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Tag: repainting a stem logo

A Man Sculpted Black Meerschaum Dublin Restoration

December 12th, 2024
Photographed and written by

John M. Young

It’s a Dublin… It’s Poker… It’s Super Pipe! Yeah, it sounds way cooler in the original form – It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman. I have to admit I wasn’t quite sure what to call this Man pipe when it arrived. I asked my German pipe expert, Sascha Mertens, via Facebook messenger what he’d call it. His reply was classic Sascha, “Dublin, accidentally! Planned as a poker! Nice pipe.” He included an artistically modified photo that I sent him and even signed it: I am not sure I want to call it an “Accidental Dublin which was supposed to be a Poker Man pipe”. That seems even wordy, for me. I guess, I will just call it a Man Sculpted Black Meerschaum Dublin Pipe and hope the shape critics will read this intro before criticising the name.

The pipe itself was part of an estate lot purchased in September from Calgary Alberta, Canada. It included 11 other pipes I recognized this one from the photo below:

The male symbol could even be clearly made out. It is always fun to pick up a lot from somewhere other than the States as locally available pipes in one location are rare and exotic in another location. This lot had a couple of pipes with Canadian country of manufacture (COM) stamps. Stick around and I’m sure they will make appearances in upcoming blogs. The pipe has the male symbol and ISLE OF MAN stamped on the stem. The meerschaum remains free of any marks indicating its origin. Below are some photographs of the pipe prior to any work done.

This looked to be an easy relaxing restoration. The meerschaum was in great shape. Yeah, the stem was oxidized and looked as if someone thought they might improve the appearance by trying to give it a nice suntan by storing it in direct sunlight. Besides, I had wanted to work on a Man meerschaum for some time.

Background

From previous research on several European meerschaum pipes I recalled that this line was a product of Laxey Pipes. I refreshed my memory with a revisit on pipedia.org. Below, I have included that entry.

“Laxey Pipes Ltd. resided in a historical 19th century four-storey Man stone building at The Quay, Old Laxey, Isle of Man, which thankfully has been preserved.

The company specialised in the production of meerschaum pipes using the Meerschaum mined by the Tanganyika Meerschaum Corporation in the Amboseli basin in Tanganyika (since 1964 part of the United Republic of Tanzania).

Please note: you may often find names like “Manx Pipes Ltd.”, “Man Pipe Co.” and others more, but there is no indication of another Isle of Man pipe producer other than Laxey Pipe Ltd. at any time!

Laxey Pipes Ltd. marketed own brands like “Manxpipe”, “Manxman”, “Manxland” e.c. Names like “John Bull”, “White Knight” (unwaxed), “Domino” (black, or lined) indicated some shapes / colours of Laxey’s own series. The stems either showed the astronomical sign for “male” or “man” (circle + arrow), or the crest of the Isle of Man, the 3-legged X in a circle. Manxpipes and Laxey’s other brands were available through pipe retailers in general, but also were sold (mainly) to tourists through their own shop in Laxey.” (Laxey Pipes Ltd. – Pipedia)

(File:Manx.jpg – Pipedia). I love the stone work of this old building and can’t help thinking, “watch that first step, it’s a doozy”, regarding the step from the pier to the boat at low tide.

My next search was of pipephil.eu. Here I was able to find logos from other Man pipes, reaffirming the family heritage.

I find it interesting that African meerschaum was used. In a couple of previous blogs, I discussed the history of meerschaum or sepiolite mining in the Amboseli region of Tanzania (links: https://wordpress.com/post/scimansays1787.com/7350 and https://wordpress.com/post/scimansays1787.com/7485). Meerschaum from this region is not considered to be as high quality as the meerschaum of Turkey and is usually left rusticated and frequently stained or “painted”. I put painted in quotes as I am unsure of how or with what Laxey coated the stummels of their pipes.

Further research came across a forum post in pipesmokersdens.com by a member named Siv. They state the following in their post:

“Laxey Pipes Limited was established in the mid-1960s on the Isle of Man to manufacture various decorative smoking pipes, based in a historically important 19th century four-storey building on the quay in the east coastal village of Laxey. The building was erected in 1866 by Richard Rowe (c.1823-1886), Captain of the Laxey Mines, as an additional grain store for the Laxey Glen Flour Mill. The building was also used as a storage facility for other material, such as coal and corn, and it was utilised as a base for community meetings and events. The property had several owners before the Isle of Man Government acquired it in the 1960s and leased it to the pipe factory. Other company names such as Manx Pipes Ltd and Man Pipe Co. have been noted but no other pipe producer was active during this time, thus all names must have fallen under the Laxey Pipes Ltd umbrella.

The company specialised in the manufacturing of meerschaum pipes using the mineral meerschaum (sepiolite) mined by the Tanganyika Meerschaum Corporation, situated in the Amboseli basin, Tanganyika (now the United Republic of Tanzania). Meerschaum is a soft white clay mineral, mainly found in Turkey with large deposits also found in Tanganyika, Africa. Meerschaum is a popular material for pipes because its properties allow it to be carved into finely detailed and decorative shapes. It is also porous by nature and can draw moisture and tobacco tar into the stone. Another organic material used by Laxey Pipes Ltd for its smoking pipes was briar wood. Briar is a type of wood that is native to Africa and is abundant the Ethiopian Highlands, the Ruwenzori Mountains and the Cameroon Mountains. It is a particularly good material to use for pipes because it has a natural resistance to fire and it has an ability to absorb any moisture.

Laxey Pipes Ltd produced and marketed their own pipe brands such as ‘Manxpipe’, ‘Manxman’ and ‘Manxland’. Other pipe names indicated various shapes and colours of the Laxey pipe series, for example ‘White Knight’ (unwaxed) and ‘Domino’ (black or lined). The Laxey brands were sold through general pipe retailers but they were also sold through the company’s shop on its Isle of Man premises. Laxey Pipes Ltd also produced meer bowls (the compartment where the tobacco goes in the pipe) for pipe brands such as Peterson, Barling and Nørding from the 1960s until 2001.

As the company entered the 1990s and early 2000s the supply of meer from East Africa was becoming increasingly difficult; Kenya and Tanzania had been extensively mined and places like Somalia was inaccessible due to civil war. The last Laxey meers were traded in May 2001 but the company continued making briar pipes. Changing attitudes to smoking led to a general decline in popularity of pipe smoking. The company closed its doors indefinitely in June 2002.” (https://pipesmokersdens.com/threads/man-pipes-laxey-pipes-ltd-isle-of-man.17931/)

Siv also provides photos of of their Man pipe along with photos of the brochure accompanying the pipe.

(photos: https://pipesmokersdens.com/threads/man-pipes-laxey-pipes-ltd-isle-of-man.17931/)

According to Mark Irwin, “By ‘78 Peterson had bought the Isle of Man company and moved its operations to their Dublin factory.” (Irwin, Mark (2018). The Peterson Pipe (1st ed. 2nd printing). Briar Books Press. p.308). Using the above information, I estimate this pipe to have been made on the Isle of Man between the 1960s-1978. Siv’s pamphlet provided great information about the shape – 62/2, unfortunately no descriptor though. I guess I’m stuck with Sascha’s “Accidental Dublin”.

The Restoration

The restoration began with a clean denim piece for both the protection of the pipe and the workbench top.

THe reaming tools included only the General triangular scraper, the Smokingpipes Low Country reamer and the 220 sandpaper wrapped dowel. The PipNet and Kleen-Reem were not employed for fear their torque would be detrimental to the meerschaum.

The reaming was uneventful due to the light cake build-up within the tobacco chamber.

After a light sanding I scrubbed the chamber with a few cotton swabs dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol.

Before cleaning the shank, I looked close at the mortise. There appeared to be an insert of some plastic.

I remembered the pamphlet Siv, the pipesmokersdens.com forum contributor, provided.These little things never cease to amaze me.I had no idea that pipe makers in the 1960s-1970 were in the habit of using Delrin or Delrin-like mounts for meerschaum pipes.

THe airway of the shank was cleaned out using alcohol dipped bristle pipe cleaners. I think the vast majority of the black that was staining the pipe cleaners was excess black dye or stain used in the production of the pipe and not accumulated filth from smoking.

The stem was cleaned next. It was only slightly dirty and only required a couple of alcohol dipped pipe cleaners. This further reaffirmed my conclusion to the black from the shank cleaning was dye.

The stem was lightly buffed with 0000 steel wool to remove the surface oxidation in preparation for a dip in the Before and After Extra Strength Deoxidizer (lovingly referred to as deox). A pipe cleaner was inserted into the tenon to act as a hanger while in the solution.

I left the stem in deox overnight as it was heavily oxidized. The next day I removed the stem and allowed it to drip excess deoxidizer back into the jar.

After the drip dry I placed the stem on a coarse shop rag. I like these rags because the rough texture and open weave absorb the remaining solution and lightly abrade the softened oxidized rubber from the stem.

After hand buffing with the shop rag, you can see the amount of oxidized rubber which was removed.

