, 2025

Photographed and written by

John M. Young

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The story of the Ugly Duckling seems to come to my mind when I think of Peterson Irish Seconds. Though in the case of this pipe it’s more like an ugly duckling that got chewed on by a snapping turtle down at the pond.

Well, this looks like it might be another tough restoration. The reason this pipe didn’t make it as a “real” Peterson might have been the deeper than normal blastings at the front left of the pipe. In a couple of places the briar looks like the blasting cut deeper into the briar. I am no expert on Peterson quality control but that did seem suspect. As for what I planned to do was the following: A thorough cleaning of the pipe inside and out, a refinishing of the briar, and a rebuilding of the stem. This rebuilding would allow me to try to weld vulcanite kind of like I welded acrylic on a previous restoration (A Commissioned Stanwell 32 Button Repair – acrylic welding – NebraskaPeteGeek).

Background

Being a rather typical member of Generation-X, sometimes called lazy slackers, I will refer you to what I wrote about Peterson Irish Seconds in a previous blog,

I cannot begin to describe the history nor impact of the Peterson pipe company. I can tell you what I think is the best source of information on the subjects and that is Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg’s book, The Peterson Pipe The Story of Kapp & Peterson. According to the authors,Peterson’s seconds are as follows,

“Seconds Peterson seconds are pipes of all shapes with briar flaws deemed unacceptable for ordinary models and sold at reduced prices, sometimes unstained, fit with fishtail or round button mouthpieces. Since the early 1990s they have only been available in Ireland. Occasionally they are described in Peterson catalogs under different names, and documented specimens have various stampings. In roughly chronological order these include:

Stamped arched KAPP & over straight PETERSON”S over arched DUMMIES An early specimen preserved at the Peterson museum with this stamp has a round-button mouthpiece.

IRISH FREE STATE stamp (1922-37) COM stamp with no brand or model name. Documented with or without nickel bands.

System Reject (1968-) Noted first in the Price List for January 1968 as being available in all six system shapes. Also found in the ‘80 Peterson-Glass Price List.

Erica System Reject (1987-98)Noted in two US distributor catalogs. Fishtail mouthpiece, unstamped nickel band, with COM of MADE IN THE over REP. IRELAND or with no COM.

Irish Seconds (1982-98) Classic Range shapes stamped with no brand name , fishtail mouthpiece, in unstained, black rustic or dark brown finishes, no band. (Irwin, Mark and Malmberg, Gary (2018). The Peterson Pipe The Story of Kapp & Peterson, First edition, second printing 2021. Briar Books Press, Canada. p312).

Mark also writes a weekly blog titled Peterson Pipe Notes. If you have not already subscribed I highly recommend it. It will be one of the best $0 purchases you can make and is a vault of information on all things Peterson and various other topics. I am not just saying that because Mark has posted a few of my restorations either. His blog concerning the Irish Seconds is very well researched, written and can be found here: https://petersonpipenotes.org/tag/irish-seconds/. (Young, John. An Irish Seconds Oom Paul (Peterson 02) Restoration – NebraskaPeteGeek).

As for this pipe, I believe it to be a Peterson 312 shape. The dimensions and shape match the 312 Bent Billiard. According to the official Peterson website,

“One of our largest and most robust variations on the classic, this bent Billiard offers a generous fire hole with thick insulating walls, as well as a more tubular transition and muscular shank that capture our House Style. Though bold and substantial, its half-bend lends it a natural impression when clenched in the teeth.” (Peterson Pipes: System Standard Heritage (312) P-Lip).

The shank is drilled with a reservoir making me think that the pipe was not intended as an Irish Seconds but as a 312 but it just didn’t make the quality control cut after the blast. That is all conjecture on my part though.

The Restoration

As much as I do not like to work on more than one pipe at a time, due to old brain issues, I did indeed do these two pipes simultaneously.

Stem cleaning was the first priority as I wanted to get this stem into the Briarville’s oxidation remover solution. I was looking forward to trying the vulcanite welding.

The exterior was lightly rubbed with 0000 steel wool to remove the outermost oxidation.

The stem then was placed into the Briarville Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover, or Deox, as I like to call it. I planned to leave it in the solution overnight.

I then turned to gathering the ream team.

The PipNet’s #1 and #2 blades did most of the work with the General triangular scraper doing clean-up.

The rim had lava deposits, but with its rusticated rim, it would be tough to scrape clean.

The scraping of the rim, once softened with a bit of saliva, was partially productive.

The tobacco chamber was sanded with 320 sandpaper wrapped around a wood dowel. The sanding revealed the briar and no damage due to heat.

No damage is always welcome.

Next came the cleaning of the air way within the shank. This was more difficult. Peterson pipes with their reservoirs are frequently difficult to clean. I do wish that their owners would have taken a few minutes to swab out the reservoir with a tissue or napkin as recommended, but I too have neglected to do this after a smoke. The airway was cleaned with a dental scraper, nylon shank brush, bristle pipe cleaners and cotton swabs all doused with liberal amounts of 99% ethyl alcohol.

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

The deeper parts of the sandblast and the rim did not look like they were as clean as I would have liked so a second scrub was done with a brass brush and the Murphy’s. The rinsing and drying remained the same.

Back at the workbench the stummel was wiped with a make-up pad dipped in 99% ethyl alcohol. This did remove some of the black stain from the briar.

Still not happy with the cleanliness of the airway, I thought maybe a cotton and alcohol treatment would soften and draw out remaining tars from the briar.

The bowl, airway and shank were stuffed with cotton. The cotton was then saturated with about 10 ml of 95% ethyl alcohol and allowed to sit overnight. With the stem and stummel both soaking overnight with their treatments, I called it a night.

Remember I said that I was working on two pipes at the same time? Well, I continued the next morning. The cotton had done its job of absorbing the tars dissolved by the alcohol as it did its job of dissolving the tars and moving them to the cotton as it evaporated.

The cotton was removed.

I then cleaned the airway as before and was pleased that it took little effort.

The stem was retrieved from deox and placed on a coarse shop rag where it was rubbed vigorously. This helped remove some of the oxidation loosened by the deox solution.

The stem was filed and sanded exposing a cleaned surface to work with.

The same filing and sanding was done to the underside.

I cut a “dam” from a plastic lid to fit into the slot and block off the airway from unwanted welding material.

Below you can see the airway filled with the dam.

I selected a vulcanite stem from my extras.

The surface material was filed and sanded from the stem to expose clean fresh vulcanite.

I tried melting the vulcanite with a soldering iron, as I had successfully done with the acrylic. It did not work. I then tried to heat the vulcanite with a heat gun to soften it before using the soldering iron. This too met with failure.

All that it did was to make the surface of the vulcanite surface get rough, as if it were bubbling up. I could not get any material to melt off the stem for use as welding material for the Peterson’s stem.

Plan B began to form in my Multiple Sclerosis damaged brain. What if I cut a piece of vulcanite from an existing stem and welded it in place with rubberized cyanoacrylate (CA, super glue)? Hmm, the damaged brain thought this might work. I set off to find an appropriate donor stem. The donor’s button was removed with a cut-off tool with the dremel rotary tool. This also gave me a feel for cutting vulcanite.

I measured and drew out the piece which I wanted the donor to donate.

