Photographed and written by 

John M. Young

Going from one extreme to the next.  The previous blog was an elegant little Medico Jet Stream, this pipe is neither of those things.  It is big and bold.  I am not sure why I can’t settle on a pipe shape that is my favorite.  Last time I checked my top three list of favorite shapes had 5 shapes in it.  I know what you are thinking, “What the heck?  A top three list with only 5?”  Oh, not what you were thinking?  Well I guess I’m not good at counting nor interpreting thoughts.  Anyway, here I have a large Kaywoodie HandMade Colossus that I picked up on eBay after having so much fun with three previous Kaywoodie HandMade pipes.  Here are links to them if you are interested:  HandMade Saddle Stem, HandMade Tapered Stem and just HandMade.  All three of those pipes were large blocky paneled Custombilt style pipes.  This one has curves,  I like curves.

The Kaywoodie upon arrival

Before I get too carried away with qualitative emotional nonsense let’s have a look at what I was looking at.

Yeah, it was big, bold and a mess.  This pipe had been smoked a lot more than the previous HandMades.  Perhaps that meant that it was a pipe that was clenched.  The previous HandMades had masses that would test the jaw strength of Charles Atlas himself.  Okay, that was an attempt at 1949-style humor (about the time of these pipes).

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Atlas)

Besides, by the look of the chunk missing from the bottom of the stem, clenching most likely was involved.  I had a dirty, oxidized, busted-up, relic of a bygone era and I was in heaven.

Kaywoodie HandMade Background

I am going to use the historical information from the previous blogs about Kaywoodie HandMade pipes because I am a rather lazy Gen-X slacker and I don’t have to credit myself, do I? 

“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.  The above pictured Kaywoodie is stamped HANDMADE over KAYWOODIE (left) and IMPORTED BRIAR (right).  No shape number is present.

Using this information and referring to the Kaywoodie Collectors’ Guide listed on pipedia.org I found that these pipes were made during the following years:

“Handmade-Oversize-Carved 1947-1955 on and off” (https://pipedia.org/images/3/3d/Kaywoodie_Pipe_Names.pdf) and that

“The Oversize Kaywoodies were, as the name implies, “Giants”. Lowndes notes that these pipes were stamped simply, “Hand-Made”. The pipes were all roughly “bulldogish” in appearance and were available in the following styles and grades7 : 

• Hand-carved “Colossus” ($10) 

• Walnut finish, banded “Hercules” ($20) 

• Hand-carved “John Henry” ($10) 

• Virgin finish, specimen grain “Paul Bunyan” 

• ($25)Virgin finish, banded specimen grain “Goliath” 

• ($25)Walnut finish “Atlas” 

• ($20)Hand-carved, Meerschaum-Inlaid “Samson” ($15)” 

(Kaywoodie Collector’s Guide – p10.pdf)

Looking into the stampings, I went to pipephil.eu for confirmation.  There, I was able to find an exact match of this pipe’s stampings.

(Kaywoodie series from L to Z — Pipes : Logos & Markings (pipephil.eu))

All of this generally fits this pipe.  I still wanted to give this pipe a Kaywoodie name rather than “bulldogish” as mentioned above.  Looking at the below two pages from the 1947 Kaywoodie catalog, I would have to say that the Kaywoodie HandMade in hand is either a “Colossus” or a “John Henry”.

Now examining the areas circled on the two images from the 1947 Kaywoodie catalog and the photograph of this pipe I am more inclined to call this pipe a “Colossus”.  Now, this could probably be argued either way but the beading appears to have a slight vertical increase or rise from the shank in both this pipe and the Colossus image.  This pipe is certainly large enough to have included another line for stamping “Colossus”- darn it Kaywoodie.

So, I guess I will have to call this pipe a Kaywoodie HandMade Colossus.  This also means that my Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) will demand that I change all of the photos that I have taken and labeled as “bulldog” to Colossus.  Bah!  There, 34 photos and one folder relabeled as well the term “bulldog” within the document have been changed to Colossus.

The Colossus Restoration

As usual the restoration began with a clean denim piece as a work surface.  I was a little worried about the condition of the rim and cleaning it of the lava. 

Before I could address the rim I wanted to ream the tobacco chamber and inspect it.  The tools were gathered and included the PipNet with #2 and #3 blades, General triangular scraper (with the tip ground round), Smokingpipes Low Country Reamer and a wood dowel wrapped in 220 sandpaper.