Even though the stem was looking nicely black I had the feeling that there was additional scrubbing in my future. I used Soft Scrub on make-up pads to further scrub and remove the oxidation.

A lot of make-up pads.

Eventually the color left on the pads was lightened. I checked the condition of the logo. Frequently in cases of severe oxidation logos can suffer or be nearly eliminated. Yay, the loge was still there!

The stem was oiled with mineral oil and allied to soak in the oil for a few minutes. I am not sure if this is necessary or not but it does provide a nice little break for one to go upstairs and get some lunch.

I covered the logo and the COM stamps with small pieces of Scotch tape to protect them from the sanding. The stem was then sanded with a series of sanding sponges from 400-3500 grit. Between each sponge the stem was rubbed with additional mineral oil and wiped with a paper towel.

At this point I wanted to repaint the stem logo. I prepped the area by cleaning it with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol. I used a water based acrylic modeling paint for the paint.

The paint was applied with a fly tying bodkin to the stamp. THis paint dries quickly.

THe surface was scraped with a rigid plastic card to remove the excess paint without cleaning out the grooves. I could not get the paint to stay in the top left of the male symbol even after a couple more attempts.

The stem was then worked with micro-mesh pads 4000-12000. Between each of these pads the stem was rubbed with Obsidian Oil and wiped with a paper towel.

THe stem was then polished with Before and After Fine followed by the Extra Fine polish. Both were hand buffed with a soft cotton cloth.

THe pipe was then taken to the buffer for a few coats of carnauba wax. The final step was a hand buffing with a microfiber polishing cloth to raise the shine further.

Overall I find this Man Sculpted Black Meerschaum Dublin to be a lovely pipe. I continue to adore the shape. I do find that the shape is almost hard to view though. The high gloss finish and the sculpted edges make it hard for me to accurately determine them. Once in hand things become far more clear. Though the handling of the pipe is intriguing in itself, the pipe is unnaturally light weight. Almost alarmingly so. This too could be illusionary due to the stark black color making me think that it should feel more substantial. The removal of the oxidation revealed a very nice flat saddle stem which matches the gloss black of the pipe very well. The dimensions of the Man Sculpted Black Meerschaum Dublin are:
- Length: 5.68 in./ 144.27 mm.
- Weight: 1.20 oz./ 34.02 g.
- Bowl Height: 1.91 in./ 48.51 mm.
- Chamber Depth: 1.47 in./ 37.34 mm.
- Chamber Diameter: 0.75 in./ 19.05 mm.
- Outside Diameter: 1.36 in./ 34.54 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 Man Sculpted Black Meerschaum Dublin.
A Peterson Dunmore System 79 Rustic Restoration

December 3rd, 2024
Photographed and written by

John M. Young

This blog was originally posted on 12/01/2024 on Mark Irwin’s Peterson Pipe Notes 432. It is reposted here as part of my ongoing saga. It appears here with permission of the author, me. Also, this pipe is not available for sale.

There are a few searches that I run on eBay frequently and Peterson Dunmore pipes are one of them. When I first saw this rusticated rascal I thought about my budget and decided to give it a go. The recent prices for estate pipes have been volatile to say the least. I’ve watched auctions increase in price significantly over the past several years, sometimes going for far more than what I think something is worth and other times nowhere near the item’s value, in my mind. This one would have been a hard pass 3 years ago but with inflation it fell within acceptable limits. Besides, it was gorgeous. The auction was won and after a Midwest adventure from Deerfield, Illinois to the wilds of southeast Nebraska it was home. The pipe came with what I thought was the original box and ephemera. At least that what they looked like in the eBay listing:

The box looked correct in style for the early 1970s. Upon examination I saw the following:

Well, this sure as heck is not a 313 and it certainly is not smooth. I messaged the seller explaining my disappointment. They sounded sincere in their explanation that the pipe arrived to them in this box and that they did not intend to mislead. I call this a learning moment for myself and was reminded to avoid getting caught up in emotion. I nevertheless provided very objective and honest feedback on eBay regarding the seller’s inaccurate item description. Live and learn, I guess.

Below are some photos of the pipe prior to doing any work on it. I also photographed the pamphlet and pipe sock and include those below as well.

Background

On June 25, 2024 I posted a blog about the restoration of a Peterson Dunmore 606. Being a proud Generation X member, also known as a total slacker, I will include the background from that post in its near entirety (Original post: Peterson Dunmore 606 Pot).

“As much as I love the history of the Kapp and Peterson company and Peterson pipes, I will not get into that other than give you resources to read the history for yourself. I will delve into the Dunmore, or Dunmoor line of pipes at greater depth.

For a great history Mark Irwin and Gary Marlburg’s book is a must read for a Pete Geek.

(Available at https://www.smokingpipes.com/accessories/books/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=471478) Given the price is a bit high but worth every penny for a Peterson aficionado.

The next site is pipedia.org’s History of Peterson by Jim Lilley (Peterson – Pipedia)

Lastly the pipephil.eu site for all things logo: Peterson: historical pipes — Pipes: Logos & Markings (pipephil.eu) They also have a few other links to things like the Peterson timeline and P-lip information.

Now to the stuff regarding this pipe: A Peterson Dunmore. I refer to Mark Irwin again here and his blog, Peterson Pipe Notes. I can wholeheartedly recommend the free at

https://petersonpipenotes.org/ Yes, you will get emails but only for things like the weekly blog post and occasional Peterson pipe drops (like the Peterson Pipe Notes Pipe of the Year) or offers for cool Pete Geek merchandise. Anyway Mark has an article on the Dunmore line that is great. https://petersonpipenotes.org/226-documenting-the-dunmore-system-and-classic-lines/

I will include the text here in its entirety but recommend the link for the photos. This is used with permission of the author (thank you Mark).

“226. Documenting the Dunmore System and Classic Lines

Milos “Mike” Bera at PipesPens&More.com on eBay recently wrote me to say that he’d run across two examples of a Peterson Dunmore Classic line he’d never seen before—a higher-grade line with a briar-in-brass sandwich band. As I thought they were not only gorgeous but undocumented, the time seemed right to take a look back at the history of the Dunmore System and Classic lines.

I’ve been a fan of the Dunmore lines since I first saw them through the case back in the late 1980s and had to have one, a fat-bottom 72 (the 302 equivalent). Like everyone else, I thought there was some kind of mistake—“Where’s the nickel mount?” I remember asking. But the Dunmore System set out to be something a little different, yet within the classic Kapp & Peterson house style.

The line originated in collaboration with Iwan Reis in 1971. How it came about is anyone’s guess at this point. Chuck Levi, the man who more than any other was responsible for bringing the great Danish artisan pipes to the US, was working with the creative minds at K&P to bring something new to the IRC catalog, and this was one of about a dozen K&P lines that debuted as exclusives in the Iwan Reis catalogs of that era.

The concept was to modernize the System pipe by removing what was perceived as the old-fashioned nickel mount. And old-fashioned it was—if you look at pipe catalogs from the 1940s on through most of the rest of the 20th century, nickel ferrules and even bands were almost non-existent. K&P was virtually the only hold out, using sterling bands on the Sterling Silver Classic line and on the Premier & De Luxe Systems. A bead was then carved around the stummel at the mortise end. As you can see from the IRC detail, sometimes the contrast stain made the beads stand out, and sometimes not.

But there were two more ingredients to the original Dunmore aesthetic which can be seen the photo below. Paddy Larrigan, K&P’s master-craftsman, was always striving to push the envelope in pipe engineering, and one of the things he dearly loved was a pipe that would sit, so he shaved off the bottom of the shank to allow the Dunmore System to sit on its shank and button, which gives it its uniqueness in the catalog. The downside of this is that I am not convinced that all the Dunmore reservoirs, being slightly smaller than the traditional System, are quite as effective.

The third distinguishing mark of the original Dunmore lines is the stem. Both the System and Classic versions utilized the wide-shoulder “Comfort Lip,” with a painted gold P on the stem. This doubtless helps the System sit as well as giving it a more muscular visual balance, strength being a long-standing concept in the design language of the company. While it gives the illusion of being an army “push” mount, of course it isn’t, but is a traditional tenon-mortise or “navy mount” as the old hands at K&P used to call it.

The 1971 IRC catalog description reads, “dunmoor briar IRC ’71 modern system without sterling band, natural $12.00.” This intentional misspelling of “Dunmore” would persist through subsequent IRC catalogs, the copy-writer evidently under the spell of e.e. cummings and favoring an English flavor to his pipes. The name, like almost all K&P line names, is taken from the Irish landscape, in this case the town in County Galway famous for Dunmore Castle.

The 1975 Orange Catalog shows the initial Dunmore System release was in only seven shapes:

This was later expanded to include both the original bent dublin shape 5 (75) and XL5 (XL75) and the replacement calabash shape 5 and XL5. The remaining “new” System shapes were also added to the Dunmore lineup, the 01 becoming the Dunmore 73, the 02 the 70 and the 03 the 76. The fact that the 304 and 306 “setters” introduced in 1984 never entered the Dunmore System lineup adds the probability that the line had been discontinued by then.