Except for a small chip off the donor piece where I tried to hold it in a forceps, it looked good and fit well. Okay, there was actually a lot of trimming and shaping with the dremel.

The Bob Smith rubberized CA was the glue of choice.

The CA was applied to the seam around the donor piece. The dam would hopefully keep the CA from dripping into the airway. Also from previous experiences the CA does not stick to this plastic.

After about 30 minutes I couldn’t wait anymore so I spritzed the CA with a drying accelerator. This hardened up the CA in moments. The plastic dam was pulled free.

I filed the repair with a small flat file and checked the airway. Everything was going according to the imagined plan.

A second application of black CA was applied to fill and blend the repair. I also added a line of CA to the back side of the button to re-establish its shape.

The underside of the stem was also coated with a thin layer of CA to fill the multitude of dents caused by the snapping turtle attack.

After the CA had cured it was again filed and sanded with 320 and 400 grit sanding sponges. The repair looked better than I had thought it would.

The underside was also filed and sanded.

WIth the stem issues resolved, I turned my attention to the refinishing of the briar. This pipe had some serious wear issues. The black stain had been worn away completely from the left rear side of the stummel.

I used Fiebing’s black Leather Dye diluted about 50% with ethyl alcohol.

I initially thought to just apply the dye to the areas where the finish had been worn away but as I did this I realized that blending the old and new finishes would be impossible. The best solution was to apply the black dye to the whole stummel.

Well, the whole stummel minus the lighter shank end. The dye was flamed with a lighter to burn off remaining alcohol and to help set the dye into the briar. After the flaming I wiped the surface with a make-up pad wetted with ethyl alcohol. I was not concerned with the dye drying because I wanted to remove the dye from the high spots of the blast. The lower spots would dry on their own accord.

After the stummel had dried, I lightly sanded the high spots and contours with a 400 grit sanding sponge.

This light sanding removed the black dyed briar from the surface revealing the lighter briar underneath.

The worn briar of the left side of the stummel looked much better.

The stem was then sanded with a series of sanding sponges. I did not worry about taping the shank as the sanding there would improve the lightening of the briar at the shank end. Between each sponge I rubbed the stem with mineral oil and wiped it with a dry paper towel.

The sanding continued through the finest grit sanding sponge, 3500. The oiling and wiping also continued between sponges.

I buffed the stem with white buffing compound to further polish the vulcanite.

The stummel was coated with a layer of Before and After Restoration Balm and allowed to sit for 30 minutes.

The remaining Restoration Balm was hand rubbed with an inside out athletic sock to remove the excess.

The stem was waxed with several coats of carnauba wax applied with the buffer.

I did not want to wax the stummel with carnauba due to the deeper recesses of the blast. I opted to use Renaissance Micro-Crystaline Wax. This product was applied with a baby toothbrush.

I used a shoe buffing pad to hand polish the Renaissance.

As a further buffing attempt, I used shoe buffing brushes to work the wax and raise the shine.

The final touch was to hand buff the entire pipe with a microfiber polishing cloth.

My struggle to repair the damage caused by the snapping turtle attack on this poor Peterson was complete. Overall I think it turned out very nicely. Given, I will probably not sell this specimen as the stem repair was a technique that I have not tried before and have not tested sufficiently. I was disappointed by my failure to weld the damage with vulcanite but will probably do more research and attempt it again. The stem did polish-up very well and looks dramatically better than it did. I am sure the repair will hold and should be strong enough to combat the forces of extended clenching. The refinishing of the stummel also turned out very nicely. The definite deep blast is a feature that I really like the look of. Though this may have been the reason for this pipe being classified as an Irish Second. The dimensions of this Peterson Irish Seconds Bent Billiard are:

Length: 5.50 in./ 139.70 mm.

Weight: 1.83 oz./ 51.88 g.

Bowl Height: 1.75 in./ 44.45 mm.

Chamber Depth: 1.54 in./ 39.12 mm.

Chamber Diameter: 0.72 in./ 18.29 mm.

Outside Diameter: 1.32 in./ 33.53 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 finished Peterson Irish Seconds Bent Billiard.
A Woodsman Restoration

July 15th, 2025
Photographed and written by

John M. Young

This pipe screamed at me when I first saw it on eBay. I have no idea why. I am not a huge fan of billiards but there was just something about the extended shank that said, “Hey you, check this out.” Everything about the pipe said that it was a WWII era pipe. The rustication, the non-briar look about the shank grain and the use of so much aluminum. I had neer heard of “Woodsman” as a maker or line of pipes. More on that in the “Background” section. This pipe demanded that I work on it. I’d have to ship it in from Canada and I doubted that I’d ever even break even if it sold. Still, it beckoned. Well, long story short, I bought it and waited for the arrival of another pipe to entertain me. Upon arrival the pipe looked as described; dirty, used and with faint stamps. The stamps read, Woodsman, in script on the left and GENUINE over BRIAR in a circle on the right shank. The below photos show the Woodsman before any work was done.

The pipe would need a reaming and an assessment of the condition of the tobacco chamber. There appeared to be a crack in the bow; on the right side of the bowl but it did not appear that the crack went all the way to the rim. The stamps were faint but still legible so extra care would have to be taken to preserve these. The stem had some light tooth chatter and minimal oxidation. The aluminum would need some buffing for scratch removal and polishing. A thorough cleaning and general refinishing were also on the menu. Overall it looked like a general restoration of a 75 year old used pipe.

Background

The research of the name, “Woodsman” produced nothing on either pipedia.org or pipephil.eu. A Google search did produce a result on Worthpoint.com and is shown below:

“

WOODSMAN D&P GENUINE BRIAR SMOKING PIPE From the research I gathered this pipe (D&P “Woodsman”) was probably made just after WW2. It has a genuine briar bowl and a Mt. Laurel shank. D&P made pipes mostly from Mt. Laurel from about 1942 until just after WW2. NEEDLESS TO SAY THIS IS AN EXTREMELY HARD TO FIND UNSMOKED PIPETOTAL LENGTH APPROXIMATELY 6″ LENGTH OF MOUTH PIECE IS ABOUT 1-1/2″ HAS A 7/8″ INSIDE ALUMINUM INSERT BETWEEN THE MOUTH PIECE AND THE PIPE STEM SPORTS A NICE SILVER BAND WEIGHS 1 OUNCE EXCELLANT CONDITION LIKE NEW NEVER SMOKED – VERY, VERY NICE” (Vintage smoking Pipe WOODSMAN D & P GENUINE BRIAR NEVER SMOKED | #1903579341)

I was not sure where the author of the above got the D&P but it does seem likely. The “D&P” comes from David and Paul Lavietes originators of Sparta Pipeworks, predecessor of Sparta Industries. I’ll let the pipedia.org site explain that history, below:

“Sparta Industries is based in Sparta, NC. It was created in the 1940s by David and Paul Lavietes, and originally called D&P Pipeworks. It began production in 1943 and at the end of the 1950s. From 1943-1946 D&P made the Spartan Pipe from locally sourced rhododendron a.k.a. “mountain laurel”. These pipes were very utilitarian and blocky, the bits were made of maple and featured a military mount. Pipes made from rhododendron had to be boiled in a boric acid solution to keep them burning when smoked. Both Rhododendron wood and Boric acid are known to be toxic to humans, though there is no evidence that there were any issues with the Spartan pipes. While some Spartan pipes were sold on the domestic market they were mainly produced to be sent to the war effort in Europe and were often included in C-Rations. Once the European briar shortage ended and shipments to the US began again D&P shifted production to traditional pipes made from real briar. Dr. Grabow took it over, at the end of the 1970s Sparta became one of the biggest pipe makers in the USA, and the Dr. Grabow brand was the number one in sales in the country. Today it makes various brands, producing over a million pipes a year, perhaps the largest amount from just one factory.

