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Tag: pipe stem reconstruction

A Manhattan Billiard Restoration

January 31st, 2024
Written and photographed by

John M. Young

Yeah, not the photograph that you were expecting on one of my blogs, eh? Well this sets the stage for a fun restoration. Before I begin with the restoration let me tell you a bit about Manhattan pipes. Manhattan pipes are hardly a world renowned brand. I could find only a couple of references to the brand but they are good ones:

“The Manhattan Briar Pipe Co. was organized in October, 1902 by the American Tobacco Company, under an agreement with the owners of the Brunswick Briar Pipe Company, as a New York corporation. Its initial address was 111 5th Avenue, New York City, and the value of its stock in 1902 was $350,000.00. American Tobacco Company had itself been founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco companies, and was one of the original twelve members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1896. It was commonly called the “Tobacco Trust”.

The majority of the stock in Manhattan Briar Pipe Company was immediately acquired by the American Tobacco Company after the company was organized, but the prior owners retained a controlling minority interest for some years. In October, 1906, however, the American Tobacco Company acquired the remaining shares of stock, and from that point on Manhattan Briar was the pipe making branch of American Tobacco. By 1911, however, American Tobacco had been dissolved in anti-trust litigation, and Manhattan Briar Pipe Co. became a separate concern.

Manhattan Briar Pipe Co. had started operations in 1905 in Jersey City, New Jersey, having taken on a lease for a ten year period in 1905, and maintained a factory at Marion, New Jersey, where the pipes were made. By 1913, former American Tobacco pipe department chair John Glossinger was the president of Manhattan Briar Pipe Company, and began a significant advertising push for high grade pipes, using the slogan “Don’t spoil good tobacco by using a poor pipe”. It appears from cases having appeared on the estate market that Manhattan also sold meerschaum pipes, most likely rebranded articles originally made by European craftsmen.

After the expiration of the Jersey City lease the Manhattan Briar Pipe Company maintained offices and a factory at 415-425 Greenpoint Avenue, Brooklyn, New York beginning in 1915, evidently under the direction of W. C. Bastian, who had been granted a patent for a chambered pipe stem^[1] otherwise seemingly identical to a Peterson P-Lip in 1910. An employee of the company, one J. Gianninoto, was granted a patent for a device meant to permit the emptying of a cuspidor^[2] without the mess in early 1918, and the company continues to be listed in local directories through 1921. In 1922 Manhattan Briar was purchased by S.M. Frank and merged into that company^[3].” (Manhattan Briar Pipe Co. – Pipedia)

“In the year 1900 Sam Frank Sr. started his own business, selling pipes and other tobacco items. His original office was located at 20 W. 17th Street, NYC. He was also closely associated with the sales staff of Wm. DeMuth & Co., selling their line of pipes. It was at this time that Mr. Frank first met Ferdinand Feuerbach and formed what would be a lifelong friendship. Mr. Feuerbach started working for the DeMuth company in 1897 and by 1903 had become the production manager. In 1919, when Mr. Frank needed an experienced pipe man to run his pipe factory, located at 168 Southern Blvd., in the Bronx, he persuaded his old friend Ferdinand to join him. Mr. Feuerbach is credited with developing DeMuth’s popular Royal DeMuth and Hesson Guard Milano pipelines. In 1922, when S. M. Frank purchased the Manhattan Briar Pipe Co. the company incorporated. In 1933, the paper Medico filter was introduced along with the Medico brand line of pipes. The Medico filter is the “original” and most absorbent paper filter on the market that is recognized by pipe smokers world-wide. Filtered pipe smoking, a debatable issue among pipe smokers, reduces tars and nicotine in the smoke stream to make a “safer” smoke.” (S. M. Frank & Co. – Pipedia)

The date looks correct for the characteristics of this pipe. The button definitely looks like a much older era and the cut threads of the mortise and tenon strike me as significantly pre-WWII. The date that the company was taken in by S.M. Frank, was1922. That puts this pipe at least one hundred years old. No pressure with that little piece of information.

Now for the restoration. The pipe was purchased as part of an estate lot and included this Manhattan, a Marxman, Tropical Paints Cleveland and a Winthrope. The only name I recognized was Marxman. The Marxman

originally looked most interesting. It turns out that all four were interesting. The Winthrope, Marxman and Tropical Paints Cleveland were each done previous blogs. Here is what I saw upon the arrival of the Manhattan.

I am sure you saw the photo with the cracked band. You were probably thinking the same as I was, “Yeah, bands crack all the time and never have a cracked shank, right?” Hmm, have you heard of a big river in Egypt? Speaking of denial, the seller of this auction either didn’t know the stem was broken, didn’t declare the stem was broken or was a very bad packager of pipes leading to the stem becoming broken in shipping. I messaged them about the broken stem and said that I would not complete the “feedback” for the purchase until they had responded to my informing them of the broken stem. They never did respond. This forced me to give a relatively unfavorable “feedback”.