The smooth Dunmore System features a light brown natural finish, sometimes occurring with broad flames, as can be seen in these photos of an unsmoked 77 System:

The rusticated version of the Dunmore System seems to have been finished in at least two techniques or versions. Neither is as deep as the Pebble Rustic finish but they still feel very therapeutic under thumb and finger.

Even when we were beginning our research on the Peterson book (due out in reprint later this year), most Pete fans had no idea there was also a Dunmore Classics line featuring the same beading at the mortise and wide Comfort Lip mouthpiece. Documentary proof was found in the rare 1978-79 Peterson-Glass catalog:

The Dunmore System and Classic Lines from the 1978-79 Peterson-Glass Catalog

I don’t know whether the Dunmore Classics was a short-lived line or whether it was primarily available in Europe, but it almost never appears on the estate market here in the US. As you can see from the catalog and the 406 pictured above, the same aesthetic was followed for the Classic line—light brown, nearly natural, higher-quality smooth bowl (or dark rustic) and faux army mount with gold-painted P, wide saddle and P-Lip stem. Only the Dunmore System, as far as I have been able to document, had the flattened stummel allowing it to set.

I have always hoped to run across an unsmoked rustic Dunmore System with the dark contrast stains seen in the Peterson-Glass catalog. I wonder if this finish actually went into production, because the ones I’ve seen all look more-or-less like the XL75 shown above.

The original Dunmore lines seemed to have been dropped at about the time the company went through its worst redundancy in 1984, as there are no more traces of it in the company’s ephemera from 1983 on. I remember the proprietor of my B&M, Cavalier Pipe & Tobacco in Barracks Road Shopping Center in Charlottesville, telling me when I bought my shape 73 Dunmore that the line was out of production, so I’d better get it if I wanted it (don’t you miss high-pressure salesmen?)—and that would have been 1986 or ’87.

The second iteration of the Dunmore Classics line is that recently discovered by Mike at PipesPens&More on eBay. I would tentatively date it to c. 1995, well after K&P had gotten on its feet again and was doing some new and fascinating things. It seems to belong with three other briar adornment lines from the same period: Paddy Larrigan’s Briar in a Circle Systems and the Galway and Kapp-Royal higher-grade lines with their wonderful inset briar rings.

Mike’s Dunmore Classics line is certainly on a par, from the two examples he’s found, with the Galway and Kapp Royal briars and maybe better, although probably not as fine as the Briar in a Circle Systems. Take a closer look at this 80S, which Mike sold within 24 hours of posting it on eBay:

The last Dunmore Classics line made a brief appearance in the Dublin era’s second decade, somewhere in the 2000s, probably around 2005 or so. Jim Lilley’s old blog site made a reference to them, and I remember seeing them for sale at internet shops.

I know it appeared well before I got interested in writing the Peterson book, because I don’t have any internet images of it in my files. These photos of the B5 and B11 give a good idea of what the line was like, although it appears to have begun in a higher range and then slipped to a lower.

Updated Identification Guide

Dunmore (1971–c. 1984; c. 1995; 2006–2010) Appeared in 1971 as Iwan Reis & Co. exclusive line “Dunmoor,” Premier-grade unmounted System in smooth natural or rustic dark chocolate contrast in all shapes, with beading at the shank, faux wide-saddle P-Lip with gold paint P. Documented in Associated Imports catalog from 1973. Classic Range line from 1978 with same faux army mount and finishes. Second scarce Classic Range line, c. 1990, higher-grade smooth bowl with brass sandwich and briar band, P-Lip. A third Classic Range line, 2006–2010, mid-grade, featured standard and some B shapes, with beading around bowl instead of shank-face, for European market.

Many thanks to Mike Bera
Photos of the Dunmore 80s and 68 courtesy Mike’s Pipes Pens & More
Photos of the B5 and 406 Dunmore courtesy Smokingpipes.com” (https://petersonpipenotes.org/226-documenting-the-dunmore-system-and-classic-lines/)”

(https://wordpress.com/post/scimansays1787.com/6410 referencing myself feels weird)

From the above documentation I think that I can safely assume that this Dunsmore 79 is of the original 1971-1978 time period.

Interesting side note here: In the above Mark Irwin says, “I have always hoped to run across an unsmoked rustic Dunmore System with the dark contrast stains seen in the Peterson-Glass catalog. I wonder if this finish actually went into production, because the ones I’ve seen all look more-or-less like the XL75 shown above.“ I emailed Mark and asked him if the Dunmore 79 in hand was what he was looking for. I included some of the before and after photos from this restoration. He replied, “Yup, that’s it!!” (Mark Irwin, personal email).

The Restoration

As boringly typical of my restorations, I began with a clean denim piece to protect the work surface. Yeah, I know, the term “clean” doesn’t really describe the stained denim.

The new to me PipNet came out and I had high hopes that it would be useful. The standard ream team consisting of the Smoking pipes Low Country reamer, General triangular scraper and 220 sandpaper wrapped wood dowel were along for clean-up duties. Low and behold the Dunmore 79 had precisely the wrong size bowl for either the #1 or #2 PipNet blades.

With the #1 blades too small and the #2 blades too large, plan B was put in motion. The adjustable Kleen-Reem tool was called in to remove the minimal cake in the tobacco chamber. The other two reamers were used then the chamber was sanded with the 220 on a stick. Once down to the bare briar I could see that there was no damage to the briar and that this pipe looked like it had only been smoked a hand-full of times.

Next was the cleaning of the shank. Typically with Peterson System pipes this can be a chore. Owners frequently fail to clean out the reservoir after a smoke which creates rather difficult tar deposits. This pipe’s tar was quickly removed and revealed the stain used at the Peterson factory. A surprisingly reddish-pink stain at that.

The stummel was taken to the sink for a scrub. Murphy Oil Soap and a nylon scrub brush were used to remove the age and grime from the stummel. Once scrubbed the soap was rinsed with warm water and the stummel dried with a cotton hand towel.

Back at the workbench the stummel received a wiping with a make-up pad dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol. The alcohol removed a bit more of the reddish-pink stain

The stem was the next victim of my cleaning activities. I used both bristle and fluffy pipe cleaners dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol to remove the slight smoking residue in the airway.

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

During this time I taped over the stem logo with a piece of Scotch tape. The stem was in very good condition and did not have a heavy layer of oxidation. There were some tooth marks near the button and those were filed and sanded with 320 then 400 grit sanding sponges.

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

At this stage I couldn’t help but admire the beauty of the rustication and contrast staining of the Peterson workmen. I wondered if Paddy Larrigan himself had a hand in the crafting of this piece.

The stem was sanded with a series of sanding sponges in grits of 320-3500. Between each sponge I rubbed the stem with mineral oil and wiped it with a paper towel to remove sanding debris.

I then taped the shank with painters tape to protect it from the buffing I was about to do. The stem was mounted to the stummel as a handle and buffed with Red Rouge compound (I remain confused as to why the product had both “Red” and “Rouge” on the label).

The stem was then worked with micro-mesh pads in grits of 3600-12000. Between each of the pads I rubbed the stem with Obsidian Oil and wiped it with a paper towel.

The stem was polished with both Before and After Fine Polish and Extra Fine Polish. These polishes were applied with a fingertip and hand buffed with a soft cotton rag.

The next step in the stem restoration was to pick out the old gold paint and to re-do the logo with Rub’nBuff Gold Leaf. The old gold was picked out using a fly tying bodkin then scrubbed with 95% ethyl alcohol on a cotton swab.

The new gold leaf was applied with the tip of the bodkin and allowed to dry.

The excess gold was scraped from the logo with my fingernail and hand buffed with a paper towel. I applied two coats. The photo below is after the first but before the second.

The stummel was given a coating of Renaissance Micro-Crystalline Wax applied with a baby toothbrush. This was allowed to dry for a few minutes then hand buffed with a clean cotton terry cloth towel.

The stem returned to the buffer for several coats of carnauba wax.