The tobacco chamber of the Colossus was not heavily caked indicating that it had been reamed on occasion.  The existing cake was very hard and resisted reaming.   Once removed the interior of the chamber was sanded and revealed no heat damage from smoking but there were a couple of small gouges from exuberant scraping.  

Next, I took to cleaning out the stem.  I continue to not be a fan of non-removable stingers.  This stem required several more pipe cleaners than pictured to remove all the yuck (yuck is the technical term for smoked tobacco residue) from such a small hole and short stem.  

No, I did not cut off the stinger, in a bout of frustration.  It’s just hiding behind the pipe cleaner which is acting as a hanger for the stem as it goes into the Before and After Deoxidizing solution.  The stem soaked in deox (my term for the Deoxidizing solution) for 4 hours.

With the stem in deox, I turned my attention to the stummel.  It was time to see what it looked like without 70+ years worth of dust, dirt and grime.  The stummel was initially scrubbed with a medium bristle toothbrush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap.  I say initially because there were 3 applications of soap and an upgrade to a stiffer nylon scrub brush.  Wow, I just realized that I need to clean that faucet of all the Murphy’s spatter.  The stummel was rinsed with warm water and dried with a cotton dish towel.  While I was at the sink I also used a nylon shank brush with a bit of Dawn dish soap to scrub the airway within the shank.  This didn’t do much other than soften the yuck in the shank.

With the exterior mostly clean, except the rim, I attacked the shank.  The first thing I did was an exploratory cotton swab dipped in 99% isopropyl alcohol.  It came back fouled with yuck.  Next I started scraping with a dental scraper.  The scraping produced a good amount of yuck which was surprisingly dry and crumbly.  The next attack was of the chemical variety – Geneva Convention be damned.  I poured about 4 ml of the 99% isopropyl alcohol into the bowl and left it to flow into the shank.  I then scrubbed the shank with a nylon shank brush and the alcohol and poured it into the medicine cup.  The alcohol was significantly darkened.  

After numerous series of scraping – alcohol scrubbing – cotto swabbing – folded bristle pipe cleaner scrubbings the shank was cleaned out.  

Then came the dreaded lava removal from the rim.  The rim had received frequent splashes of alcohol during the shank cleaning and this helped to soften the lava.  I used a brass brush dipped in 99% isopropyl alcohol to scrub the rusticated rim in line with the rustications.  This worked very well.  A couple of spots did require scraping with a fine pointed dental pick.

WIth the rim cleaned off and the grime removed from the stummel I examined it for spots to fill.  I only found one that I thought needed attention.  It probably would have been fine to leave it alone but I filled it with brown cyanoacrylate and carefully placed briar dust anyway. 

The new fill was lightly sanded with a 400 grit sanding sponge then gouged with a fly tying bodkin and dental scraper to add lines in an attempt to match the surrounding rustication.

Since this stummel was heavily carved and rusticated there was nothing to sand or micro-mesh.  I then applied a coat of Before and After Restoration Balm with my finger and worked the balm into the rustications with a baby toothbrush.

After 4 hours of soaking in the Before and After Deoxidizing solution the stem was removed from the solution and allowed to drip off some of the solution.  The below photo also shows that I followed local electrical code when finishing the basement – ground fault interrupter outlets and all.

The excess Deoxidizing solution was vigorously rubbed from the stem with a coarse shop rag to absorb the solution and abrade off some of the oxidized rubber.  The color of the stem was much improved.

Back at the workbench, I ran a couple more pipe cleaners through the stem to rid the airway of any deox solution and began scrubbing the stem with Soft Scrub on make-up pads.  The oxidation of the stem was quite heavy and several pads and additional Soft Scrub were used.

More Soft Scrub.  Eventually the stem looked nice and black with no brown.  It was then coated with a layer of mineral oil both outside and in the airway.  I allowed the oil to soak into the vulcanite for 30 minutes before continuing to work on the stem.

I removed the mineral oil from the button area of the stem using 99% isopropyl alcohol on a cotton swab.  I needed to rebuild the broken piece of the stem.  Here is the before photo to illustrate what I was rebuilding.

I needed a “dam” to stop the CA from flowing into and blocking the airway.  I chose to use a This Falcon pipe cleaner folded in half as the basis of this dam. I then wrapped the folded end of the pipe cleaner in clear Scotch tape.  The cheap stuff, not the 3M product.  CA does not adhere well to Scotch tape and the clear tape does not dissolve with applications of CA drying accelerator like the good stuff, 3M, does.  The excess tape was trimmed from the dam with scissors.  The dam was then inserted into the airway.  I failed to photo document the early stages of the CA building.  I get into a “rebuilding tunnel vision mentality” when doing this and frequently forget to photograph the process.  When I did remember, I had applied about 4-5 layers of CA and spritzed each with a CA drying accelerator.  A key to doing this is to use several small applications rather than trying to fill the whole gap all at once.