Hmm, how to fix this? My pondering led me to solution #1 first. Pretty original, solution #1 first, eh? Okay, here it is:
1. Carefully drip alcohol onto the threads to loosen the dried yuck holding the broken tenon piece in place.
2. While the piece and threads are soaking, drill out the airway to 4 mm. “Why 4 mm”, you ask. Because I have some 4 mm outside diameter, stainless steel tubing.
3. Press the stainless steel tube into the newly drilled 4 mm hole and try to work the piece free.
4. Drill the stem out to 4 mm also to a depth of about 7mm..
5. Cut the stainless tubing to length, approximately 10 cm so it can be a connecting piece holding the two tenon pieces together. Like a sleeve except on the inside.
6. Thus preserving the original stem and its threaded tenon.
Great plan.

I soaked the threads and made sure not to let any alcohol go through the airway.

After several drops, I saw alcohol seeping into the tobacco chamber. This was good, it meant the alcohol had penetrated the threads and that they were not sealed to the tenon piece

like a Tupperware lid. I carefully drilled out the piece of tenon while it was still stuck in the mortise. I figured that this would be the best situation for drilling such a small piece of rubber and it may act to loosen the tenon. It didn’t. I applied a little more alcohol. Earlier in my life I thought that alcohol improved everything and that if a little was good more would be better. It didn’t and it wasn’t. This time the alcohol didn’t help either.

Hmm, I tried scraping any gunk out of the threads and the backside of the tenon with a curved dental pick. The threads cleaned nicely as the gunk there had been softened by the alcohol. When I scraped the inside of the tenon I realized that the piece was only about 3mm thick. I tried inserting the 4mm tubing. It went in with a little bit of twisting and pressure. It was good to know the hole worked. I could not get the piece to budge. I then noticed the cracks in the shank. Yes, I said cracks, plural, more than one. They were tiny and only extended for a 2-4 mm but they were there. This led me to think that the piece was wedged hard enough into the mortise to 1- break the stem and 2- crack the shank. Oh, this just keeps getting better and better.

I removed the tubing and thought that maybe if I inserted a thin bladed knife into the airway it would act like a regular screw head and I could just unscrew the piece through the cleaned-out threads. Another grand idea. I found a perfect knife and inserted it until I felt “enough” resistance and turned it counter-clockwise, lefty loosey. I felt like it should be working but it wasn’t. More pressure. Still nothing. More pressure, “tick”. That must have been the sound of the piece breaking free of the shackles of the mortise. Nope, that was the sound of the piece breaking. Using the dental pick I removed the shattered pieces of the tenon.

Here you can see the shank cracks at about 3:00 and 9:30.

Okay, that first plan, #1, didn’t completely pan out. I removed my tinfoil hat and donned my thinking cap. The second plan emerged. I’ll call it #2. Oh, the originality-train is stuck in the station. I thought:
1. Measure the threads at their widest point.
2. Buy some Delrin tenons of that diameter.
3. Cut off the broken tenon flush with the stem.
4. Drill out the stem to accept the Delrin tenon.
5. Cut new threads into the Delrin tenon.
6. Screw the Delrin tenon into the mortise.
7. Apply epoxy glue to the non-threaded end of the Delrin tenon.
8. Slip the glued Delrin tenon into the newly drilled-out hole in the stem.
9. Align stem to the correct position before glue sets.
10. Perfection!
Wow, this will probably work as well as plan #1. I measured and 5/16 was close to perfect. I looked at https://jhlowe.com/catalog/#delrin-plastic-tenons-smooth and they existed.

I sent them an email requesting a dozen of the tenons.

At this point I actually started the restoration of the Winthrop saddle stem billiard (https://wordpress.com/post/scimansays1787.wordpress.com/1939). I had never dealt with J. H Lowe before. A great gentleman and Facebook buddy, Donald Cole, recommended them and had dealt with them in the past. I had no idea how long it would take for the J.H. Lowe folks to respond to the email. Of course I sent it on a late afternoon Friday. After waiting for a few days, I used the official J. L. Howe “order” button. This worked as well as my previous email, which is, it also met with no reply.

Several days later I called the phone number on the website. Tim West promptly answered, a wonderfully helpful gentleman, he took my order and said he would send it out with an invoice. Wow, an item mailed to me prior to me paying for it? What an amazingly trusting person.

During the wait time to receive the Delrin tenons I decided to make a new band for this old girl. I looked through the brass tube stock that I had on hand. The 17/32 inch outside diameter (O.D.) tube was a near perfect fit. I measured the length of the old band and used that to cut a new band from the 17/32 stock. The new band was slightly larger which would not be a problem when glued in place. The mortise side of the band needed a slight bend to soften the edge. To do this I slid the new band over the ½ inch O.D. tube and tapped the edge with a small hammer as I rotated the band. This is a slow process and is best done while watching something on TV. Eventually the band got a nice even bevel.