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

This Peterson Dunmore System 79 Rustic has returned to the world in all of it’s original glory. The 309 shape, 79 in the Dunmore line, is a favorite of mine and I can’t help wondering why it was ever discontinued. The contrast stain on this pipe is lovely with the reddish highlights and the dark brown-black in the rustications. The stem polished up very nicely and contrasted the smooth shank-end briar in a unique and subtle way. The flat heel of the pipe does provide it with a “sitting” platform though not a terribly stable one. Fortunately Nebraska is not prone to earthquakes and I no longer have any little ones in the house to provide anthropogenic tremors. The dimensions of the Dunmore 79 are:
- Length: 6.31 in./ 160.27 mm.
- Weight: 1.80 oz./ 51.03 g.
- Bowl Height: 2.09 in./ 53.09 mm.
- Chamber Depth: 1.62 in./ 41.15 mm.
- Chamber Diameter: 0.76 in./19.30 mm.
- Outside Diameter: 1.26 in./ 32.00 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 Dunmore System 79 Rustic.
A Peterson Meerschaum 120 Dublin Restoration

August 27th, 2024
Photographed and written by

John M. Young

Back in the 1990s I worked with a fellow teacher and Nebraska Air Guard F4 pilot who often said, “Better lucky than good, any day.” That phrase has stuck with me over the years and applies to so very many daily occurrences. The acquisition of this pipe for instance. It was part of a lot of 12 pipes. The other 12 were nothing to be too excited about; Yello-Boles, Dr Grabows, a split seam leather Longchamp, etc… and what appeared to be a Peterson Meerschaum hiding in the background ashamed at it’s lot in life. The photos of the lot were as usual, less than perfect yet, I knew what I thought I was seeing. I was sure that someone else would see the same thing and the lot would sell quickly. It didn’t. The auction closed with no sale and was relisted. I cannot remember how many times this relisting occurred. I finally couldn’t take the thought of a Peterson meerschaum going unloved and messaged the seller with an offer. The auction was not set as a “Make Best Offer” but I figured it was worth a shot. The seller messaged me back saying that he reduced the price to my offer. Well, that was easy.

Needless to say, after a few days of waiting the package arrived here in the wilds of southeast Nebraska. The anticipation was palpable as I tore through the packaging. I eventually unwrapped a P-lip stem with the unmistakable P stamped clearly. I knew it! Next the stummel emerged from it’s protective tissue paper. The seller knew how to package and ship pipes and not just for dramatic effect. The stem and stummel were reunited and I saw my latest prize. As typical, the only stamp was the Peterson stem logo but the shape was unmistakable a 120 Dublin. Below are some photos of the pipe prior to doing any work on it.

Background

Earlier this year I restored a Peterson meerschaum 406 Prince. I will use a good deal of the “Background” from that blog here again:

I included a few links concerning the history of Peterson pipes. I will include those here also. “For a great history Mark Irwin and Gary Marlburg’s book is a must read for a Pete Geek.

(Available at https://www.smokingpipes.com/accessories/books/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=471478) Given the price is a bit high but worth every penny for a Peterson aficionado.

Irwin, Mark and Malmberg, Gary (2018). The Peterson Pipe The Story of Kapp & Peterson, First edition, second printing 2021. Briar Books Press, Canada.

The next site is pipedia.org’s History of Peterson by Jim Lilley (Peterson – Pipedia)

Lastly the pipephil.eu site for all things logo: Peterson: historical pipes — Pipes: Logos & Markings (pipephil.eu) They also have a few other links to things like the Peterson timeline and P-lip information.”

For the history of Peterson Meerschaums I will mainly be citing Irwin and Marlberg’s The Peterson Pipe book. Peterson has a long history of meerschaum pipe making dating back to the 1870s (Irwin, 2018 p. 15). At the time when Charles Peterson began working for the Kapp brothers in Dublin, meerschaum was the old traditional material while briar was a new innovation destined to become more popular in the next century. It was with briar that Charles Peterson created his original patents for the reservoir in 1890 and for the graduated-bore mouthpiece with what we call the “Patent-Lip” (P-Lip) today, in 1894. 1893 was the year that Charles Peterson and Henry Kapp bought out the shares of Christian Kapp of the Family business, which the brothers had run together. “Christian was evidently not happy with this arrangement and disliked Dublin. He trained to become a doctor, and on 12 June 1893 he sold his share of the business to his brother and Charles Peterson” (Irwin, 2018 p. 48). The Kapp & Peterson company was born and the Peterson System has continued for over 130 years.

Now obviously the lovely Peterson meerschaum pipe in hand is not something made at the turn of the century. According to Irwin and Malmberg, “ In 1968, Peterson returned to making block-meerschaum pipes after forty years. They had made block meerschaums in all Patent Systems and many Classic Range shapes from 1896 until about 1929. The scarcity and rising cost of amber, fragility of meerschaum and popularity of briar all contributed to the end of meerschaum production.” (Irwin, 2018 p. 158). The authors go on to state that, “These Republic-era meerschaums were first made in partnership with Manxman Pipes, Ltd., on the Isle of Man, a company Peterson bought outright in the early 1970’s (Irwin, 2018 p. 158).

I am not quite sure how the purchase of Manxman pipes worked. Manxman was an apparent subsidiary of Laxey Pipes Ltd. According to pipedia.org:

“Laxey Pipes Ltd. resided in a historical 19th century four-storey Man stone building at The Quay, Old Laxey, Isle of Man, which thankfully has been preserved.

The company specialised in the production of meerschaum pipes using the Meerschaum mined by the Tanganyika Meerschaum Corporation in the Amboseli basin in Tanganyika (since 1964 part of the United Republic of Tanzania).

Please note: you may often find names like “Manx Pipes Ltd.”, “Man Pipe Co.” and others more, but there is no indication of another Isle of Man pipe producer other than Laxey Pipe Ltd. at any time!

Laxey Pipes Ltd. marketed own brands like “Manxpipe”, “Manxman”, “Manxland” e.c. Names like “John Bull”, “White Knight” (unwaxed), “Domino” (black, or lined) indicated some shapes / colours of Laxey’s own series. The stems either showed the astronomical sign for “male” or “man” (circle + arrow), or the crest of the Isle of Man, the 3-legged X in a circle. Manxpipes and Laxey’s other brands were available through pipe retailers in general, but also were sold (mainly) to tourists through their own shop in Laxey.

Furthermore Laxey Pipes Ltd. manufactured the meer bowls for Peterson, Barling, Nørding and others from the later 1960’s until 2001. Man Pipe e.g. was a brand distibuted by Comoy’s. The bowls usually showed no nomenclature indicating the orderer. “Genuine Block Meerschaum” was engraved frequently. Often, just the stems were different, while bowls were the same.

Supply of meerschaum from East Africa run out (Kenya / Tanzania exhausted, Somalia inaccessible), and thus the last Laxey meers were supplied to trade in May, 2001. Laxey Pipes Ltd. tried to survive continuing with briar pipes – mainly in the Danish style -, but to no success. It closed down business in July, 2002.”

(Laxey Pipes Ltd. – Pipedia)

As for the age of this 120 Dublin, the first documented 120 shape I found in The Peterson Pipe book was on the 1947 shape chart (Irwin, 2018 pp. 156-157). During the Free State Era ( 1922-1937 the Dublin looking shape had an R413 number. The Patent Pipes from 1890-1921 had a Dublin-esque shape named the “Kaffir” and did not have shape numbers (Irwin, 2018 p. 122, 124).

In the “A New Leaf” meerschaum brochure from 1968 there appear photos of the Peterson meerschaums offered (Irwin, 2018 p. 105). The 120 shape is represented however the stem/shank joint is very flush and smooth with a continuous taper. This 120 has a rounded shank end at the stem shank joint. The 1975 catalog photos show meerschaum pipes with stem/shank joints like this pipe (Irwin, 2018 p. 164, 166). This leads me to believe that this Peterson Meerschaum was made in the mid1970s-early 1980s.

The Restoration

Like I usually do, I began with a clean denim piece to work on.

My old Oxiclean solution was getting discolored and was not smelling very good so a new solution was made. 1 ½ tablespoons of Oxiclean powder in about 500 ml of tap water.

The stem of the Peterson was placed in the solution for a soak in the oxy.

Reaming with a reaming tool like the PipNet is not recommended for meerschaum due to it’s brittle nature and the torque generated with a tool like the PipNet would probably not be a good thing. Instead I used the Smokingpipes Low Country reaming knife and the General triangular scraper. The tip of the General had been ground from the original sharp point to a more rounded tip with a grinding wheel. A wood dowel wrapped in 220 sandpaper joined in.

The scraping did not produce a great deal of removed cake but it did clear the tobacco chamber.

When cleaning the rim I noticed what appeared to be filled cracks. I saw no evidence that these cracks joined together and actually represented a large piece of the pipe that had been broken off and later repaired. Though looking at the outer stummel surface the finish is smoothed (without rustication) between the two cracks. The area between the crack also looked thinner than the rest of the stummel. I think this was evidence of a repair by a previous owner or an attempt by the factory to salvage a flawed stummel. Either way the stummel looked and felt structurally sound.

Scraping the tobacco chamber was difficult as the cake was very hard and held firmly to the walls of the chamber. Sanding was slow and exposed fresh meerschaum at the rim of the chamber.

After the chamber was sanded I scrubbed the stummel with warm water and a medium toothbrush. The traditional Murphy Oil Soap was not used, only warm water. The water and toothbrush did appear to remove some of the accumulated grime making the stummel look a bit more clean than previously.

To unify the staining of the pipe’s rim, I used furniture touch-up stain markers.

I started with black around the rim.

I then used the mahogany immediately below the black. Sorry about the blurriness of the photo.

After the stain had dried a few minutes I used a make-up pad wetted with 95% ethyl alcohol to blend the two lines of stain together. Below you can see the results of my blending.