Eventually I had enough material built up to allow me to file the new fill smoothly to the existing stem.  I used a flat needle file for the smoothing.  There remained one depression that would require additional CA.

With additional applications, filing and sanding the stem was mostly rebuilt. Now I had to rebuild the button.  To do this I use the clear Scotch tape to seal off the newly constructed stem surface.  This will allow only the button to receive new CA.  The CA is applied in a thin layer.  The stem is then flipped over so the CA hangs down by surface tension.  While holding the stem upside down I spritzed the wet CA with the accelerator.  Quickly before the accelerator completely cures the CA, I turn the stem back over and use a sharp knife to cut a straight line for the back of the button. 

After the CA cured completely, I removed the tape and the excess CA came off with it.

The new button is then shaped with a flat needle file and a 400 sanding sponge.

Here is a photo of the new button in profile.

The reconstruction of the broken area was complete but the airway was not very well shaped.  The lower part needed additional material and a nice smooth surinterior surface.  I needed another dam.  I cut a piece from a plastic lid.

Here you can see the area I wanted to fill.  The stem is held upside down.

The new dam would allow the CA to flow on top of it and adhere to the vulcanite above it. 

Two applications were applied with drying accelerators spritzed onto each.  The first penetrated into the stem while the second built up additional material on the outer button.

The dam was removed

A wood block was used to cut away some excess CA.  The remaining material was filed then sanded.

To smooth the airway I cut a tapered piece from an emery board.

This abrasive emery board was used to sand the interior of the stem’s airway.

Another view of the emery board.

The airway was smooth with the proper shape.

The last reconstructive surgery needed to rebuild the top of the button.  I wrapped the stem below the button with clear Scotch tape to protect the stem from additional CA.

A bead of black CA was applied to the button.  This was held upside down and spritzed with an accelerator..

While still soft before the curing completed, I cut along the back side of the button with an Exacto Knife.  I actually did this twice as I failed to photograph the first tape removal.  A second taping was done and a second application of CA.  this was also cut as before..  

Here is a photo of the excess CA from the second application.

The cured CA was then filed and sanded to shape.

Further sanding defined the shape better.

The shank of the pipe was taped to protect the carving and rustications while the stem was then sanded with the 400-1000 sanding sponges

The sanding progressed from the 1000-3500 sanding sponges.  I applied a coating of mineral oil to the stem between sponges.  The oil was rubbed in by finger tip and wiped off with a paper towel.

Further fine finishing was then done with micro-mesh pads 4000-12000.  Between each of these pads a light coating of Obsidian Oil was applied by finger tip and wiped off with a paper towel.

Final polishing was done with Before and After Fine Polish applied by finger tip and vigorously rubbed with a soft cotton cloth.

The final polishing was done with Before and After Extra Fine Polish as above.

The final step of the restoration was to apply several coats of carnauba wax with the buffer.  I swapped a clean flannel wheel after waxing and used it to heat and absorb any excess was from the pipe in an attempt to avoid an excess carnauba wax deposit within the rustication grooves.

The fourth Kaywoodie HandMade was completed.  Overall I was happy with the restoration.  The old vulcanite never did look like I had hoped it would, as there are still shades of brown visible in bright light.  The surface polished well but the color is not the black I wanted.  The rustication of this pipe obscures any sign of briar grain save for some lovely straight grain on the flat stamped surfaces and swirling bird’s eye on the bottom.  The wood did appear to come back to life with the cleaning and Restoration Balm.  The pipe feels excellent in hand due to the rustication and size.  I am sure that it will provide long smoking sessions that will remain very cool due to the substantial bowl and thick briar walls.  The dimensions of this pipe are as follows:

• Length: 5.35 in./ 135.89 mm.
• Weight: 2.29 oz./ 65.00 g.
• Bowl Height: 1.71 in./ 43.43mm.
• Chamber Depth: 1.39 in./ 35.31 mm.
• Chamber Diameter: 0.83 in./ 21.08 mm.
• Outside Diameter: 2.12 in./ 53.85 mm.

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

Below are some photos of the finished Kaywoodie HandMade Colossus.