Seven days after ordering them, the 12 Delrin smooth plastic tenons arrived (SBT-6, https://jhlowe.com/catalog/). Looking at them and the existing Manhattan stem I thought, “this might not work” The 5/16 inch Delrin just looked too thick in diameter. The original stem would most likely crack during the drilling. Maybe with a precision vice and a drill press it would work but no way with hand tools. I thought back to the Plan #2 steps. I skipped ahead to steps 5 & 6 – cutting thread in the new tenon. The tap and die set rarely gets used so I was looking forward to that. I used the thread gauge on the existing threads of the tenon. Size 18 and a diameter of 5/16. I clamped the Delrin in the vice and started cutting the threads. The portable vice that I have has plastic covers on the clamping surfaces. These would not grip the slick Delrin. I had to unclamp the tenon and hold it in a pliers and I finished cutting the threads.

They threaded into the mortise of the stummel very nicely. I was glad to save the original wooden threads in the shank of the old Manhattan. Now for the task I think I had been putting off, step 4 the stem drilling.

I retrieved my round-thing-holding-jig for clamping round pieces in a vice. It would work to hold the stem while I used a hand drill. I might be able to get up to ¼ inch by stepping up through increasing sized bits. I wrapped the stem in a triple layer of scotch tape hoping that that might allow an extra layer of protection from cracking. Then clamped the stem into the

round-thing-holding-jig in the portable vice. The 3 mm bit went through without removing much material. Next, came the 7/64 inch. I marked the ½ inch depth, to drill, with painters tape on the drill bit and started drilling – no problem. I repeated the taping and drilling with a ⅛ in bit. Again, no problem. The threaded tenon was getting very thin but I wanted to keep it as long as possible to aid in keeping the drill bits running straight. The 4 mm bit was taped and I started drilling – the threaded tenon cracked and parts broke away. Not a problem, I thought. I used the Dremel tool with a cut-off bit to remove the remaining threaded tenon as flush as possible. The remaining material would be sanded away. The next bit was a 3/16 inch. Again, I taped it for depth and proceeded – no problem.

To save time, for you reading this, I continued stepping up the drill bit size to ¼ inch. The hole in the stem was now noticeably off center. I don’t know if this was due to my drilling or if the original airway was not centered. Either way, the 5/16 inch hole was going to be a problem. I thought maybe if I started the 5/16 bit with the drill then switched to a bit in a screwdriver I would be able to drill it by hand. This worked but I soon saw a crack develop in the stem. The crack was filled by applying clear Thin Cyanoacrylate (CA, super glue) which penetrated into the crack. This was sanded smooth using an emery board. I figured once the epoxy was inside the drilling and adhered to the Delrin tenon there would be enough adhesion to keep the crack from being an issue in the future. A new plan was needed, perhaps it should be called “#3”.

Plan #3

If the hole can’t get larger then the tenon must get smaller. That sounds far too easy.
1. Use the drum sanding bit with the Dremel tool to sand down the diameter of the Delrin tenon.
2. Cut the Delrin tenon to appropriate length.
3. Screw in the Delrin tenon until tight.
4. Check the stem fit over the Delrin tenon. Sand tenon to fit.
5. Apply Vaseline to surfaces where no epoxy is wanted.
6. Use epoxy to glue tenon into the stem.
7. Run an acetone dipped pipe cleaner through the stem to make sure no epoxy interferes with the airway.
8. Tah-dah.
That was the plan and that is what I did. The Delrin sanding with the Dremel was not photographed due to it taking both of my hands. The next two photos show steps 1-3.

I did not include a step for getting all the gluing gear together but, here is a photo.

Step 5 “Apply Vaseline to surfaces where no epoxy is wanted“, is shown by the next two photos. The Vaseline did not photograph well on the stem but it was there.

Step 6) Sorry that the focus is so bad. Trust me the tenon is wet with epoxy as was the drilled out stem.

Below is the tenon inserted into the stem as the epoxy is drying. I did run a couple acetone dipped tapered pipe cleaners through the stem and spun them with my fingers to make sure that no epoxy was fouling the airway. The blue and white pipe cleaner in the photo below was one of them.

I set the time for 15 minutes hoping that that would be long enough for the epoxy to hold tight to the tenon and allow me to unscrew it. It was. The Vaseline did its job beautifully. Excess epoxy was scraped with an Exacto knife while it was still soft.

It worked, it actually worked. Well, it eventually worked, you know, 3 plans later. Let’s finish this restoration. The pipe left the bright sunny upstairs and headed back to the workbench. The stem was very oxidized, again indicating that this was an old pipe. I used the 600 sanding sponge to smooth the entire surface and remove the outermost layer of oxidized rubber. I decided to give the stem a couple of hours in the Before and After Deoxidation solution or, deox as I like to call it. A pipe cleaner was inserted into the stem to act as a hanger to suspend it in the solution.