The stem was removed from the oxi bath after 2 hours and was wiped vigorously with a dry cotton make-up pad. A good deal of oxidized vulcanite was removed.

I cleaned the shank airway with folded over bristle pipe cleaners, a nylon shank brush and cotton swabs dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol.

The stem was then scrubbed with Soft Scrub cleanser applied to make-up pads. After scrubbing I applied a layer of mineral oil to the stem.

The airway of the stem was cleaned with bristle pipe cleaners dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol.

The pipe sat neglected for a whole day due to the incredibly busy schedule of a retired slacker, I mean teacher. When I returned to work on the stem I wiped the excess mineral oil and lightly sanded with the 320 sanding sponge.

There were a few deep dents in the stem that would require filling with black cyanoacrylate (CA, super glue). Small drops of CA were placed onto each of the dents.

The CA was then spritzed with a CA drying accelerator. This allows the CA to cure almost instantly.

The cured CA was then lightly filed with a small flat file. This removes the top of the CA fill, getting it smooth with the surrounding vulcanite.

The new fill was then sanded with 320 and 400 grit sanding sponges. The logo was covered with a piece of painters tape to protect the logo from further sanding. The stem was then sanded with a series of sanding sponges from 600-3500. Between each sponge the stem was rubbed with a dab of mineral oil by fingertip and wiped with a dry paper towel.

The flaws on the surface of the rim were filled with a different black CA. The product I use for the stem is “rubberized”. I wanted a hader CA fill for the rim so I used a non-rubberized black CA. I placed a drop of the black CA on the bottom of an upside down medicine cup. I dabbed a fly tying bodkin into the drop to get some CA onto the bodkin then applied it to the flaws. This allowed me to have precise placement of the CA limiting the sanding of excess CA fill.

I allowed the CA to cure on its own without any accelerator. This was a slow process with a good deal of waiting between applications. Once cured, I very lightly sanded the rim with a 400 and 600 sanding sponge to remove the excess CA.

Several applications and sandings later I was pleased with the result. You can see that the sanding was very light leaving most of the previously dyed rim black or, mostly so.

The rim was then re-dyed with the black stain touch-up marker. And allowed to dry.

The finished rim has imperfections which I purposely left. I thought that a pristine smooth finish would look out of place with the rustication of the stummel.

Next I cleaned the logo of any Obsidian Oil with a cotton swab dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol.

Using white acrylic model paint and a fine detail paint brush I applied white paint to the logo. This acrylic paint is water based and dries quickly.

The 4000 grit micro-mesh dam was used to remove the excess white paint.

I worked the stem with micro-mesh pads 4000-12000. Between each pad I applied a small drop of Obsidian Oil, rubbed it onto the stem and wiped with a dry paper towel.

Before and After Fine Polish was used with a soft cotton cloth on the stem to increase the level of polish.

The Fine Polish was followed with Before and After Extra Fine Polish applied and hand buffed with the same soft cotton cloth.

To finish the stummel I needed to prepare for a beeswax coating. I gathered the heat gun, canning jar with beeswax & brush, a catch tin for wax drips and a shallow pan with water. The pan and water help to heat/melt the wax and keep it melted while I work.

The canning jar with beeswax was placed into the water in the pad and the stove lit. The boiling water will melt the wax.

WHile I was waiting for the wax to liquify, I waxed the Peterson stem at the buffer with carnauba wax.

The hot water bath melted the wax. I heated the stummel with the heat gut. I have to admit I was a bit worried about heating the mortise and tenon too much.

With the stummel hot and the beeswax melted I started painting the liquid wax onto the stummel. I painted the top 1.3 and the entirety of the shank. As I painted the accumulating wax was cooling making a lumpy looking mess.

The heat gun was again turned on and the stummel was rotated in all directions in the flow of hot air. The wax remelted and flowed over the surface of the stummel. I herded the wax around with the paint brush to make sure that everything was getting it’s fair share of melted wax. The excess wax drips were accumulating in the catch tin.

With every part of the stummel well coated with hot liquid wax I used a paper towel to absorb the remaining excess wax from the stummel.

The pipe was hot to the touch so I laced it onto the workbench to cool.

There you have it, the restoration of a Peterson Meerschaum 120 Dublin. This old girl turned out pretty well. I still wonder what happened to the Dublin Darling from the Isle of Man regarding the cracks in the bowl. I believe that the whole rear of the bowl was chipped out at some time and repaired with a pretty darn good glue job. The crack seems can kind of be made out in the photo below of the back/shank side of the pipe. Whatever happened she should continue being a grand little pipe for many years. The fresh beeswax looks good and the stem polished up very well. The dimensions of this 120 Dublin are:
- Length: 6.00 in./ 152.40 mm.
- Weight: 1.28 oz./ 36.50 g.
- Bowl Height: 1.71 in./ 43.43 mm.
- Chamber Depth: 1.47 in./ 37.34 mm.
- Chamber Diameter: 0.74 in./ 18.80 mm.
- Outside Diameter: 1.33 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.

Below are some photos of the finished Peterson Meerschaum 120 Dublin.
A Peterson Red Premier Meerschaum 406 Prince Restoration (with addendum)

June 28th, 2024
Photographed and written by

John M. Young

In the last restoration I discussed my Peterson Pipe Acquisition Disorder had ended its remission. Well, I neglected to say how severe the return to activity the PPAD had actually become. Please do not grieve for me. Your sympathy would be far better applied to another, for this is a disorder which I have brought upon myself.

This restoration deals with a lovely Peterson meerschaum pipe which came to me as part of an estate lot. I spied this Pete meer in the photos of the lot and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was as if the Peterson was hiding amongst the other old pipes. Apparently

it’s camouflage was good because there were only 6 other bidders. A few days later the goal and gem of the entire lot arrived here in the wilds of southeast Nebraska. Below are some photos showing the Peterson meerschaum prior to any work being done.

I had only worked on a handful of old meerschaum pipes. I figured that I should probably read a couple of Steve Laug’s rebornpipes.com concerning meerschaum. I have found that there are two main ways to learn; 1, from your own mistakes and 2, from listening to the wisdom of others who have made mistakes. One of these is free and painless, the other, not so much. I did know that I would be using far more soap and water than alcohol on this restoration. I also knew that I wanted to keep the P logo on the stem at all costs since that was the only indication of this pipe’s maker.

Background

In the last restoration I did a Peterson Dunmore 606 Pot (linked for those who are interested). I included a few links concerning the history of Peterson pipes. I will include those here also. “For a great history Mark Irwin and Gary Marlburg’s book is a must read for a Pete Geek.

(Available at https://www.smokingpipes.com/accessories/books/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=471478) Given the price is a bit high but worth every penny for a Peterson aficionado.

Irwin, Mark and Malmberg, Gary (2018). The Peterson Pipe The Story of Kapp & Peterson, First edition, second printing 2021. Briar Books Press, Canada.

The next site is pipedia.org’s History of Peterson by Jim Lilley (Peterson – Pipedia)

Lastly the pipephil.eu site for all things logo: Peterson: historical pipes — Pipes: Logos & Markings (pipephil.eu) They also have a few other links to things like the Peterson timeline and P-lip information.”

For the history of Peterson Meerschaums I will mainly be citing Irwin and Marlberg’s The Peterson Pipe book. Peterson has a long history of meerschaum pipe making dating back to the 1870s (Irwin, 2018 p. 15). At the time when Charles Peterson began working for the Kapp brothers in Dublin, meerschaum was the old traditional material while briar was a new innovation destined to become more popular in the next century. It was with briar that Charles Peterson created his original patents for the reservoir in 1890 and for the graduated-bore mouthpiece with what we call the “Patent-Lip” (P-Lip) today, in 1894. 1893 was the year that Charles Peterson and Henry Kapp bought out the shares of Christian Kapp of the Family business, which the brothers had run together. “Christian was evidently not happy with this arrangement and disliked Dublin. He trained to become a doctor, and on 12 June 1893 he sold his share of the business to his brother and Charles Peterson” (Irwin, 2018 p. 48). The Kapp & Peterson company was born and the Peterson System has continued for over 130 years.

Now obviously the lovely Peterson meerschaum pipe in hand is not something made at the turn of the century. According to Irwin and Malmberg, “ In 1968, Peterson returned to making block-meerschaum pipes after forty years. They had made block meerschaums in all Patent Systems and many Classic Range shapes from 1896 until about 1929. The scarcity and rising cost of amber, fragility of meerschaum and popularity of briar all contributed to the end of meerschaum production.” (Irwin, 2018 p. 158). The authors go on to state that, “These Republic-era meerschaums were first made in partnership with Manxman Pipes, Ltd., on the Isle of Man, a company Peterson bought outright in the early 1970’s (Irwin, 2018 p. 158).