The company was bought in the 1990s by Lane, Ltd., a giant in the North American distribution sector. It produces and represents various brands, such as Aldo Velani, Alpha, Cesare Barontini, and Mastercraft.” (Sparta Industries – Pipedia)

The Woodsman pipe in hand, has what appears to be an extended shank of non-briar wood. I say this because the grain of the shank looks unlike briar. I’ve restored several pipes made from both Mission Briar and Mountain Laurel. Both of these woods have grains without the birdseye grain. I will link a post by Dave Tabler writing for Appalacianhistory.net for a fascinating read about the use of Mountain laurel and the pipes made from it in North Carolina – This is not a pipe… – Appalachian History –.

As a bonus feature I’ll link to an article on the curing of wood used for pipe making – Curing – Pipedia. Yeah, you can continue down that rabbit hope if you like. And if that were not enough I’ll throw in another restoration I did of a Trapwell pipe made of the “World’s Best Briar” that ain’t briar at all: A Trapwell Large Apple Restoration – NebraskaPeteGeek.

The Restoration

Things started well with the typical denim piece.

The ream-team was assembled.

This pipe needed the #2 and #3 PipNet blades. The Smokingpipes Low Country reamer and the General triangular scraper also got to see some action due to the concave nature of wear and charring.

The below photo is very misleading. The reamed tobacco chamber was not a cylindrical drilling any longer.

The below photo shows the tobacco chamber sanded. The charred areas were sanded to remove as much of the charred briar as I was able. I was not sure how to proceed with repairing the chamber and needed some pondering time.

Shank cleaning usually is a good activity for me to do pondering. This one started out by running the Kleen-Reem tool’s shank drill through the airway.

Below you can see the tip of the drill in the button of the chamber.

Next came the cotton swab dipped in alcohol to soften the remaining smoking residue. Then the scraping with a dental scraper. This produced a great deal of yuck. I tried scrubbing with folded bristle pipe cleaner dipped in alcohol and a shank brush. More yuck. Then moved to a .25 caliber brass bore brush mounted to a wood dowel. The Airway was filled with alcohol during the brushing and drained on the paper towel. Did I mention the amount of yuck removed?

At this point I thought maybe some hot water would help. So I took the stummel to the sink for the undiluted Murphy Oil Soap scrub with a nylon brush.

The stummel remained full of grime so the scrub was repeated with Murphy’s and a brass brush. The soap was rinsed with warm water and the stummel dried with a cotton hand towel.

Dang! Look at that crack. Well, does it go all the way through the chamber?

Oh man. The water really made the spider webbing show up too. What have I got myself into?

I then wiped the stummel with a cotton ball dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol. This colored the cotton some but not terribly.

I poured some alcohol into the tobacco chamber to see if the crack was all the way through the bowl. Alcohol leaked right through the side.

I was not leaking through just one point but the length of the crack.

What about the other side?, I asked. Yep, that one too was leaking alcohol through the bowl. Not as bad but still not a positive development.

Hmm, more to ponder. Needing additional pondering time, I turned to cleaning up the stem. I soaked the aluminum tube extension in alcohol to soften the residue.

The shank was very dirty so I thought packing the tobacco chamber and airway with cotton then saturating the cotton with 95% ethyl alcohol might help dissolve some of that.

The above 10 ml of alcohol were added to the cotton stuffed chamber and shank.

Some of the alcohol was seeping through the crack on the right side of the bowl. This leaking alcohol was undoubtedly carrying tars and other smoking residues to the outside of the bowl. That would require more cleaning.

A lesser amount of alcohol was seeping through the left side. This just added to the pondering.

Maybe stem cleaning would help the pondering process. The stem was also pretty filthy. Numerous bristle pipe cleaners all dipped in alcohol were used before the stem was cleaned.

I was still pondering tobacco chamber fixes. Hmm, maybe ridding the stem of the tooth chatter would help the pondering. The bite zone was filed with a small flat file.

On one side there remained three dents which would require filling with black cyanoacrylate (CA, super glue).

I applied a layer of black CA to the dents. This was allowed to cure or dry.

The cured black CA was then filed with a small flat file and sanded with a 600 grit sanding sponge.

Maybe the pondering organ would come up with a great solution in the morning. I let the alcohol do what it does in the tobacco chamber and shank overnight. The next morning I removed the now dry cotton. The cotton in the bowl was daily clean but the shank cotton was full of yuck.

I started the shank airway cleaning process again. Many cotton swabs dipped in alcohol and a good deal of scraping later the airway was more clean.

Still, the shank was dirty. I thought, “maybe another cotton alcohol soak would work.” I repacked the shank and chamber with clean cotton then added another 10 ml of 95% ethyl alcohol and let it sit overnight.

Another day later, I returned to the pipe and removed the cotton. I considered this a great success. The cotton was stained but it had removed nearly all of the smoking tars. Subsequent cotton swabs came back much cleaner. Victory!

All my pondering came up with the following plan for the cracked and leaking tobacco chamber: Water Glass, also known as sodium silicate (Na2SiO3). The idea would be to
1. Coat the interior of the tobacco chamber with a layer of Na2SiO3 allow it to dry or harden
2. Sand the chamber smooth.
3. Repeat until the tobacco chamber is smooth and a uniform cylinder.
This sounded very reasonable and like a good solution.

Below is a photo of the warnings from the bottle label.

I applied the Na2SiO3 using a folded pipe cleaner. I vigorously rub the pipe cleaner to remove any loose fibers. The Na2SiO3 is thicker than water, more like a syrup, in consistency.

The Na2SiO3 dried quite quickly and was hard within 30 minutes.

I then used brown CA applied with a fly tying bodkin to carefully fill the crack along the outside of the bowl on the right side.

I used a brass brush to add texture to the CA after it had dried. I had to apply a second coat to fill the void at the outer rim.

I sanded the interior of the tobacco chamber using a ¾ inch wood dowel wrapped in 220 sandpaper. Below is a photo of the first sanding of the first application.

A second application of Na2SiO3 was done, followed by a second sanding. This was followed by a third application and sanding. The ¾ inch dowel wrapped with sandpaper allowed me to re-establish an even cylindrical shape to the tobacco chamber.

With the tobacco chamber situation resolved I wondered if oxalic acid would lighten the color of the wood. I didn’t call the wood briar because I do not think it is briar.

The oxalic acid was worked into the stummel with a cotton swab. Below you can see the discoloration on the cotton.

When working the oxalic acid into the bowl the wood lightened almost immediately on the front and the back of the bowl.

The sides remained darker. I was not sure if this was due to smoking residues seeping through the cracks from previous use, the cotton-alcohol treatments or a combination of the two.

