Photographed and written by

John M. Young

The stereotypic pipe that most people think of when envisioning Sherlock Holmes would most likely be a calabash.  The above bent beauty would likely fit that image, with its flowing curves and old fashioned mouthpiece.  Once again reality interferes with our perception, according to https://www.visitportsmouth.co.uk/conan-doyle/sherlock-holmes, who states “Our aim is to publicise the Conan Doyle Collection locally and internationally. To do this, we attend and create local events and work with other partners on projects to promote access and to the Collection.”, “It’s common to see Sherlock Holmes with a Calabash Pipe (similar to the one at the bottom), but that was a choice made for the stage. In the books Sherlock Holmes smoked briar, clay and cherrywood pipes but none were specifically explained so it is unclear exactly what he smoked.” (https://www.visitportsmouth.co.uk/conan-doyle/you-dont-know-sherlock-holmes-yet/cabinet-of-curiosities/three-pipes#:~:text=In%20the%20books%20Sherlock%20Holmes,unclear%20exactly%20what%20he%20smoked..).  Nevertheless, in the minds of the public Holmes smoked a calabash.

This lovely Holmes stereotype was purchased from a seller in Racine, Wisconsin who was kind enough to accept my offered payment.  The pipe bears the following stamps, all on the left shank:  SEA-DOG in a flowing arched script over REG^D over MADE IN FRANCE.  The Sea-Dog sports an unmarked stem with an orific button.  Below are some photos of the pipe as it appeared prior to having any work done.

For its age, the pipe was in great condition.  The bowl had moderate cake and the rim had considerable lava deposits.  The condition of the rim remained concealed underneath the lava.  There were a few fills, dents and dings.  The stem looked remarkably free from oxidation.  This indicated that the pipe had been stored away from any light.  I was expecting a nice break from a rather difficult previous restoration.

Background

I will differ from the description of a Calabash shape to the experts at St. Claude, 

“The Calabash pipe shape is one of the most sophisticated and refined shape that exists. Most of the time associated with the image of the detective Sherlock Holmes, the Calabash pipe distinguishes itself by its really pronounced bent silhouette and its imposing bowl. At the beginning, the real “gourd calabash” pipe (also called “Calebasse”), was made from an African squash, with a removable bowl made out of meerschaum (positioned against a cork joint) and an amber stem. Smokers greatly appreciate this kind of conception because the tasting experience is, according to some people, unbeatable. Indeed, the smoke arrives in mouth cooled down and dry thanks to the large settling chamber on the inside of the bowl of the pipe. This empty space allows the smoke to cool down (and therefore to get smoother) before being aspirated by the smoker. Nowadays, pipe makers create Calebass pipes from more traditional materials (like briar for the main part and acrylic for the stem). Therefore, we can find pipes essentially made with briar that copy the iconic calabash silhouette (it is the case for a lot of brands like Peterson, Ser Jacopo, Stanwell, Butz-Choquin…). More rarely, it is possible to find pipes called “reverse Calabash”. On the same principle, a huge cooling chamber will disrupt the smoke on the inside of the pipe to return it to you smooth and cooled!” (https://www.pipeshop-saintclaude.com/calabash-262)

The term “sea-dog” obviously hails from maritime regions far from my local landlocked home of Nebraska.

“sea-dog (n.)

1590s, “harbor seal,” from sea + dog (n.). Also “pirate” (1650s). Meaning “old seaman, sailor who has been long afloat” is attested by 1823. In Middle English sea-hound was used of the walrus and the beaver.” (https://www.etymonline.com/word/sea-dog#:~:text=1590s%2C%20%22harbor%20seal%2C%22,the%20walrus%20and%20the%20beaver.)  Beavers on the other hand are a very familiar critter in these parts.  Now pertaining to this pipe pipe I am pretty sure that the sea-dog anime refers to the “old seaman or sailor” though I have seen rustications that reminded me of the gnawing habits of beavers. 

This particular pipe is very likely from the following, “Sea Dog was one of many brands owned by the Oppenheimer Pipe group, apparently made in France, likely by Marechal Ruchon & Cie. as evidenced on page 34 of the Circa 1950s Oppenheimer Pipes Catalog”. (Sea-Dog – Pipedia).  The date 1950 struck me as far too recent of a date for a mouthpiece like that of the Sea-Dof in hand.  I am not familiar with orific buttons occurring after about 1920.  Further searching of pipedia.org led e to the next entry concerning Marechal Ruchon & Cie., 

“Marechal Ruchon & Cie. was a company owned by Auguste Marechal and Ferdinand Ruchon (“& Cie” is the french equivalent of “& Co”) which owned the GBD brand from the end of the 19th century until 1902 when they sold Marechal, Ruchon & Cie. to Oppenheimer Pipe, which in turn changed the name of the company to Marechal, Ruchon & Co., Ltd.. Upon the creation of Cadogan, however, the brand was no more, remembered only in the name of the GBD Marcee pipes made until just after the Second World War.” (Marechal Ruchon & Cie. – Pipedia)

So to cloud the history a bit further we have GBD owned by Marechal Ruchon & Cie. who then sold it to Oppenheimer in 1903.  Pipephil has a truly brain bending flowchart of the mergers and acquisitions of the Oppenheimer group throughout the early 1900s.  There appears to be a great deal of motion and changes in ownership of companies at this time.