I am not quite sure how the purchase of Manxman pipes worked. Manxman was an apparent subsidiary of Laxey Pipes Ltd. According to pipedia.org:

“Laxey Pipes Ltd. resided in a historical 19th century four-storey Man stone building at The Quay, Old Laxey, Isle of Man, which thankfully has been preserved.

The company specialised in the production of meerschaum pipes using the Meerschaum mined by the Tanganyika Meerschaum Corporation in the Amboseli basin in Tanganyika (since 1964 part of the United Republic of Tanzania).

Please note: you may often find names like “Manx Pipes Ltd.”, “Man Pipe Co.” and others more, but there is no indication of another Isle of Man pipe producer other than Laxey Pipe Ltd. at any time!

Laxey Pipes Ltd. marketed own brands like “Manxpipe”, “Manxman”, “Manxland” e.c. Names like “John Bull”, “White Knight” (unwaxed), “Domino” (black, or lined) indicated some shapes / colours of Laxey’s own series. The stems either showed the astronomical sign for “male” or “man” (circle + arrow), or the crest of the Isle of Man, the 3-legged X in a circle. Manxpipes and Laxey’s other brands were available through pipe retailers in general, but also were sold (mainly) to tourists through their own shop in Laxey.

Furthermore Laxey Pipes Ltd. manufactured the meer bowls for Peterson, Barling, Nørding and others from the later 1960’s until 2001. Man Pipe e.g. was a brand distibuted by Comoy’s. The bowls usually showed no nomenclature indicating the orderer. “Genuine Block Meerschaum” was engraved frequently. Often, just the stems were different, while bowls were the same.

Supply of meerschaum from East Africa run out (Kenya / Tanzania exhausted, Somalia inaccessible), and thus the last Laxey meers were supplied to trade in May, 2001. Laxey Pipes Ltd. tried to survive continuing with briar pipes – mainly in the Danish style -, but to no success. It closed down business in July, 2002.”

(Laxey Pipes Ltd. – Pipedia)

Tracing the 406 shape through the pipe charts from the early 1900’s to 1984 was interesting and made me realize it is time to visit the eye doctor again and get a new prescription for glasses. The first iterations of the prince shape are found in the 1947 shape chart. There are 4 prince varieties: “Sports” 4 Large Prince, 407 Prince (straight stem), 407 Prince semi-bent and the 406 Large Prince. The next catalog occurrence is in 1965. Here the Peterson 406 is a prince with a slight bend. The shape matches the pipe in hand very well. The next occurrence is in the Peterson-Glass 1978-79 catalog. This catalog shows the full range of Peterson’s meerschaum offerings and here the 406 prince has a slight bend. The last catalog tracing the prince is the shape charts from the 1983 issue. Here the 406 is shown with a slight bent stem and labeled as “406. Large Prince” (Irwin, 2018 p. 171). The 406 also has an asterisk denoting that this shape is also “Available in Meerschaum”. The 407 reappears as a prince with a straight stem and is not available in meerschaum.

The Peterson-Glass 1978-79 catalog also lists and discusses the available meerschaum finishes. These included: Golden Supreme, Tawny De Luxe, Golden Princess, Yellow Aboriginal, Red/Black Premier and Kapmeer. Now this may be taken with a grain of salt but I believe this to be a 406 Large Prince from the 1983 catalog but with the red staining of the Peterson-Glass 1978-79 catalog. Either way, I think this pipe is a late 1970s-early 1980s product.

The Restoration

In typical “me” fashion I began with a cleanish piece of denim for the work surface. I think I may need to visit the local thrift stores and see if I can pick up a couple pairs of jeans to turn into new denim pieces. The laundry guy here at this house has much to be desired when it comes to stain removal.

I removed the stem and gave it a light buffing with 0000 steel wool prior to a dunk in the OxyClean solution.

I figured I would start with an hour in the Oxy then reassess if more time would be needed.

The reaming was done with only scrapers. I heeded the warnings of others who said to avoid reaming tools that would apply torque to the meerschaum.

The previous owner either hadn’t smoked this darling very much or had taken care not to allow the build-up of a cake. Well done, unknown guy or gal (keeping it inclusive).

After sanding the tobacco chamber with 220 sandpaper wrapped around a wood dowel I finish sanded it with 320 sandpaper and my finger. Next stop was the sink. Here I scrubbed the stummel with undiluted Murphy Oil Soap and a medium stiff toothbrush. The lather turned bright pink indicating that I was correct in identifying this pipe as a Red Premier from the Peterson-Glass 1978-79 catalog. The soap was rinsed with warm water. I also scrubbed the airway with a nylon shank brush and Dawn dish soap. This produced slightly brown tinted lather and was also rinsed with warm water. The stummel was then dried with a cotton hand towel.

Back at the workbench the stummel’s striped colors were more pronounced. I wasn’t sure what to do about that. Do I try to stain it with a red Fiebing’s Leather Dye or leave it alone and see how it looks after the molten beeswax? I opted for the latter.

I ran a bristle pipe cleaner dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol through the airway to judge how effective my scrubbing had been. It came out pretty clean. I proceeded to do this a few more times until no color was seen.

To make sure there was no wax or excess dye remaining on the stummel exterior I used a medium toothbrush dipped in ethyl alcohol to scrub the stummel. You can see that a little bit more red dye came off into the alcohol in the medicine cup and onto the toothbrush.

There were small brown clouds of oxidized rubber around the stem in the Oxy solution. I assumed this to mean it was working at loosening up that darn oxidation.

Upon removing the stem from the solution I wiped it vigorously with a dry cotton make-up pad. A significant amount of oxidized rubber came off on the pad.

I then proceeded to use several more pads with SoftScrub to attempt to rid the stem of the oxidized material. I was glad to see a general lightening of the pads but the oxidation was stubborn and remained difficult.

I then tried using a piece of a Magic Eraser with SoftScrub. I ended up taking the stem to the sink where I could rinse the Magic Eraser with water more effectively.

Once again, I forgot to take any photos of the sanding and micro-meshing of the stem. I get focussed or “in the zone” and kind of lose myself sometimes. Sorry, if it’s any consolation you can see the brown oxidized rubber dust from wiping the dust from the sanding sponges on the denim.

I cleaned the airway of the stem and found it was also fairly clean. Alcohol dipped bristle pipe cleaners were the weapon of choice, here. The stem then received a coat of mineral oil.

I checked the photos to make sure that the P logo was painted white. I didn’t want to make the same mistake that I did on the last restoration and have to go back and repaint the logo. If you enjoy learning from the mistakes of others check out the Peterson Dunhill 606 restoration. The logo area was cleaned and de-oiled with a cotton swab and 95% ethyl alcohol.

I used the plastic tube of a cotton swab to form a plastic scraper. This was done with a lighter and pressed flat with a knife blade. It was then trimmed to shape with scissors. The white acrylic model paint was applied and allowed to mostly dry.

The paint was then scraped off using the freshly made plastic scraper.

I was ready to apply the beeswax. I think this is what I was planning out in my head when I failed to photograph the stem sanding. I wanted a fairly easy to apply and cleanup method to apply a layer of beeswax to the stummel. I came up with the following plan:
1. Melt the beeswax in a glass canning jar in a pan of boiling water.
2. Place the stummel in an empty metal snuff can. This is to catch the wax drippings.
3. While the wax is melting, heat the stummel with a heat gun.
4. Move the wax close to the stummel and paint the wax onto the surface of the stummel.
5. Use the heat gun to evenly melt/distribute the wax over the entire stummel.
6. Absorb the excess liquid wax onto a paper towel.
That sounded like a good plan based only on having done this two other times. And those were a couple of years ago.

The double boiler wax melter.

The empty snuff can wax catcher.

The heat gun

It’s “Go time”.

The nearly constant heating and making sure everything was evenly coated.

Absorbing the wax. Hot, hot, hot.

Ahhh, that’s better. Using a cotton glove to absorb the liquid wax was much more comfortable than the paper towel.

Here is what the pipe looked like back at the workbench.

All that remained was to give the stem a couple of coats of carnauba wax with the buffer and take some “finished” photos.

Overall this Peterson Meerschaum 406 Prince turned out quite nicely. I admit to not being totally comfortable working with meerschaum. At least not as comfortable as I am with briar. Nevertheless, I think the pipe cleaned-up well. I love the shape of the Peterson 406, the slightly bent stem gives it a graceful elegance not quite typical for the normal Peterson aesthetic of a more heavy shank. With it’s wide bowl it should make a grand English blend smoker. The stem polished up pretty well except for the tenon end which still retained some discoloration from oxidation. I feared being too aggressive here and risking the loss of the stem logo. The red stain of the meerschaum is attractive with the black rim and the stripe around the middle giving character. The dimensions of the Peterson Meerschaum 406 Prince are:

Length: 6.58 in./ 167.13 mm.

Weight: 1.63 oz./ 45.75 g.

Bowl Height: 1.46 in./ 37.08 mm.

Chamber Depth: 1.17 in./ 29.72 mm.

Chamber Diameter: 0.78 in./ 19.81mm.