Below is the oxalic acid treated front of the bowl.

Below is the oxalic acid treated rim.

I let the oxalic acid sit for 30 minutes then scrubbed the stummel with copious water and a nylon scrub brush.

Once dry the stummel did indeed appear lighter in color. I call this a success.

The brown CA filled crack appeared worse for wear after the oxalic acid. I touched up the light area of the crack with a Furniture touch-up marker.

The stampings were covered with masking tape for their protection.

I then reattached the stem and took the pipe to the buffer for a buffing with rouge compound. Once buffed the tape was removed and the wood wiped with an alcohol dipped make-up pad to remove and rouge residuals. The wood was coated with Before and After Restoration Balm and set aside for 20 minutes.

An inside out athletic sock was used to remove any remaining Restoration Balm.

To finish the restoration of the tobacco chamber I decided to use a bowl coating. 100% maple syrup and charcoal powder were chosen as the bowl coating. The chamber was coated with a light layer of syrup using a cotton swab.

To keep the charcoal powder out of the airway a pipe cleaner was inserted into the airway. A capsule of charcoal powder was poured into the chamber. The rim was covered with a piece of painters tape. The stummel was then shaken for a couple of minutes. I also tilted and tapped the bowl with the rubber coated handle of a file to make sure the powder was evenly distributed on the entire bowl surface.

The tape was removed and the excess powder was dumped. I reinserted the stem and gave a couple of hard puffs of air through the stem to clear remaining carbon powder. The finished bowl coating is shown in the photo below.

The pipe was taken to the buffer where several coats of carnauba wax were applied to the pipe. The final step was another hand buff with the microfiber polishing cloth then a return to the photography table for the finished pipe photo shoot.

This restoration ended up being much more extensive than I originally thought. The tobacco chamber was in far worse shape and the cracks in the bowl were more severe than I expected. This is probably not a pipe that I would sell to anyone who has not read and understands all of the procedures done to it. I do think that steps taken to restore this pipe will provide many years of use to an otherwise worn-out old pipe. I have not taken it out for a test-smoke yet but I do plan to soon. The pipe remains a very unique historical example of the ingenuity of pipe makers during the drought of briar caused by World War 2. It really is a lovely pipe with great billiard lines. The stem polished very nicely and is a pretty contrast to the aluminum bands. The extended shank is, I believe and attempt to use non-briar in the manufacture of the pipe. I cannot determine if the bowl is actually briar or not and the rustication doesn’t allow a solid identification by the wood’s grain. The dimensions of the are:

Length: 6.02 in./ 141.22 mm.

Weight: 1.02 oz./ 49.33 g.

Bowl Height: 1.69 in./ 45.47 mm.

Chamber Depth: 1.60 in./ 39.88 mm.

Chamber Diameter: 0.80 in./ 21.34 mm.

Outside Diameter: 1.28 in./ 36.57 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 finished Woodsman Billiard.
A London Briar Apple Restoration

July 3rd, 2025

Photographed and written by

John M. Young

I cannot say how many times I had picked up this London Briar apple and appreciated its dimensions and contours. Yet, time and again I set it aside to work on another pipe. The apple shape is a favorite of mine and this pipe has nearly perfect “apple” archetypal lines. Perhaps it fell to the wayside because of its more generic heritage and my snobbish attitude. Then I think back to my list of favorite brands and lines: Peterson, Marxman, Dr Grabow, Yello-Bole. Hmm, that pretty much rules out the snobbery, eh?

This pipe came as part of an estate lot. One of those purchases where it was along for the ride and not the object of my desire of the lot. Below are some photographs I took of the pipe before work was started.

Overall, the pipe was in very good condition. The acrylic stem was pretty much impervious to oxidation, saving me a good deal of work. Another positive was that the stem had not been the victim of chewing. It did have a dark streak from smoking residue though. The stummel had been given a clear coat finish which I do not like and will typically remove. There did not appear to be any significant fill which would require attention. The tobacco chamber was also quite clean and the rim looked nearly pristine. This had all the earmarks of a nice relaxing restoration.

Background

I cannot say that there is a lot of information out there on this pipe. Searches on both pipephil.eu and pipedia.org came up with nothing. Fortunately there is the great Steve Laug who has restored a very similar pipe and chronicled it very well. Here is the link to Steve’s restoration blog:

Didn’t Break a Sweat Cleaning this London Briar Brandy | rebornpipes

Unfortunately the link from Steve’s blog to the shop where these pipes were sold lists the link as:

(Page not found | Gauntleys Cigars)

I will quote from Steve Laug’s post,

“I had not seen the stamping London Briars before so I did some hunting on the web for the brand and found that the brand was made by/for Gauntleys of Nottingham. They sold new for £31.95 Here is the link to their site: https://cigars.gauntleys.com/uk/offer/gauntleys-london-briar-pipes

I quote directly from the site:
Gauntleys London Briar Pipes – Our London Briar pipes have become very popular since we introduced them just a few months ago. Each is made from selected second briar blocks from one of the country’s largest and most respected pipe makers.

If the briar was flawless these pipes would sell for over £250. These are from briar with small flaws in the grain or needing small amounts of filler so are great value. The briar is some of the finest in the world and can be up to 80 years old.

Each pipe is hand made in a range of classic English shapes and comes in a number of finishes from Smooth Brown to Black (Shell Briar) Sandblasted.

If you are looking for a first pipe or something to use around the house or garden the Gauntleys London Briars are very affordable and smoke like an entry level premium briar. Each pipe comes boxed with a silk bag.” (Didn’t Break a Sweat Cleaning this London Briar Brandy | rebornpipes).

The Restoration

The restoration of this great apple shaped piece began with a cleanish denim piece on the workbench.

The pipe’s tobacco chamber looked pretty clean but I kept getting whiffs that it may have been used for the smoking of non-tobacco. I have had experiences with marijauna smoking residue and it is never easy nor pleasant to deal with. This pipe had a slight aroma of the wacky weed yet there were tobacco fragments in the chamber. If it had been used for non-tobacco it was infrequent. I gathered the “ream team”, which included the PipNet, Smokingpipes Low Country reamer and General triangular scraper.

The number 2 blades of the PipNet made short work of the tobacco chamber with the Low Country reamer used for the bottom part of the chamber.

Below is a photo of the reamed chamber.

The draft hole was constricted so I used the Kleen-Reem draft hole drill to clear it.

Below is a photo of the drill in the airway.

The airway was cleaned with several bristle pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, both dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol, and some scraping with a dental scraper.

This stummel had a clear coat finish that I wanted to remove. I tried ethyl alcohol on a make-up pad and that didn’t touch the finish. I then tried acetone on a make-up pad. This too had little effect. I decided that a bath in acetone for 30 minutes would loosen or dissolve the finish.

While waiting for the acetone to do what it does, I started cleaning the stem. This was done with bristle pipe cleaners and 95% ethyl alcohol. The before photos show a distinctive dark stained airway. Once cleaned out the stem showed no signs of the dark streak.

After 30 minutes in the acetone I wiped the stummel with a make-up pad and some color and finish did come off but not enough for my liking, so I went back into the acetone for another 30 minutes.