(http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/infos/connect-en.html)

Again I return to pipedia for a synapses of some of these events,

“Cadogan Investments Limited is a subsidiary of A. Oppenheimer & Co. Limited. It was formed by Oppenheimer Pipe in 1920 as a holding company for its many recent acquisitions, including BBB, Loewe & Co., two pipe factories in Saint-Claude and others. It continued to acquire pipe brands and makers for decades, adding GBD and others to their marquee.

Both companies are currently located at 20 Vanguard Way, Shoeburyness, Essex, SS3 9RA. A storefront operates out of the same location selling pipes and smokers accessories under the name Cadogan Gifts, and also sells a wide variety of other items. Cadogan currently holds, among others, the trademarks for Dr. Plumb’s, Irwin’s, Comoy’s, BBB, GBD, Loewe & Co., Medico, Orlik, and Ropp.” (Cadogan – Pipedia)

That puts this pipe as made in France prior to the demise of Marechal, Ruchon & Co., Ltd. in 1920.  This is supported by the button type, orific.  I am not familiar with buttons of this type in pipes made after the early 1920s.

The Restoration

I was hoping that the restoration would be far less confusing than the above company lineage.

For some reason I began cleaning out the stem of the Sea-Dog.  This was done with 95% ethyl alcohol and bristle pipe cleaners.  The stem was remarkably clean inside, a nice surprise.

The reaming gear was gathered.

The PipNet was once again the workhorse of the process.  The scrapers were used for the finishing touches then the chamber was sanded with 320 sandpaper wrapped around a wood dowel.  No scorching nor heat damage was observed.

The rim was a mess with lave deposits.  This was softened with saliva then scraped using a sharp pocket knife.  I realize sharp can be a subjective term so, let me explain.  My high school dropout father worked his way through college, after a stint in the Army, a GED (general education diploma) and the G.I. Bill, at a packing plant in Waterloo, Iowa.  There, he was a ham cutter.  Needless to say, every knife in our house was very sharp.  I was taught at an early age how to sharpen and maintain a sharp knife and have not been without one in my pocket since I was 5 years old.  By the way, dad ended up with a PhD and not in knife sharpening.

How the rim looked after the scraping.

Next was a scrub with undiluted Murphy Oil Soap and a nylon scrub brush.  The decades of grime and soap were rinsed away with warm water and stummel dried with a cotton hand towel. 

The shank cleaning was carried out next in hopes that water from the rinse would have slightly softened the yuck (the technical term for smoking residue in an airway) within.  Apparently a little Peterson Premiere 51 needed to photobomb this shot or it was used to prop up the Sea-Dog and its crazy bendy shape.  The shank of this bent beauty proved to be not too dirty, slightly worse than the stem but still surprisingly clean.  The curves made the junction with the tobacco chamber a little challenging with very short scrub strokes with pipe cleaners.

The stummel was wiped off with 95% ethyl alcohol on a make-up pad and the fills, of which there were many, were picked clean of their old fill material.

In the photo below you can see a large flake of the old fill material which was picked from the fill on the shank.  .

The photo attempts to show the inner rim damage from doddle knocking or cage fighting medieval armored combatants.

Taking a break from the sitting and picking led me to submerge the stem in a bath of Before and After Extra Strength Deoxidizer.    The pipe cleaner inserted into the tenon acted as a hanger.

Returning to the workbench the process of filling all of those recently excavated fills resumed using brown cyanoacrylate (CA, super glue) and in most cases CA and briar dust.  The fill on the shank proceeded without any briar dust.  When the briar dust combines with the CA it makes for a quality fill that can take years of abuse, it also cures very rapidly and allows one to keep working without the need of excessive drying or curing time.  Unfortunately, the subsequent fill is very dark and can be conspicuous.  I thought that the fill on the shank of the Sea-Dog was too large and would look awkward.  Instead, I filled the depression with brown CA and let it cure on its own.  I applied two additional coats of brown CA to fill in the voids.  Each of these took approximately 20 minutes of curing time when I was not able to do anything with the pipe.

I thought I made the right call.  You could still see the briar grain through the CA and it appeared far more natural than a dark scab of a fill.

The rim was kind of a mess.  There was one deep gouge, seen at the 2:00 position below, dents and dings around the inside rim and outside rim.  To keep the classic Dublin shape with nice sharp edges and a flat top, I had to do a good deal of reconstruction with CA and briar dust.  I laid down a bead of CA with the fly tying bodkin and pressed the still wet CA into the tray of briar dust.  The dust would quickly cure the CA and for a hard fill.  I would then brush the excess dust back into the tray with a brass brush.  The new fill was then topped.  The whole process was repeated until the surface was filled and smooth.