During this time, I worked on sanding and micro-meshing the stummel. Okay, this was weird. I had already sanded and filled the dents and dings on this stummel. I don’t remember when I did it and I took no photos. This is another reason not to work on pipes in starts and stops. I had been so focused on the stem that I didn’t even notice that the stummel had been sanded and filled. There were 6 spots that received fills all on the right side of the stummel. I do now remember doing them. I used a dental pick to

remove the old fill material. None of them were large but they were all too deep to be just sanded away. I used cyanoacrylate (CA, super glue) in the depression then sanded over them with a sanding sponge. This allowed the

briar dust from the sponge to combine with the CA and fill the hole. The area was then sanded smooth. If the depression remained a second application of the CAA and further sanding was done.

With the sanding done, I moved on to the micro-mesh pads. I used the 4000-12000 pads. Between each pad I wiped the stummel with a make-up pad dipped in 99% isopropyl alcohol. After the final alcohol wipe I allowed the stummel to dry and applied a layer of Before and After Restoration Balm. The balm was allowed to sit and do the magic that it does for about an hour.

I returned an hour later and wiped the remaining Restoration Balm from the stummel with the inside of an athletic sock. The stem had been in the deox for a couple of hours so, I retrieved it from the solution. I allowed the excess to drip off the stem. The stem was then vigorously rubbed with a coarse cotton shop rag. THe rag absorbed the remaining solutions and rubbed away the oxidized rubber. The inside of the stem was cleared of solution with a couple of pipe cleaners. The stem was returned to the workbench and rubbed with mineral oil. I ran a mineral oil dipped pipe cleaner through the stem as well.

There were still areas of brown oxidation visible on the tenon end and right below the button. I was getting frustrated with this stem. I thought, “try buffing it with the buffer and some red compound.” I did, It helped but the oxidation remained. I returned to the workbench and scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub on a make-up pad. This barely turned the pad tan. The oxidation seemed to be deep into the rubber of the stem. I ran through the micro-mesh pad series 4000-12000 and the stem did take on a good polish but under bright light the brown was still visible. I gave up. The final task for me was to apply several coats of carnauba wax to Manhattan.

As frustrating as this restoration was, it was still fun and provided a great learning experience for me. I had never cut threads in Delrin before and I had never drilled out a stem for a new tenon. The new band turned out very nicely and will keep those two pesky shank cracks in their place. The finish of the briar was restored to what I assume it looked like 100 years ago. Do I think this pipe will be around in another 100 years? I see no reason that it couldn’t. I can foresee a scenario where the Manhattan’s next companion decides that it does need a new stem, one without oxidation. A good pipe repairman could do that with a lathe and some ebonite. Other than that, this old pipe is ready for some tobacco. I hope that you have found something here interesting or useful. If you like this sort of thing, please click the like and subscribe. I thank you for reading the ramblings of an old pipe lover.

Below are some photos of the finished Manhattan Billiard.
A Ludwig and Hugo Stern (LHS) Sculptured Purex Dublin

January 15th, 2024

Written and photographed by

John M. Young

Well my interest in late 1940s pipes has yet to subside. Although there are a couple of samples that are just beyond this retired teacher’s means. I came across an advertisement for a very interesting pipe called a Roto Bowl. Here is the ad from 1947 vol. 4 Pipe Lovers Magazine

(Pipe Lovers Magazine 1947 all numbers : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive p. 99) How does it work? I just want one to take apart and see what the parts are like and what they are meant to do. Okay, I want to restore it too. Then, I’ll probably lose interest and not call her back. Oh wait, we are talking pipes. Well due to the wonders of the Internet I found one. Yes, on eBay. And, it only has a starting buy-out price of (dramatic pause) US $812.50 or Best Offer. No, seriously. Here is the link – Francis Ellsworth Roto Bowl Pipe 1946 Briarwood Tobacco Pipe RARE UNSMOKED! | eBay. Although if you are reading this in the future, the link may be gone. Here’s the screenshot too.

What does this have to do with our gnarly little darling, the LHS Purex? Umm, I don’t know, I was just trying to write an introduction and I guess I got carried away. Oh yeah, now I remember, I was talking about my current crush on late 1940s pipes. And how Sterncrest (LHS) has like ¼ page ads in every volume of Pipe Lovers Magazine. Remember the LHS London Royal restoration? Okay, it was over a month ago but, here’s the link.

If you are like me and have forgotten about LHS (Ludwig and Hugo Stern) and their pipe making, I’ll try to give a quick review.