After another 30 minutes the clear coat was relinquishing its hold on the briar. A light sanding while the finish was still soft removed it from the bowl. The finish remained on the shank.

The below photos indicate that further sanding and acetone wipes were needed.

Eventually the clear coat was removed. Below, you can see that the stem was reattached to preserve the joint where the stem meets the shank as well as the painters tape protecting the stamps.

WIth the finish removed I sanded the stem and stummel with a series of sanding sponges in grits from 320-3500. Between each sponge I wiped the pipe with a make-up pad wetted with ethyl alcohol.

After the sanding sponges I worked the pipe with micro-mesh pads 4000-12000, again wiping the pipe as above.

I gave the stummel a coating of Before and After Restoration Balm and allowed it to sit for 20 minutes.

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

The pipe was then taken to the buffer where the stem was buffed with white buffing compound before the entire pipe was given several coats of carnauba wax. The final step was a hand buffing of the pipe with a microfiber polishing cloth raising the shine to the levels which can be seen below in the “finished” pipe photos.

There is something about the apple shape that just fits for me. Perhaps it is because I share a well rounded shape. This apple caught my eye as a wonderful example of the shape and turned out beautifully. The acrylic stem cleaned up nicely and demanded attention with its bright pearlescent yellow. The briar grain, though not unattractive, is rather muted. I wonder if I should have tried to accent the grain more with a contrast dye. Still the cross grains at the front and rear of the bowl are pretty. The best part of the pipe is the hand feel, this apple just fits in the hand with the perfect plumpness. The dimensions of the London Briar Apple are:

Length: 5.74 in./ 145.80 mm.

Weight: 1.52 oz./ 43.09 g.

Bowl Height: 1.66 in./ 42.16 mm.

Chamber Depth: 1.49 in./ 37.85 mm.

Chamber Diameter: 0.74 in./ 18.80 mm.

Outside Diameter: 1.55 in./ 39.37 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 finished London Briar Apple.
A Peterson Kapp-Royal 01 Bent Pot Restoration

July 1st, 2025

Photographed and written by

John M. Young

It seems like I haven’t worked on a Peterson pipe for a while but, that’s not true. I did that Captain Pete commission just a couple of weeks ago. Oh well, I’ll use my newly created meme anyway:

This restoration is on a Peterson I have never worked with a Kapp-Royal bent pot 01. This beauty was spotted on eBay back in April of 2025. I remember when I wouldn’t pay more than $45 dollars for a Peterson pipe. Then Inflatron (the inflation monster) attacked like Godzilla. Sadly this Irish lass was a bit more than the $45 but all things considered it was still reasonable. The stampings are all clear and read as follows: Peterson’s over “KAPP-ROYAL” on the left shank, with MADE IN THE over REPUBLIC over IRELAND, offset 01, on the right shank. Below are some photograph taken prior to work on the pipe.

The Kapp-Royal was in very good condition. The stem had light oxidation and no tooth chater, to speak of. The briar looked very nice with fine birdseye’s on both flanks. The gap where the stem met the stummel was an annoyance which would have to be addressed. Other than a few minor fills and some sanding/polish this beauty would be ready for a new owner in no time.

Background

For the first three pieces of Peterson history I turned to the official Peterson website. Here, I chose quotes from the general history of Peterson, the “Classic” shape range, and the 01 shape in particular:

As the oldest continuously operating briar pipe factory in the world, we at Peterson have a certain tradition to uphold, a legacy of craftsmanship dating back over 150 years. Whether you’re browsing for your very first pipe or are a seasoned collector in search of a rare gem, know that every pipe in our catalogue carries with it that same preservation of tradition. A Peterson pipe isn’t just a utilitarian tool; it’s a piece of history you can carry with you in your travels, a faithful companion to accompany you through all that life offers. (Peterson.ie: Pipes)

One of our most popular shapes, our signature take on the bent Pot enhances the inherently muscular design with a broad, squat bowl and extra-sturdy proportions through the shank and transition, as well as an elegant quarter bend. (Peterson Pipes: Army Filter Heritage (01) Fishtail (9mm))

Since our inception, we’ve offered a range of specific tiers suited to our customers’ tastes and price requirements. Our Classic range represents non-System pipes crafted for the Everyman, unique and timeless designs that capture our House Style and quality craftsmanship at a price any smoker can enjoy. Rather than relegating production to one or two lines, we offer a variety of styles, shapes, and finishes among these entry-level series, including traditional navy mounts (flush-fitting stems), P-Lip mouthpieces, and army mounts. (Peterson.ie: Classic Pipes)

Next I looked into the big The Peterson Pipe book (Irwin, Mark and Malmberg, Gary (2018). The Peterson Pipe The Story of Kapp & Peterson, First edition, second printing 2021. Briar Books Press, Canada.) for a more specific account of the Kapp-Royal line.

“Kapp-Royal (1969. 1976-79, c. 1988, 2004-) First appearance as a line introduced 1969. In 1976-79 Iwan Ries catalog offering identical with non-System Dunmore line. Second appearance the late eighties as a high-grade Italian-market line with briar band inset into mouthpiece. From c. 2004, Italian line available in the US as high grade, orange finish, sterling band, amber-colored acrylic fish-tail stem or sometimes vulcanite, embedded aluminum P.” (Irwin and Malmberg p. 306)

According to the above description by Irwin and Malmberg, this pipe is likely a Kapp-Royal from the “c. 1988” period and made in the Dublin factory.

The Restoration

The Kapp-Royal made its way to the workbench after the “Before” photo shoot. Here it received a cleaned denim piece and a more thorough examination.

Below you can see that gap I was referring to earlier. I couldn’t see an obstruction to a tight fit but there certainly was one.

The original fills had failed and would need fixing. Fortunately they were a distance away from the stamps.

Another old fill was located on the heel.

The reservoir, well not really a reservoir since this is a Classic 01 and not a System pipe, was surprisingly dirty. That could definitely be the culprit for the ill fitting stem.

The tobacco chamber looked very clean. I could even make out the chuck marks from the Peterson factory. How could a chamber this clean have a shank that is fouled so badly?

Below is another shot of the chamber prior to work done. It had obviously received some scraping by the marks at the bottom of the chamber yet the rim looked pristine.

I figured there was no reason to ream this tobacco chamber so proceeded directly to sanding it. I could see no damage to the chamber other than the scraping marks at the bottom of the chember.

The shank cleaning was far more difficult. Here I used the following techniques: Nylon shank brush scrubbing with alcohol present, Folded bristle pipe cleaners dipped in alcohol, cotton swabs dipped in alcohol and dental scraper scraping.

The stem was, like the tobacco chamber, surprisingly clean requiring only a couple bristle pipe cleaners wetted with alcohol. The stem did not need to be treated with either Before and After Extra Strength Deoxidizer or Briarville Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover. I thought sanding/polishing would suffice. I did apply a coating of mineral oil to the stem though.

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

Back at the workbench the stummel was wiped with a make-up pad wetted with 95% ethyl alcohol. Very little color came off indicating that the stummel was clean.

The disturbingly dirty shank bothered me so, I decided to give it an overnight cotton-alcohol treatment. The bowl was stuffed with cotton balls while the airway was stuffed with more cotton.

The cotton was saturated with 95% ethyl alcohol until no additional alcohol could be absorbed with a disposable pipette.