Outside Diameter: 1.65 in./ 41.91 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 Peterson Meerschaum 406 Prince.

Addendum: Additional work done on stem. I was not happy with my work on removing the oxidation from this stem. I mentioned that I did not want to risk losing the stem logo with a more aggressive deoxidation treatment using Before and After Deoxidation Solution. Mark Hoover, of Before and After products, reached out to me via Facebook personal messaging and stated, “I have never had loss so I am a bit perplexed. You should not have any loss as there is no abrasive. If the stamp is faint or heavily oxidized it was likely not strong under the oxidation so when you clean it it may just seem that way. I promise you will not have this issue with a deep stamp like the Peterson you just did.” I have had the loss of a stamp using the Before and After Deoxidizing solution when the stamp was weak. The Key point to Mark Hoover’s statement is “not strong under the oxidation”. With a weak stamp, removal of oxidized material can remove a faint stamp as the stamp has been oxidized as well.

With Mark’s assurance giving me more confidence, I returned the Peterson Prince to the workbench. I wiped the stem of 95% ethyl alcohol on a make-up pad to remove the carnauba wax. I then placed a pipe cleaner into the button as a hanger. The stem was then suspended into the Before and After Extra Strength Deoxidizer solution.

I allowed the solution to work on the stem for 90 minutes. After 90 minutes I allowed the stem to drip excess solution back into the jar.

After dripping I wiped the remaining solution from the stem with a coarse cotton shop rag. I ran several pipe cleaners through the airway to remove any solution from the airway as well. The oxidation was greatly reduced but there was still some discoloration. I returned the stem to the workbench and used SoftScrub on a make-up pad. SoftScrub is an abrasive and will wear away a stamp though it is far less abrasive than sanding.

The stem was micro-meshed using the 4000-12000 micro-mesh pads. I then polished the stem with the Before and After Fine Polish followed by the Extra Fine Polish. The stem logo was again repainted as earlier. The stem was finally given a couple of coats of carnauba wax at the buffer.

The below photos are of the Peterson meerschaum 406 Prince after readdressing the oxidation.
A Peterson Dunmore 606 Pot Restoration

June 25th, 2024

Photographed and written by

John M. Young

My Peterson Pipe Acquisition Disorder (PPAD) has come out of remittance and I have experienced an attack. Then again it was fully expected. I can’t run around with a name like NebraskaPeteGeek and not have full blown PPAD at least semiannually. The lovely 606 in the photo above did not arrive like that. It was spotted at an auction on eBay a couple of weeks ago. I couldn’t believe my eyes at first. A Peterson Dunmore with a shape other than the 300 System shape was very interesting. I’ll get more into that in the “Background” below.

This pipe has Peterson’s over “DUNMORE” on the left, the Peterson P on the stem and MADE IN THE over REPUBLIC over OF IRELAND and 606 on the right. There is also a beaded edge at the shank end, a characteristic of the Dunmore line. When the pipe arrived it appeared in the photos below.

Background

As much as I love the history of the Kapp and Peterson company and Peterson pipes, I will not get into that other than give you resources to read the history for yourself. I will delve into the Dunmore, or Dunmoor line of pipes at greater depth.

For a great history Mark Irwin and Gary Marlburg’s book is a must read for a Pete Geek.

(Available at https://www.smokingpipes.com/accessories/books/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=471478) Given the price is a bit high but worth every penny for a Peterson aficionado.

The next site is pipedia.org’s History of Peterson by Jim Lilley (Peterson – Pipedia)

Lastly the pipephil.eu site for all things logo: Peterson: historical pipes — Pipes: Logos & Markings (pipephil.eu) They also have a few other links to things like the Peterson timeline and P-lip information.

Now to the stuff regarding this pipe: A Peterson Dunmore. I refer to Mark Irwin again here and his blog, Peterson Pipe Notes. I can wholeheartedly recommend the free at

https://petersonpipenotes.org/ Yes, you will get emails but only for things like the weekly blog post and occasional Peterson pipe drops (like the Peterson Pipe Notes Pipe of the Year) or offers for cool Pete Geek merchandise. Anyway Mark has an article on the Dunmore line that is great. https://petersonpipenotes.org/226-documenting-the-dunmore-system-and-classic-lines/

I will include the text here in it’s entirety but recommend the link for the photos. This is used with permission of the author (thank you Mark).

“226. Documenting the Dunmore System and Classic Lines

Milos “Mike” Bera at PipesPens&More.com on eBay recently wrote me to say that he’d run across two examples of a Peterson Dunmore Classic line he’d never seen before—a higher-grade line with a briar-in-brass sandwich band. As I thought they were not only gorgeous but undocumented, the time seemed right to take a look back at the history of the Dunmore System and Classic lines.

I’ve been a fan of the Dunmore lines since I first saw them through the case back in the late 1980s and had to have one, a fat-bottom 72 (the 302 equivalent). Like everyone else, I thought there was some kind of mistake—“Where’s the nickel mount?” I remember asking. But the Dunmore System set out to be something a little different, yet within the classic Kapp & Peterson house style.

The line originated in collaboration with Iwan Reis in 1971. How it came about is anyone’s guess at this point. Chuck Levi, the man who more than any other was responsible for bringing the great Danish artisan pipes to the US, was working with the creative minds at K&P to bring something new to the IRC catalog, and this was one of about a dozen K&P lines that debuted as exclusives in the Iwan Reis catalogs of that era.

The concept was to modernize the System pipe by removing what was perceived as the old-fashioned nickel mount. And old-fashioned it was—if you look at pipe catalogs from the 1940s on through most of the rest of the 20th century, nickel ferrules and even bands were almost non-existent. K&P was virtually the only hold out, using sterling bands on the Sterling Silver Classic line and on the Premier & De Luxe Systems. A bead was then carved around the stummel at the mortise end. As you can see from the IRC detail, sometimes the contrast stain made the beads stand out, and sometimes not.

But there were two more ingredients to the original Dunmore aesthetic which can be seen the photo below. Paddy Larrigan, K&P’s master-craftsman, was always striving to push the envelope in pipe engineering, and one of the things he dearly loved was a pipe that would sit, so he shaved off the bottom of the shank to allow the Dunmore System to sit on its shank and button, which gives it its uniqueness in the catalog. The downside of this is that I am not convinced that all the Dunmore reservoirs, being slightly smaller than the traditional System, are quite as effective.

The third distinguishing mark of the original Dunmore lines is the stem. Both the System and Classic versions utilized the wide-shoulder “Comfort Lip,” with a painted gold P on the stem. This doubtless helps the System sit as well as giving it a more muscular visual balance, strength being a long-standing concept in the design language of the company. While it gives the illusion of being an army “push” mount, of course it isn’t, but is a traditional tenon-mortise or “navy mount” as the old hands at K&P used to call it.

The 1971 IRC catalog description reads, “dunmoor briar IRC ’71 modern system without sterling band, natural $12.00.” This intentional misspelling of “Dunmore” would persist through subsequent IRC catalogs, the copy-writer evidently under the spell of e.e. cummings and favoring an English flavor to his pipes. The name, like almost all K&P line names, is taken from the Irish landscape, in this case the town in County Galway famous for Dunmore Castle.

The 1975 Orange Catalog shows the initial Dunmore System release was in only seven shapes:

This was later expanded to include both the original bent dublin shape 5 (75) and XL5 (XL75) and the replacement calabash shape 5 and XL5. The remaining “new” System shapes were also added to the Dunmore lineup, the 01 becoming the Dunmore 73, the 02 the 70 and the 03 the 76. The fact that the 304 and 306 “setters” introduced in 1984 never entered the Dunmore System lineup adds the probability that the line had been discontinued by then.

The smooth Dunmore System features a light brown natural finish, sometimes occurring with broad flames, as can be seen in these photos of an unsmoked 77 System:

The rusticated version of the Dunmore System seems to have been finished in at least two techniques or versions. Neither is as deep as the Pebble Rustic finish but they still feel very therapeutic under thumb and finger.

Even when we were beginning our research on the Peterson book (due out in reprint later this year), most Pete fans had no idea there was also a Dunmore Classics line featuring the same beading at the mortise and wide Comfort Lip mouthpiece. Documentary proof was found in the rare 1978-79 Peterson-Glass catalog:

The Dunmore System and Classic Lines from the 1978-79 Peterson-Glass Catalog

I don’t know whether the Dunmore Classics was a short-lived line or whether it was primarily available in Europe, but it almost never appears on the estate market here in the US. As you can see from the catalog and the 406 pictured above, the same aesthetic was followed for the Classic line—light brown, nearly natural, higher-quality smooth bowl (or dark rustic) and faux army mount with gold-painted P, wide saddle and P-Lip stem. Only the Dunmore System, as far as I have been able to document, had the flattened stummel allowing it to set.

I have always hoped to run across an unsmoked rustic Dunmore System with the dark contrast stains seen in the Peterson-Glass catalog. I wonder if this finish actually went into production, because the ones I’ve seen all look more-or-less like the XL75 shown above.