“Ludwig Stern, a successful pipe manufacturer since 1893 and closing around 1960, reorganized his company along with his brother Hugo Stern, opening a factory in 1911. They named the company L&H Stern Smoking Pipes & Holders. The newly formed company was moved into a six story building on the corner of Pearl and Waters street Brooklyn, NY.

Thoroughly organized in all departments, and housed in a well-lighted and ventilated modern office and manufacturing building, the firm of L&H Stern Inc. is located near the first arch of the Manhattan bridge, near the river and convenient to the Brooklyn bridge, which makes it accessible from all the hotels in the metropolis for visiting buyers. The structure is six stories with a seventeen-foot basement, with light on three sides through prismatic glass windows, the first floor being seven feet above the sidewalk. Light enters the upper floors from all four sides.

L&H Stern is known to every important wholesaler and jobber in the country. LHS manufactures a complete line of briar pipes. Ginmetto wood pipes are also made, as well as Redmanol goods, the man-made amber. The first substitute for amber. Everything, even down to the sterling silver and other metal trimmings are made under one roof.” (LHS – Pipedia)

So, here we have an old company that made a lot of different pipes. Here is the list of brands or lines from 1944.

(Document: LHS Grading — Pipes : Logos & Markings – (pipephil.eu))

There is our little darling at the bottom of this list. She is kind of a cheap little pipe but I refuse to let that stand in the way of a good relationship. Although I remember talking to a buddy about a girl he met at a bar. He said, “She’s fun and I like her, but I wouldn’t bring her home to meet mom” (personal conversation). Although my mother probably would have found this little darling cute.

Let’s see if we can narrow down the manufacture date a bit more.

“Some models were made before, during, and after WWII. LHS was one of the main pipe supplier for US soldiers during WWII.

Pre-war pipes were stamped Real Briar Root, or Briar Root. Some war time pipes were made from domestic briar, or “American” briar and were void of any briar stampings. Many American pipe makers lost their over seas supply of Mediterranean briar shortly before and during the war. Post war pipes were stamped Imported Briar to assure customers that they were buying premium briar once again.” (LHS – Pipedia)

So there we have it. This cute LHS Sculpted Purex does indeed have a stamp “IMPORTED BRIAR” on the bottom of the shank. No, not a little trashttoo (tattoo on the small of her back).

That little beauty places this pipe as a post WWII-1960 manufactured pipe. and matches the piphil.eu data file for stamps.

(LHS — Pipes : Logos & Markings (pipephil.eu))

This LHS Sculpted Purex was one of a 3 pipe lot won from eBay. The other 2 are also late 1940s that will make future blog posts. Upon arrival she looked great except for one massive flaw. I’ll let you see if you can find it from the “before” photos.

You are getting warmer.

Still warmer.

Getting warmer.

I know, you are feeling like a kid in the back seat going on vacation; “are we there yet?”

Aaaughhh! That’s awful. Don’t look, children, you’ll have nightmares.

Don’t worry, I’ll show you how I fix those. Seriously though, she was in good shape save for that hole in the stem. I used to fear working on those, now I like to. The biggest potential problem that I saw, other than the hole, was the fact that this pipe had been used a lot. For a hole like that to be chewed through the mouthpiece, it had to be in someone’s mouth a great deal. That indicated that the airway cleaning might be difficult. And, did you see the matching aluminum edged red circles on both the shank and the stem? That was a very nice touch for a “cheap” pipe.

The first step with this restoration is to have a clean piece of denim placed on the workbench and disassemble this Purex. The aluminum stinger is a two piece, one of which went into the 99% isopropyl alcohol for a soak.

Step two, reaming the tobacco chamber. The chamber is too narrow for the remaining blades of my PipNet so, the Scottie Reaming tool, Smokingpipes Low Country knife and the General triangular scraper were put to use The chamber was then sanded with 220 sandpaper wrapped around a wood dowel. This was another case of soft Algerian briar that literally sloughed off the cake. I do love a good old Algerian briar. The cake had completely protected the chamber interior.

Next came the shank cleaning. Surprise, it was pre-cleaned for my convenience. Either that or the previous keeper was a good and proper pipe cleaner. Thank you. The cotton swabs did come back a bit discolored as their isopropyl alcohol dissolved the tars within the airway. However, they soon were coming back clean.

The stummel was then taken to the sink for the Murphy’s Oil Soap scrubbing. The Murphy’s was used undiluted and scrubbed once with a medium bristle toothbrush then rinsed with warm water and dried with a cotton dish towel. The stummel was then scrubbed a second time with undiluted Murphy’s and a brass wire bore brush. Since the rustication was so deep and rugged I used the wire brush as well. This too was rinsed with warm water and dried again with the now slightly damp cotton dish towel. The stummel was then returned to the workbench where alcohol was poured into the bowl and allowed to slosh around and poured out through the airway. You can see a very slight coloring of the alcohol in the medicine cup. The stummel was also wiped with an alcohol wetted make-up pad. This too slightly discolored the pad.