The next day the cotton was removed.

The logo area was de-oiled with alcohol on a cotton swab. Yeah, I tried to mask it without de-oiling at first – unsuccess!

The stamps and logo were masked with painters tape to protect them from the upcoming sanding.

The fills were redone using a dab of brown cyanoacrylate (CA, super glue) applied with a fly tying bodkin. Briar dust was then pressed onto and into the wet CA. A quick dab of additional CA was applied to the top of the new fill.

The new fills were filed with a small flat file and smoothed with a 400 grit sanding sponge.

The pipe was then worked with a series of sanding sponges from 400-3500 grits. The stummel was wiped with a make-up pad wetted with alcohol between each sponge. The stem was rubbed with mineral oil and wiped with a paper towel between each sponge.

I then worked the pipe with 4000-12000 grit micro-mesh pads. Between each pad I repeated the above wiping except Obsidian Oil was used in place of mineral oil.

The pipe was then buffed with white buffing compound at the buffer.

The remaining buffing compound was removed with hand buffing and a rag then wiped with a make-up pad wetted with alcohol. The stummel then received a coat of Before and After Restoration Balm and was allowed to sit for 15 minutes.

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

The stem logo was again cleaned with alcohol and a cotton swab.

To re-do the gold logo, I used Gold Leaf Rub’nBuff applied with a fly tying bodkin.

The excess gold leaf was wiped away with a paper towel.

The stem was then polished with Before and After Fine Polish followed by their Extra Fine Polish. Both were applied and hand buffed using a soft cotton cloth.

The pipe then received several coats of carnauba wax at the buffer.

The final step was another hand buff with the microfiber polishing cloth then off to the final photo shoot.

I don’t think I’ll ever tire of working on Peterson pipes. This pipe started out not needing much but in the end it is absolutely beautiful. The bird’s eyes on both sides are gorgeous. The vulcanite stem polished very nicely and with that briar band looks amazing. I have nothing against the 01 shape, it is just not my favorite but this pipe could change my mind on that. The hand feel and balance while clenching is very comfortable. The dimensions of the Peterson Kapp-Royal 01 Bent Pot are:

Length: 5.56 in./ 141.22 mm.

Weight: 1.74 oz./ 49.33 g.

Bowl Height: 1.79 in./ 45.47 mm.

Chamber Depth: 1.57 in./ 39.88 mm.

Chamber Diameter: 0.84 in./ 21.34 mm.

Outside Diameter: 1.44 in./ 36.57 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 finished Peterson Kapp-Royal 01 Bent Pot.
An EA Carey Billiard Restoration

June 24th, 2025

Photographed and written by

John M. Young

I am not sure why but it happens with some frequency, I’ll look at an estate lot and one pipe just jumps out at me as being more attractive than the rest. This singularly attractive pipe turns out to be an EA Carey Magic Inch. Now, I am far from an expert on design or aesthetics but I do know what I like. The strangest part is that I have only ever kept one EA Carey pipe as a companion and that one was “restored” many years ago. I say “restored” because I don’t really remember anything of the restoration other than recognizing the repaired fills. I got the pipe out and smoked it as research for the writing

(above image is the only EA Carey pipe that I’ve kept for use)

of this blog. It performed well though I am still not sure what to think of the Magic Inch system. The pipe had a new papyrus filter and after the smoke the filter appeared nearly as it did before the smoke. The pipe had a very nice draw and the vent along the stem did cool the smoke. I tried covering the vents with my finger and thumb, rather than covering the rim to increase the ember, this worked well. I was just using the vents as more of a carburetor.

Over the years I have accumulated a few EA Carey pipes and they sat in a cardboard box. I guess it was time for one to hit the workbench. The EA Carey that I selected can be seen in the photos below prior to any work done. This pipe is an Italian product as indicated by the stamp of the bottom of the pipe. The stampings read, EA CAREY over MAGIC INCH over PAT. No 3267941 with an ITALY offset to the right.

This pipe appeared to have been smoke but not heavily. There was a light cake built up in the tobacco chamber and a light lava deposit on the rim. The mouthpiece had some teeth chatter indicating that it had been clenched but not mauled. The finish was worn either from handling or from being pushed around in a drawer. The plastic stem was not subject to oxidation. This looked to be a relatively easy restore.

Background

The history search began with pipephil.eu. Here I found a matching set of stamps but a different country of manufacture (COM). This indicated to me that EA Carey was importing pipes to their specifications.

(Can-Car — Pipes : Logos & Markings)

Next I went to pipedia.org for their general history. The entry here suggested it was written by EA Carey advertising folks though no source was mentioned.

“Magic Inch” System has been a Carey’s tradition for over 50 years, with over 1,000,000 sold. The “Magic Inch” is an air chamber inserted between the imported briar bowl and the vented mouthpiece which allows cool outside air to enter and mix with the warm tobacco smoke inside the “Magic Inch” chamber. Tobacco tars, oils and moisture, are squeezed out of the smoke. The residue drops to the bottom of the chamber and is absorbed by the Papyrate sleeve. From its rich tradition and thousands of satisfied customers, this pipe is sure to be your smoking favorite for life.

Carey Magic Inch pipes can be readily identified by a boxed letter C on the stem, along with a distinctive series of three vent slits and the Carey Magic Inch name stamped into the side of the bowl.

(Carey Magic Inch – Pipedia)

Finally I turned to the EA Carey official website. I guess I should have started with looking at the “horse’s mouth” rather than using second party information. Since Ea Carey is still in business and selling their signature tobacco blends, pipes and various sundries their website, EA Carey’s Online Smoke Shop | Best Pipe Tobacco | Briar Pipes is kept relatively current with weekly specials. For a great article on the history of EA Carey

(History of EA Carey 1948-2024)

On the information page the following was found:

“The “Magic Inch” System has been a Carey’s tradition for over 50 years. Hundreds of thousands of these smoking pipes have been sold, beginning with the very first billiard shape back in 1948. Based on the original “Magic Inch” System, the improved modern design provides the coolest and driest smoke ever found in a pipe.

1. Improved Ventilator Action 2. Papyrate

3. The “Magic Inch” 4. The Carey Mouthpiece

Improved Ventilator

Each Carey “Magic Inch” system begins with a scientifically metered amount of air into each puff of smoke. The Carey “Magic Inch” System, with the new Papyrate, controls air better and more accurately…for improved drawing and smokeability!!

Papyrate

The all new Papyrate…the heart of the “Magic Inch” System, features new and improved 2-ply construction. You get improved rigidity for ease of fit and removal. You get extra absorbency for dryer smoking and longer lasting quality between Papyrate changes…made especially for your new Carey pipe.

The “Magic Inch”

The “Magic Inch”, unmistakably superior for 38 years, now achieves a new and better level of performance. The outer shell of the Papyrate filters and meters air with 50 micron precision. The “Magic Inch” unique “moisture ports” dissipates moisture, tar, and nicotine into the 2-ply Papyrate, protecting the smoker from unwanted materials. And finally, the unique Carey “Magic Inch” evaporation chamber releases moisture through evaporation during resting periods between smokes. Not a filter, not a standard “push bit”…the unique “Magic Inch”…producing an all new level of smoking quality.