The original Dunmore lines seemed to have been dropped at about the time the company went through its worst redundancy in 1984, as there are no more traces of it in the company’s ephemera from 1983 on. I remember the proprietor of my B&M, Cavalier Pipe & Tobacco in Barracks Road Shopping Center in Charlottesville, telling me when I bought my shape 73 Dunmore that the line was out of production, so I’d better get it if I wanted it (don’t you miss high-pressure salesmen?)—and that would have been 1986 or ’87.

The second iteration of the Dunmore Classics line is that recently discovered by Mike at PipesPens&More on eBay. I would tentatively date it to c. 1995, well after K&P had gotten on its feet again and was doing some new and fascinating things. It seems to belong with three other briar adornment lines from the same period: Paddy Larrigan’s Briar in a Circle Systems and the Galway and Kapp-Royal higher-grade lines with their wonderful inset briar rings.

Mike’s Dunmore Classics line is certainly on a par, from the two examples he’s found, with the Galway and Kapp Royal briars and maybe better, although probably not as fine as the Briar in a Circle Systems. Take a closer look at this 80S, which Mike sold within 24 hours of posting it on eBay:

The last Dunmore Classics line made a brief appearance in the Dublin era’s second decade, somewhere in the 2000s, probably around 2005 or so. Jim Lilley’s old blog site made a reference to them, and I remember seeing them for sale at internet shops.

I know it appeared well before I got interested in writing the Peterson book, because I don’t have any internet images of it in my files. These photos of the B5 and B11 give a good idea of what the line was like, although it appears to have begun in a higher range and then slipped to a lower.

Updated Identification Guide

Dunmore (1971–c. 1984; c. 1995; 2006–2010) Appeared in 1971 as Iwan Reis & Co. exclusive line “Dunmoor,” Premier-grade unmounted System in smooth natural or rustic dark chocolate contrast in all shapes, with beading at the shank, faux wide-saddle P-Lip with gold paint P. Documented in Associated Imports catalog from 1973. Classic Range line from 1978 with same faux army mount and finishes. Second scarce Classic Range line, c. 1990, higher-grade smooth bowl with brass sandwich and briar band, P-Lip. A third Classic Range line, 2006–2010, mid-grade, featured standard and some B shapes, with beading around bowl instead of shank-face, for European market.

Many thanks to Mike Bera
Photos of the Dunmore 80s and 68 courtesy Mike’s Pipes Pens & More
Photos of the B5 and 406 Dunmore courtesy Smokingpipes.com” (https://petersonpipenotes.org/226-documenting-the-dunmore-system-and-classic-lines/)

With that information at hand I can date this Peterson Dunmore with a good deal of certainty. The 606 shape is of the “Classic Range line” thus from 1978-1984. A mere 6 year window.

The Restoration

There is a clean denim piece for a work surface so, it must be time to start another project.

The stem was the part of this that needed the most attention and it went into the OxyClean solution first.

The reaming tools were gathered. The PipNet with its #2 and #3 blades for this nice wide chamber would see some action.

The reaming started easy with the PipNet and the #2 blades. The the #3 blades were a tight fit and required some scraping with both scrapers to allow it access to the tobacco chamber. Eventually the chamber was reamed and sanded with 220 sandpaper wrapped around a wood dowel. I finish sanded with 320 sandpaper and my finger. The chamber looked great with no signs of any damage.

The chamber may look good but the rim was lava encrusted.

Saliva and a sharp knife were used to scrape the rim.

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

Returning to the workbench the stummel looked much better.

A quick wipe with a make-up pad dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol to make sure there was no remaining wax or finish remaining was done. This produced some color on the pad but I think it was just dirty old wax and maybe a bit of stain.

I did see a few pits that would require filling with cyanoacrylate (CA, super glue) and briar dust.

I turned my attention to cleaning out the airway within the shank. I used a couple of alcohol soaked cotton swabs to soften the old smoking residues in the airway. I then poured 3-4 ml of 95% ethyl alcohol into the bowl and allowed it to flow into but not through the shank. I used a nylon shank brush to scrub the airway with the alcohol. The alcohol was poured into a medicine cup to assess the dirtiness of the airway. Not bad but still quite a bit of cleaning and repealed alcohol scrubs. Oh yeah, folded bristle pipe cleaners were also used to scrub with. Numerous more cotton swabs, folded pipe cleaners and a few ml of ethyl alcohol later the shank was clean.

The stem came out of the Oxy bath and was vigorously wiped with a dry make-up pad. The pad was heavily stained with oxidized rubber.

Several more make-up pads with SoftScrub were used to try to remove the stubborn oxidation. Adjectives other than “stubborn” may have been uttered during this process.

I oiled the stem and left it for 24 hours. The next day I returned and used SoftScrub again to remove the oil. Well, more than oil came off.

Back into the Oxy bath went the stem. It was there for another hour.

I turned my attention to filling the pits. A small drop of brown CA was applied to the pit and a small scoop of briar dust was then placed onto the wet CA and pressed into the pit. The excess briar dust was brushed off with a bristle pipe cleaner. This was repeated for each of the fills. The CA and briar dust set-up very quickly and were filed with a flat needle file then sanded with a 400 grit sanding sponge.

The stummel was then sanded with a series of sanding sponges from 600-3500 grit, in sequence. Between each sponge the stummel was wiped with an alcohol moistened make-up pad.

The stummel was then worked with a series of micro-mesh pads 4000-12000 grit. Between each pad the stummel was wiped with a make-up pad dipped in alcohol.

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

The stem was retrieved from the Oxy bath for the second time. And wiped with a dry make-up pad. This time much less oxidized rubber came off of the stem.

The stem was sanded with a series of sanding sponges from 600-3500. Between sponges I would rub a small drop of mineral oil onto the stem and wipe it with a paper towel. This was followed by the micro-mesh pads 4000-12000. Between the pads I applied a drop of Obsidian Oil to the stem, rubbed it onto the surface and wiped with a paper towel. I failed to photograph any of the stem sanding and micro-meshing, sorry if you were looking forward to that.

The stummel was wiped clean of any remaining Restoration Balm with an inside out athletic sock.

I debated showing this next step as it was a mistake. Since I am rather adept at making mistakes I thought I’d show you what not to do. I thought the Peterson P logo on the stem should be repainted in white. I cleaned the surface with a cotton swab and 95% ethyl alcohol and gave it a coating of white acrylic model paint.

While the paint was still slightly pliable I scraped the high spots of the logo with a plastic card and wiped away any paint from around the logo.

I then proceeded to wax the pipe with the buffer and carnauba wax and do the “finished” photographs. It wasn’t until I was refreshing my memory and writing the background section that I came across the “P-Lip with gold paint P” from Mark Irwin’s Peterson Pipe Notes dunmore description. Well the white P just wouldn’t do. Back to the workbench, I recleaned the white acrylic paint from the logo using the ethyl alcohol and a cotton swab.

I then made an applicator for the gold Rub’nBuff from the plastic tube of a cotton swab. I cut one end from the tube, heated the plastic with a lighter and flattened the hot plastic with a knife blade.

I used scissors to cut the flattened plastic into a micro-spatula type device.

The gold Rub’nBuff was applied with the plastic tool. The excess gold was wiped onto the denim. I let the gold Rub’nBuff dry for a minute of two and used the tool to scrape away the excess gold from around the logo. The area was then hand buffed with a soft cotton cloth.

There, that’s more like it and correct. Living and learning. I hope my mistakes help you to avoid making some of your own.

The pipe went back to the buffer for a touch-up re-waxing with carnauba. Then back to taking the real finished photos.

Overall this Peterson Dunmore 606 Pot turned out pretty well. I have to admit to not being happy with the finish of the stem. The oxidation was deep into the vulcanite. Even after the Oxy baths, SoftScrub and sanding it can still be seen. Given under normal light conditions the stem looks fine, bright light makes the oxidation stand out. I did not want to use the Before and After Deoxidizing solution for fear of losing the logo. That may be the only way to address the issue short of sanding the entire stem and losing the logo to that. This will be a personal pipe for the time being. Unless someone really wants it and makes me an offer I can’t refuse. The briar of the 606 is lovely, showing off Peterson’s Premier-grade and I was able to keep the original stain without altering it. Of the areas that I filled I think only one was a flaw in the briar and the others were dings from use. The very nature of the Dunmore non-System shape is a rarity and a pretty rarity at that. The dimensions of the Peterson Dunmore 606 Pot are:

Length: 6.21 in./ 157.73 mm.

Weight: 1.44 oz./ 41.00 g.

Bowl Height: 1.65 in./ 41.91 mm.

Chamber Depth: 1.36 in./ 34.54 mm.

Chamber Diameter: 0.82 in./ 20.83 mm.

Outside Diameter: 1.58 in./ 40.13 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 Peterson Dunmore 606 Pot.

Oops, there is a finished photo showing the white logo. Darn lazy, I say.

There’s another white logo. Why do you keep reading stuff by this guy?