I then wetted another make-up pad with acetone and vigorously wiped the stummel. I removed more finish from the stummel.

Next the stem was going to be cleaned using bristle pipe cleaners dipped in 99% isopropyl alcohol. It was quickly discovered that the stem was softened and began to dissolve with the alcohol. As the alcohol evaporated the stem lost the sticky feel. I decided that it should be cleaned with soap and water. I used Dawn dish soap and hot water with bristle pipe cleaner to clean the airway. Both parts of the stinger were also cleaned using alcohol and pipe cleaners along with a cotton rag and cotton swabs. THe aluminum was then polished with a 4000 micro-mesh pad.

It was time to address that scary hole in the bottom of the stem. It kind of looks like it goes through the top and bottom in these photos. That is an illusion, it was only in the bottom. I first filed the area from the button shank-ward for about 1 cm. This would allow the black cyanoacrylate (CA, super glue) a nice rough surface to adhere to.

I frequently will cut a piece from a plastic lid material into a custom fit insert and press this insert into the airway. The insert acts as a dam for the CA and keeps it from out. I used a slightly different method enlisting a pipe cleaner and scotch tape. I folded a soft pipe cleaner in half and wrapped the folded end with scotch tape. There seem to be two main types of scotch tape – the good stuff (3-M brand flat/matte) and the cheap stuff (no-name clear). They each have their uses. I like the good stuff for wrapping the pipe cleaner as the CA does not adhere to it at all.

The good stuff wrapped pipe cleaner needs to be a tight fit into the airway. You want as little CA as possible to enter the airway on the scotch tape. The hole then gets a drop of black CA applied to it. This CA is quickly sprayed with a cyanoacrylate drying accelerator.

The key to using the accelerator is numerous thin coats or small drops of CA. The accelerator comes into contact with the liquid CA and starts the curing process as it quickly evaporates. If the drop is too thick the accelerator cannot reach the bottom and it remains liquid. I used 2 applications to fill the hole. Another warning is not to remove the inserted dam too soon. Since the CA is very thin at this point removing it can cause it to break through and reopen the hole. After the initial hole was filled I started expanding the CA covered area. This makes blending the black CA to the existing stem less noticeable.

After the coat of CA was applied, I again spritzed with the accelerator and allowed the accelerator to evaporate. Another warning: Some stem materials are affected by the accelerator and it causes it to soften. This usually will return to normal after the accelerator dries. Until it does the stem can be soft and if touched you can leave fingerprints in the stem surface causing you extra sanding and micro-meshing to mitigate. Also, notice the Exacto knife blade in the photo. For a few seconds after the accelerator is applied the CA will be soft. This time can be used to cut the back side of the button straight. This reduces the amount of time spent filing and sanding the button edge.

In the above photo, you can see two slivers of CA that were cut from the back side of the button while the CA was still soft. After the CA cured or dried (I’m not sure of the correct term) I filed the surface flat using a flat needle file. Additional CA was applied to fill low spots and was again spritzed with the accelerator.

Once cured/dried I again filed. This time there are no low spots and I was able to file the high spots flat. Apologies for the photo focus. These were taken with the phone, not the NIkon.

Once filed flat the CA was fine filed with an emery board. A flat sander works better that a finger as it allows for even sanding rather than curving like my finger would.

I removed the dam (good stuff wrapped pipe cleaner) and inspected for CA overflow in the airway. I could see none. Now the fine sanding using the sanding sponges could proceed. I used the 1000-3500 sanding sponges with a paper towel wetted with mineral oil to wipe between each sponge. Yeah, the Captain Pete made a couple of photo-bomb appearances here. I left the below two photos uncropped a bit to show where I had been wiping the sanding dust from the sponges on the denim work surface. Keeping the sponges clean helps the sanding process.

Now for a slightly interactive blog session. Remember the hole was on the bottom of the stem. Which photo is of the repaired hole, top or bottom? Don’t worry this is not being graded.

There you have it, how I repair and rebuild stems. The CA can be purchased in many different colors. Although, I was internet shopping the other day and I was shocked at the inflationary price increases for CA.

The micro-meshing of the stem proceeded from micro-mesh pad 4000-12000. Between each pad I applied a small drop of Obsidian Oil, rubbed it in with my finger and wiped it with a paper towel. After the micro-meshing I used both the Before and After Fine and Extra Fine polishes. These were applied with a finger and hand rubbed using a soft cotton rag.

With the stem completed I was ready for the arduous task of sanding the stummel. Oh year, I was completely out of arduous. Good thing none was needed. The rustication or “sculptured” texture of the stummel required nearly no work. I lightly sanded it with a 3200 micro-mesh pad to give it a bit more of a contrast look by removing stained briar from the high points of the rustication. I liked the lighter browns peeking through as highlights. The stummel was then treated with Before and After Restoration Balm. I used a baby toothbrush to work the balm into all the nooks and crannies. This was allowed to sit for about 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, I wiped away the remaining Restoration Balm with the inside of an athletic sock, using the thick terry cloth to get into the above-mentioned nooks and crannies.