The Carey Mouthpiece

Now you can enjoy new mouthpiece construction for added comfort and durability. Made of Zytel 101, this new mouthpiece has depth of color, outstanding durability, and a bit thickness of only .380 inches. The result is added comfort, outstanding durability and a color that never tarnishes and never needs to be polished.”

(Carey’s “Magic Inch” System Defined)

Okay, I stand corrected. The papyrate is not a filter and my expectation of it absorbing moisture or tars from the smoke was explained in the above quote from EA Carey. A second bowl of EA Carey Gold blend was smoked the next day. This time I checked the Papyrate more frequently. It did appear to be absorbing moisture. As I thought about it, it made sense, the cooler incoming air from the vents would mix with the smoke. This would cause moisture to condense out of the smoke and form along the nylon Magic inch. The ports along the Magic Inch would allow the moisture to flow through and be absorbed by the Papyrate. Definitely not a filter. In my two smoking sessions, I did not note any real discoloration of the papyrate as would be expected from a filtering of the smoke.

As for the dates of the pipe in hand, I have little idea. Other than it being stamped with the patent number. Assuming that the stamping was a marketing strategy and that patents are valid for 20 years from the filing date, I can assume the pipe dates from 1948-1968. I would not expect the company to continue stamping the patent number after the expiration of the patent though I could be very wrong about that..

The Restoration

The EA Carey billiard made its way to the workbench and a laundered denim piece.

The ample bowl of the billiard demand the #3 PipNet blades.

Reaming was completed with the PipNet, Smoking pipes Low Country reamer and General triangular scraper.

The tobacco chamber was sanded with 320 sandpaper wrapped around a wood dowel and with 320 sandpaper by hand. The sanded chamber showed no signs of heat damage or charring.

The rim showed only minimal lava in the rustications.

This was cleaned by moistening the rim with saliva and scrubbing with a brass brush.

The rim was wiped with a paper towel and looked a little better.

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

The plastic stem was also scrubbed with soap and a shank brush and rinsed with warm water.

Returning to the workbench I wiped the stummel with a make-up pad dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol. I was surprised to see a dark purple color on the cotton. The black stain must have actually been a dark purple. There remained some very shiny spots of finish on the briar.

Also more observable were old fills of pits in the briar. Below is one pit on the front of the stummel.

And a second large pit on the left side.

Below you can easily see the shine I was referring to above. There was some kind of clear coat on this pipe.

Below another look at the remaining shine where the shank meets the bowl.

I needed to think about shine removal so I started cleaning the shank, figuring that I could think while doing a repetitive task. The Magic Inch system made shank cleaning more difficult since I could not use any scraper to access the airway. I placed a few milliliters of alcohol in the tobacco chamber and allowed it to flow into the shank but not through. Using the alcohol, I scrubbed the airway with a nylon shank brush. The alcohol was poured into an empty medicine cup. This was repeated a few times. I also ran folded bristle pipe cleaners through the airway. These were also dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol.

With the shank cleaned and the ponder still in process, I decided to try removing the clear coat with acetone. I tested the susceptibility to the finish with a cotton swab dipped in acetone. It did remove some of the finish but that clear coat was tough. It also looked like the clear coat itself was dyed purple.

More acetone, this time on a make-up pad did remove more purple but the only way to ensure the total removal was with an acetone bath. I opted against this in fear of the effects of the acetone on the nylon Magic Inch and the acrylic shank extension. I also worried about the acetone affecting the glue holding all of those components in place.

I chose to use a 400 grit sanding sponge to sand the high spots of the rustication. This would allow the briar to peek through in those places at least. It also took a bit of the shine away from the shiny spots.

Next came the restoration of the stem. I have found that this type of plastic can be filed and sanded but that only with very fine abrasives. Coarse grits or files cut deeply into the softer plastic and are a pain to remedy. My small flat file was fine enough to not create an issue. In sticking with this “finer is better” mentality, I opted against sanding sponges altogether. Micro-mesh pads were used andonly from 1800-12000.

I thought that I would have to accept the old fills because I could see no way for me to retexture and match the existing texture. I worked Before and After Restoration Balm into the rustications with a baby toothbrush. The balm was allowed to sit for 15 minutes.

The remaining excess balm was removed using an inside out athletic sock and hand buffing.

The rustications were shallos so I thought that carnauba wax would be acceptable to use as a preservative. I did take my time and buff in the direction of the rustication. The stem was also waxed with carnauba on the buffer.

The final step was another hand buff with the microfiber polishing cloth.

The EA Carey Billiard has very traditional shaping. Traditional in the sense that it is well thought out and very pleasing to the eye and hand. The thickness of the bowl at the rim is 0.27 inches (6.86 mm) and at the swell of the bowl it increases to 0.48 inches (12.19 mm). This gradual thickening of the briar is a nice way to keep the pipe feeling cooler throughout the smoke. As I would expect the thicker briar to absorb additional heat during the smoking of a bowl of tobacco. The rustication allows for a nice grip and good hand feel though it looks rather like a factory mass produced texture. The stem did polish up nicely and looks good. The feel of this plastic is good, softer and more flexible than vulcanite. Overall this is a very nice pipe that will serve its next owner many years of service. The dimensions of the EA Carey Billiard are:

Length: 6.10 in./ 154.94 mm.

Weight: 1.41 oz./ 39.97 g.

Bowl Height: 1.85 in./ 46.99 mm.

Chamber Depth: 1.65 in./ 41.91 mm.

Chamber Diameter: 0.80 in./ 20.32 mm.

Outside Diameter: 1.46 in./ 37.08 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 finished EA Carey Billiard.
A Commissioned Peterson Captain Pete Restoration

June 17th, 2025

Photographed and written by

John M. Young

I always feel humbled when someone reaches out to me to restore an old pipe. I should say I’m humbled and nervous. It is an honor to be asked but there is always the nagging feeling or insecurity of damaging someone’s favorite pipe or worse a family heirloom. Today’s restoration emphasizes that very well. The pipe was made by Peterson, I think everyone knows my feelings toward Peterson pipes. If not, the handle Nebraska Pete Geek may give you a clue. This example was a Captain Pete, an all time favorite line. The owner reached out to me via email and lives only about 25 miles away. Crazy small world, eh? The Owner, let’s call him William to protect his identity (or less dramatic, privacy) had subjected himself to reading one of my restoration blogs. The poor guy survived the ordeal and still wanted me to take a look at this pipe. Descriptions and photos were sent and I gave an estimate of what I thought I could do for the old Captain Pete. A few weeks later the pip arrived in the mail. Below are some photos I took before starting work on the pipe.

The old Captain had seen some years in the service of a pipe smoker. The most obvious issues were the pits where the old fills had failed. The stem showed signs of oxidation and a bit of chomping. Structurally the pipe was solid and in good shape the restoration would be more aesthetic. William had said that he would like the stamping preserved as much as possible. This would be a challenge due to the faint stamps, in general and specifically for the fills on the left shank amidst the stamps.