For the fills on the sides of the stummel a similar procedure was used.  Except rather than pressing the wet CA into briar dust the dust was applied and pressed into the wet CA.

Now comes the issue with CA and briar dust fills – they are dark in color.  On the sides they can blend in with the briar grain but on the rim they can appear as scorched charred spots and look less than appealing.

To address this I planned to give the stummel a contrast dye using black Fiebing’s Leather Dye.  The black dye would be absorbed more into the soft grained briar and less in the harder grains.  When the surface is abraded off, either by buffing with rouge compound or sanding, the softer grains retain more black dye making the grain stand out and concealing the CA fills.  To avoid sanding the stamps and losing their detail I covered the stamp with an irregular piece of painters tape.  This is not meant to protect the stamp from sanding but to keep it from becoming dyed and then requiring buffing or sanding to remove the dye.

Okay, maybe I felt a little bit apprehensive about dying and wanted to think about it moreso, I stalled and retrieved the stem from the deox.  Using the high tech patented Drip-Dry-O-Matic the stem was allowed to drip excess solution back into the jar.

After dripping, the stem was hand buffed with a coarse shop rag to absorb the excess solution and to abbrade some of the loosened oxidation.

Below you can see the oxidized rubber which came off with the rubbing.

The tooth chatter was filed with a small flat file.

Filing on both top and bottom was followed with sanding the 320 and 400 grit sanding sponges.  The stem was then coated with mineral oil and allied to sit while I dyed the stummel.

My composure and confidence regained, I gathered the dye kit:  The black Fiebing’s Leather Dye, a folded pipe cleaner (applicator), a dust tape wrapped fishing bobber (Plug for keeping dye from the tobacco chamber) and a lighter.

The stummel was dyed with the black Fiebing’s and flamed to set the dye and evaporate the alcohol solvent.  The stummel rinsed with 99% isopropyl alcohol over the sink and wiped with a paper towel then returned to the workbench.  Below, you can see how the tape kept the black dye from the stamp which kept me from having to sand the stamp area, thus preserving the stamp.

The stummel was wiped with a make-up pad dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol to remove any remaining dye.  The stummel was then taken to the buffer and buffed with rouge compound and a flannel wheel to remove the outer layer of dyed briar.  Below you can see how the softer grained briar absorbed more black dye while the harder briar did not.

I wanted the stummel to have a lighter shade of brown while keeping some of the darker grain so I sanded with a 400 grit sanding sponge.    That was the color I was after.

Below you can see how the rim looked after the dye and some of the black removed.

The stem and stummel were reunited with sanding of both pieces done together.  The sanding was done with a sequence of sanding sponges from 400-3500 grit.  Between sponges the stummel was wiped with a make-up pad moistened with ethyl alcohol while the stem was rubbed with mineral oil and wiped with a paper towel.

The pipe was worked with micro-mesh pads in grits 4000-12000.  Again between each pad the stem and stummel were wiped as above except Obsidian Oil was used in place of mineral oil.

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

After 20 minutes the balm was wiped and hand buffed using an inside out athletic sock.

I’m not sure why I did this next step, maybe because I bought the stuff and have rarely used it.  I used a gun cleaning patch to apply a very light layer of Danish Oil to the stummel.The gun cleaning patch was used because it is a lint free material.  I followed the label instructions and allowed the oil to “harden” for 9-12 hours. 

It may not have served much purpose but it sure was pretty.

The next morning I returned to the Sea-Dog.  I took it to the buffer and applied several coats of carnauba wax with  a flannel wheel.  The pipe was hand buffed with a microfiber polishing cloth and the final photos can speak for themselves.

It is official, I really like the calabash shape.  There is just something about it that says, “I am how pipes should look.”  Yeah, I know they don’t talk but you know what I mean.  This Sea-Dog is a grand old testament to pipe makers’ generations lost.  The sweeping curves and graceful flow beckon me to fill the bowl, slow down, relax and enjoy a moment of contemplation.  This is called, “sitting on  your butt doing nothing” by some people.  The best part of their attitude is that there remains far more tobacco for us to enjoy.  I think this Sea-Dog restored very nicely.  The numerous fills are not too noticeable with the contrast dye.  The stem polished up beautifully and provides an excellent contrast while complimenting the briar grain.  The old fashioned orific button can interestingly be directed into one’s mouth with subtle changes to the alignment with the shank.  A slight twist can send the smoke into a new direction.  

The dimensions of this Sea-Dog Calabash are kind of strange to measure but here they are: 

• Length:  5.53 in./ 140,46 mm.
• Weight:  1.53 oz./ 43.70g.
• Bowl Height:  2.09 in./  53.09 mm.
• Chamber Depth:  1.60 in./ 40.64 mm.
• Chamber Diameter:  0.73 in./ 18.54 mm.
• Outside Diameter:  1.41 in./ 35.81 mm.

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

Below are some photos of the finished Sea-Dog Calabash.