The above crummy photo is meant to show the cleaning of the baby toothbrush by dipping it into isopropyl alcohol and rubbing it on the denim work surface a few times. I wanted to use the brush for the waxing and did not want Restoration Balm in my wax.

I again used the baby toothbrush as the applicator, this time for Decatur Pipe Shield No-Buff Wax. I’ve had good results with this wax on heavily rusticated pipes. The wax was allowed to dry for 20 minutes and was then bushed using a shoe shine brush followed by hand buffing with a soft cotton cloth.

Overall this was a fun restoration. I did not have to spend a great deal of time working on tar removal. The pipe is relatively dainty with a shank diameter of only ½ inch (12.7 mm), a bowl outside diameter of 1 ⅜ inches (35 mm), bowl height of 1 ¾ inches (44.5 mm) and a respectable length of 5 ¾ inches (146 mm). See, Americans can do the metric system. I think the size is why the pipe is at the bottom of the LHS quality scale. I was quite pleased with how well the old LHS Purex turned out. I have not been using a shape name with this pipe since I am unable to place it on any shape chart from LHS. The bowl has a slightly paneled look from above but that may just be due to the rustication. It does have a forward cant and a slight flaring from the shank to the rim. I guess I’ll call it a Dublin. I do hope that you have found something here useful in your own restorations or were at least slightly entertained. If you enjoy this sort of thing, please click the like and subscribe. I thank you very much for taking time to read the ramblings of an old pipe lover.

Below are some photos of the finished LHS Sculpted Purex Dublin.
A Kings Cross Billiard Restoration

December 12th, 2023

Written and photographed by John M. Young

I recently won an auction for 6 Kings Cross pipes. They are a mixture of 2-Made in England, 3-Made in France and 1-no Country of Manufacture (COM) just “ALGERIAN BRIAR”. I have chosen this billiard as the next restoration subject. Below are the photos of how it appeared as I removed it from the box:

This pipe needs many things done to bring her up to snuff: Reaming, rim topping and bevel, airway cleaning, stem sanding with button building, briar and stem refurbishing and a good waxing. I accept this mission.

In a previous pair of restorations (Kings Cross Kruger and Kings Cross Foursquare) I discussed the Chapuis-Comoy history and this pipe shares that heritage. This Kings Cross is of a French country of Origin (COM) as indicated by the stamp on the stem. It is unfortunate that this stamp is so faint. I know it will not survive the restoration thus any COM will be lost. I guess I can take some solace in knowing that her history will be preserved with this blog and I can pass that on to the next steward of this pipe.

As for the provenance of this pipe we can look at the shape number “185” and take a look at the Comoy shape chart from pipedia.org:

(https://pipedia.org/wiki/Comoy%27s_Shape_Number_Chart)

That looks like a match, to me. This is indeed a large billiard with a straight stem. Both Comoy and Chapuis used the same shapes when they consolidated their production in 1988. Which means that this old girls was a product of the Chapuis factory of Saint Claude (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/infos/chapuiscomoy-en.html) .

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

On to the restoration. Other than the stem, which looks like some arseling tried to use a vice grip to see if he could squeeze the smoking residue from the stem rather than use a pipe cleaner, the pipe looks pretty good. There are two noticeable pits that will require filling and the damage to the rim from the previously mentioned arseling knocking the dottle from the pipe against pieces of broken concrete.

Sidenote: Arseling – The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines arseling as meaning “backwards” and having been derived from the noun arse and the suffix –ling. Used above as a noun deriding the person who inconsiderately damaged the pipe. (https://thijsporck.com/2015/11/12/arseling-a-word-coined-by-alfred-the-great/#:~:text=The%20Oxford%20English%20Dictionary%20(OED,arse%20and%20the%20suffix%20%E2%80%93ling.)

I began by reaming the tobacco chamber using the 3rd size blade on the PipNet, it is a “L” for large.

The Smokingpipes Low Country reaming knife and the General triangular scraper were also used after the PipNet. This was followed by 200 sandpaper wrapped around a wood dowel and with sandpaper on my finger. The interior of the chamber looked great. I used the edge of the knife to lightly scrape some of the lava from the rim.