Background

I blogged about a Captain Pete back on December 31, 2023. You can see that restoration HERE, if you are interested. That was about the second month of my blogging. Anyway, I wrote the following:

“Peterson pipes have a long and storied history which is rich and fascinating. I highly recommend the book The Peterson Pipe, by authors Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg as well as a reading of pipedia.com’s Peterson pages. According to Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg, the Captain Pete:

“This line’s name was derived from the nickname of Charles Peterson, known affectionately as “Captain Peterson.” The first issue, c. 1940-62, was in a smooth finish produced for Rogers Imports with a white stamped P inside C, or a circled P on the mouthpiece. CAPTAIN over PETE on shank, and a MADE IN IRELAND in a circle. English made versions show CAPTAIN over PETE on shank or “CAPTAIN PETERSON” and A PETERSON PRODUCT over MADE IN ENGLAND or LONDON MADE over ENGLAND. The second issue (1998-), features an XL bowl with Sherlock Holmes shapes and compact stems, in rustic or combination of smooth and rustic, with a nickel band between two narrow brass bands.” (Irwin and Malmberg p.295)”

(A Peterson Captain Pete Restoration – NebraskaPeteGeek) I apparently was not concerned with notating Irwin and Malmberg’s work correctly so I will make amends and do that here, (Irwin, Mark and Malmberg, Gary (2018). The Peterson Pipe The Story of Kapp & Peterson, First edition, second printing 2021. Briar Books Press, Canada.).

This Captain Pete was certainly a first issue dating from 1940-62 made in Ireland.

The Restoration

As usual after the initial photo shoot the pipe made it to the workbench and a clean piece of denim.

The first thing I did was to use a fly tying bodkin too scratch the old wax from the beading around the bowl.

Next the ream team was assembled. There didn’t appear to be a tremendous cake build up but the pipe had obviously been smoked.

The #2 blades of the PipNet did the majority of the reaming with both the Smokingpipes Low Country reamer and the General triangular scraper used for clean-up.

The shank was dirty but considering the amount of cake present I thought the previous owner had used pipe cleaners on a daily regular basis. The dental scraper was used to scrape the airway and did not produce as much tar as I was expecting.

Overall the shank cleaned out well with only alcohol dipped cotton swabs.

The stem also cleaned up fairly quickly with bristle pipe cleaners dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol.

After a light sanding of the stem with a 320 grit sanding sponge I tried to paint the tooth dents with a flame from a lighter. This helped raise the vulcanite a little bit.

The stem was then placed in a bath of Briarville’s Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover and let sit overnight.

I continued working on the stummel. Below is a photo of the rim with a light lava coating in places.

I moistened the rim with saliva to soften the lava. The rim was then scraped with a sharp pocket knife.

I used a round polyvinyl chloride (PVC) end cap wrapped in 320 sandpaper to re-establish a good bevel on the inner rim.

The stummel was then scrubbed with undiluted Murphy Oil Soap and a nylon brush. The soap was rinsed with warm water and the stummel dried with a cotton hand towel.

BAck at the workbench, the stummel was looking clean.

I gave the surface a wipe with a make-up pad dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol . Little color came off the pipe indicating that there was no wax or finish remaining on the stummel. The alcohol also helped soften the old fills allowing me to remove as much of the fill material as possible. With the stem in the oxidation remover and the stummel drying, I called it quits for the night.

The next day I removed the stem from the Briarville solution and wiped it with a coarse shop rag. This absorbed the excess solution and removed some of the oxidized vulcanite.

There remained some brown oxidation on the surface. I could not make out the stem logo that had been stamped 60+ years ago but could see the circle and imagined the P within.

The below photo shows two of the most exasperating details of this restoration: How to preserve the remaining stamps while bringing the stamped material back to life. I needed some serious thinking for this one.

I tried spot cleaning the remnant stem logo with Briarville Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover on a cotton swab. I was not impressed with the results.

Maybe if I do it some more… Still not impressed.

OK, more thinking time while I worked on repairing old fills. This was done by placing a small dab of brown cyanoacrylate (CA, super glue) into the pits using a fly tying bodkin.

More CA in pits.

A small scoop of briar dust was then pressed into the wet CA. This causes the CA to cure nearly immediately.

The rough top of the new fills were filed off with a small flat file. The fills then got another dab of brown CA to top-off the new fills. This was allowed to cure over about an hour.

The cured CA/briar dust fills were then filed smooth with a small flat or ½ round file

When finished I realized that I wasn’t finished and that I’d missed two fills. DOH! Repeating the above process except this time I ran a paper business card through the lower bead groove to remove excess CA before pressing the briar dust in and scraping the groove with a fly tying bodkin before the CA briar dust could cure.

The spot treatment of the logo area with Briarville Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover was less satisfactory than I hoped. Perhaps my solution is losing potency due to the number of stems that I have bathed in the juice? I turned to a tried and true method of removing the oxidation, SOFT Scrub on a make-up pad.

The stem was rubbed with a heavy coat of mineral oil and allowed to sit for a few minutes before I wiped the excess off with a paper towel.

Next would be the sanding. To protect those faint stamps I covered them with painters tape. The pipe was then sanded with a series of sanding sponges from grits 320-3500. Between each sponge the stummel was wiped with a make-up pad wetted with 95% ethyl alcohol. The stem was rubbed with mineral oil then wiped with a paper towel.

After the sanding sponges I worked the pipe with micro-mesh pads 4000-12000. The wiping between pads was repeated as with the sanding sponges but between pads I used Obsidian Oil rather than mineral oil.

The stummel was given a liberal coating of Before and After Restoration Balm and allowed to sit for 30 minutes.

An inside out athletic sock was used to hand buff away the remaining balm.

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

After the waxing I used a fly tying bodkin to clear the beading grooves of excess wax.

The pipe was hand buffed with a microfiber polishing cloth to raise the shine.

I gave this old Pete a bowl coating not because the tobacco chamber had any damage but because the owner had requested it and it gave me a little more time with the old Captain Pete. I used 100% maple syrup and activated charcoal powder.

The airway was plugged with a cotton swab. Another cotton swab was used to paint the chamber with a light coating of syrup. The capsule was dumped into the chamber and sealed off with painters tape over the rim. The stummel was then shaken vigorously for over a minute to evenly distribute the charcoal powder.

The tape was removed and the powder dumped.

The final step was another hand buff with the microfiber polishing cloth then off to the final photo shoot.

It is always fun to work on a Peterson pipe and working on someone else’s Peterson is like catch and release fishing. Although in all honesty, my days of collecting Peterson pipes are pretty much over. I am releasing more than I am catching today. This old pipe was a fun challenge. Yeah, I couldn’t restore it to how it looked when it came out of the factory in Dublin. The stampings and logos were just too worn and those two pits by the stamps were just taunting me to obliterate the Stamps. In the end I am happy with how the pipe turned out. The overall finish is superior to how it would have looked coming out of the factory. I do not want to be critical of Peterson but they typically only sand a pipe to 400 grit. I am pretty certain that the owner will be as happy with the pipe as I am. The dimensions of the Peterson Captain Pete bulldog are:

Length: 5.70 in./ 43.18 mm.

Weight: 1.21 oz./ 34.30 g.

Bowl Height: 1.80 in./ 45.72 mm.

Chamber Depth: 1.50 in./ 38.10 mm.

Chamber Diameter: 0.72 in./ 18.29 mm.

Outside Diameter: 1.51 in./ 38.35 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 finished Peterson Captain Pete 155 bulldog.