Next the stummel went to the sink for the Murphy’s Oil Soap scrub. I used the Murphy’s undiluted with a medium bristle toothbrush. The stummel had years of dirt and grime attempting to hide the grain beneath. I spent a bit of extra time on the rim to address the lava remaining there. The stummel was then rinsed with warm water and dried with a cotton dish towel. Returning to the workbench I saw that there remained some stubborn lava on the rim. I worked on this with saliva and a cotton rag until I realized how dumb, I was behaving. “Hey dummy, you are going to top that whole rim.” Hmm, good thing I have a kind and loving internal voice. I returned to the sink, since that is where the counter I use for topping is. I used a piece of 200

sandpaper laid flat on the counter to top the stummel. As I sanded I rotated the stummel to maintain even pressure around the entire rim. After the topping I wanted to maintain the bevel on the inside of the rim. I used a

wooden sphere wrapped in 200 sandpaper to reestablish this bevel. Different sized spheres can be used for different angles. After the topping the new rim needed a bit of stain. I used the walnut furniture touch-up marker for the initial color match and blended it with an alcohol dipped make-up pad.

With the rim complete I turned my attention to the two spots requiring fills. They were both small but in positions that would require care to maintain

the original shape of the stummel. I chose to use cyaloacrylate (CA, super glue) and briar dust. I used a fly tying bodkin to apply a small drop of CA to the hole and placed a pinch of briar dust onto the CA. I then pushed the briar dust into the hole. This usually fills the cavity in one application and will give you a nice little CA fill spot on your index finger. The CA cures almost instantly with the briar dust and pressure. The remaining scab, for lack of a better term, was filed off using

needle files. I used the flat file for the flare area on the right fill and curved and rounded files for the shank/bowl transition. The area is then sanded with 400 sandpaper and touched-up with the furniture touch-up marker.

With the fills dealt with I started in on the roughest parts of the stem. I used the flat needle file to smooth the most egregious gouges on the stem then sanded them with 200 sandpaper wrapped around an emery board. I wanted the stiffness of the emery board to keep me from sanding the gouges into a curved shape. After the worst of the gouges were removed there remained a couple of depressions on both sides of the stem. I filled these with black CA. The CA was spritzed with a curing accelerator then filed smooth with the flat needle file. These areas were then smoothed with sandpaper.

At this point I decided to build up and shape the button of the stem. I again used the black CA for this reshaping. On previous restorations, I have neglected to photo document my process of button building. This is not to preserve my “secret technique”. It is merely because I get to working on this part and get so consumed in the process that I forget to document it. This time I made an effort to show what I do. I will typically shape and sand the area shank-ward of the button. Once smooth, I use a piece of scotch tape to keep the new CA only on the button.

I apply the black CA and spritz with accelerant. You have a few seconds when the CA is soft, before the accelerant cures the CA into it’s hardened form.

While it is still soft I use an exacto knife to cut the edge of the button giving it a sharp definition towards the stem. I then peel the scotch tape off, taking with it the area beyond the cut. I will then shape the new CA button. I will repeat this until I have the desired shape. I have not seen other restorers use this technique. I doubt I am the only one who has thought of this.

After the fills were smoothed with 400 sandpaper I prepped the pipe for micro-meshing. Since I had so much sanding of the stem to do, I left the stem and shank together for the sanding and micro-meshing. I knew that this would obliterate the “FRANCE” stamping on the stem but I did mask the stamping on the stummel to preserve them.

The micro-meshing was pretty standard from1500-1800 pad used wetted with a drop of water. The stummel was wiped with an alcohol dampened make-up removal pad while the stem was rubbed with mineral oil and wiped with a paper towel. The next micro-mesh pads were the 2200-3200 used dry with the above mentioned wiping done between each pad.

I removed the painters tape before using the 4000-12000 micromesh pads. I rubbed the areas taped with an alcohol pad to remove and tape adhesive residue and continued the micro-meshing with alternating wipes between pads.

At this stage the pipe was looking very nice. I gave the stummel a liberal coat of Before and After Restoration Balm and the stem a coat of Obsidian Oil and allowed them to while I attended to some laundry duty.

With the laundry folded an put away it was time to wipe off the balm and see how this old billiard is looking. I wiped the pipe with the inside of an athletic sock. Those little ankle high socks fit on my hand perfectly and have a wonderful terry cloth interior perfect for pipe rubbing. Oh, she is looking so much better. All that is left is a trip down stairs to the buffer for several coats of carnauba wax with the buffer.

Oh, dang it, I forgot about the stinger, again. It had been sitting in a medicine cup with some 99% isopropyl alcohol. The alcohol softed the tar-lacquer (not sure if that is a thing). I used the buffer with some white compound to polish it up then reinserted it into the stem.

This restoration was all very straight forward. It was a good way to spend the better part of an afternoon. The briar grain shows very nicely and sets off the ebony of the polished vulcanite well. Not too shabby for a factory made briar pipe. I am sure she will make a great companion for her next owner and provide years more of quality tobacco consumption. I hope that you found some of these techniques helpful for your own restorations or were entertained. If you liked this sort of thing, please hit the like and/or subscribe buttons down there. Thank you for reading the ramblings of an old pipe lover.

Here are some photos of the finished Kings Cross billiard: