Photographed and written by 

John M. Young

My infatuation with pipes from post World War Two through the 1950s has not ended.  We are just on a break.  I have a long line of pipes in que and the above Kaywoodie should have been subjected to the back of the line.  I couldn’t do it.  It was just too cute and had such a long noble heritage.  Okay, that is an exaggeration.  At the time this pipe was produced by Kaufman Brothers and Bondy, KB&B had been in business less than 20 years.  That is how old this pipe is.  So, maybe she pulled seniority and jumped to the front of the line not with the agility of a teenage gymnast but with the grace of a seasoned digitary of the House of KB&B.  

This little darling came from an eBay auction where apparently no one saw the uniqueness of the pipe.  Well, not no one, since there were other bidders but, $5.50 for my win?  That was welcome and unexpected.

I say unique due to the triangular stem, paneled bowl, carburetor and the four digit shape number.  Each of these features is interesting on their own but together I find them very interesting.  Allow me to show some photos of the Kaywoodie prior to wany work being done.

Judging from the photos you may find the next statement difficult to believe.  The Kaywoodie was in good shape for a well used pipe of this age.  I’ll get more into that in a minute.  Yes it looked to be in rough condition but other than the stem reconstruction, the pipe was mostly just filthy.  I saw stem deoxidizing and rebuilding, filling pits in the briar, cleaning and sanding.

Background on KB&B Kaywoodies

I have restored several KB&B pipes in the past few weeks.  There were the four large Hand Mades and one Yello-Bole that came to mind.  I love the history of the company and their passion for the Kaywoodie stinger or condenser.  I will come right out and say it:  I do not like stingers.  My favorite Kaywoodie pipes are models which do not have the signature stinger.  Having said that, I appreciate a company who remained “all in” in their design for the 80 years or so of production.That shows dedication to their ideas and to their loyal customers.  

Kaywoodie has a long and colorful history dating back to their origins, “Kaywoodie name first appearing in February of 1919.” (Kaywoodie History – Greywoodie LLC) The history of Kaywoodie pipes is fortunately well documented thus, allowing rather precise dates for a Kaywoodie collector to declare the provenance of their charges.  Rather than deposit it here, I will link the two outstanding histories of KB&B/Kaywoodie – Gewywoodie’s site is  great written history of the company (Kaywoodie History – Greywoodie LLC) and pipedia.org has pretty much the same written history with a rich library of Kaywoodie catalogs, photos and images of old print advertisements, (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kaywoodie).  I can’t recommend them enough for those interested in reading more about the company and the products.  There is a third document which provides information more specific for tracing the providence of a specific pipe or model of pipes and that is he Collector’s Guide to Kaywoodie Pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Collector%27s_Guide_to_Kaywoodie_Pipes).

Now a little more on this specific pipe.  As I previously mentioned the four digit number is indicative of a Kaywoodie being made before 1936.  I quote from Collector’s Guide to Kaywoodie Pipes:  “If the pipe has a 4-digit shape number, the pipe is probably of “pre-1936” vintage.” (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Collector%27s_Guide_to_Kaywoodie_Pipes) or you can download the original document here.  

Another mention of the four digit shape number from the Collector’s Guide states, , “Early (pre-1936) Kaywoodies had an “elongated” white cloverleaf on the bit, a large fitment, and four-digit shape numbers. The 1936 catalog shows a larger, “fuller” leaf, but lists two-digit shape numbers. Sometime between 1936 and 1947, the better pipes were marked on the bits with a black cloverleaf in a white circle. The white cloverleaf continued on the lesser pipes. However, this was not a consistent convention, as pipes of the same grade could have either type of leaf.”  (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Collector%27s_Guide_to_Kaywoodie_Pipes)

BOth of the above quotes reaffirm the pre-36 date of origin.  The strange patent stamping of this pipe provides additional information.  An internet search of the US patent number led me to the following: 

(https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/4b/ce/2c/0edcdc5ae498b0/US2082106.pdf)

Now the question arises, “How can a “pre-1936” pipe have a stamp for a patent that was not awarded until June 1, 1937?”  

The final piece of the puzzle comes from the 1936 Kaywoodie catalog.  This catalog clearly shows the Kaywoodie in question as the top pipe in the image below.

(https://pipedia.org/wiki/File:Kaywoodie_1936shapes6.jpg).  It also clearly shows the model as being called a “03 Triangular Setter Apple”.  The stamp of this Kaywoodie Triangular Setter Apple is not a “03” but rather an “8803”.

I donned my thinking hat also know as a conjecture cap and came to the following conclusion:

This pipe was made prior to the switch to the “new-shape numbering system” to match the upcoming 1936 catalog.  During this transition the patented “Carburator” had been in production and had been incorporated into some pipes, even prior to the formalized granting of the patent paperwork.  The shape number does end in “03” indicating a carryover from the “old system”.  It does not take too much imagination to assume that the production at the factory would occur at a different rate than the churning of a bureaucratic patent office or the time lag of catalog development and printing.  All of these factors lead me to the conclusion that this pipe is a 1935-36 Kaywoodie Carburator Triangular Setter Apple.

The Restoration

As with nearly all my restorations, this one too began with a clean piece of denim to work on.

Reaming was the first task for this pipe.  The tools were assembled.  No PipNet due to the small diameter of the tobacco chamber and the fact that the carburetor rose up from the bottom of the bowl about 5 mm.

Most of the reaming was done with the General triangular scraper so as to not damage the carburetor.

The below photo shows the rim after a good deal of lava had been scraped from the surface.

Next came the cleaning of the stem.  The stinger made this slightly more difficult but this stinger did not interfere with the stem cleaning as much as some Kaywoodies that I had done.  The bristle pipe cleaners were dipped in 99% isopropyl alcohol to aid in the dissolution of the tars in the airway.

Scrubbing the stummel was next.  Murphy’s Oil Soap was used undiluted and scrubbed with a medium bristle toothbrush.  The lava around the rim proved to be very adhered to the briar and a stiff nylon brush was used around the rim. The soap was rinsed with warm water and the stummel dried with a cotton dish towel.  At this time I decided to scrub the airway of the shank with a nylon shank brush and Dawn dish soap to soften and remove some of the residues inside.  This worked and released the strong aroma of old tobacco smoking residue.  From this I knew that the shank cleaning would be a long task.

The scrubbing failed to remove all of the lava around the rim.  Further scraping with a sharp pocket knife was done.  I also used a Scotchbrite pad dipped in 99% isopropyl alcohol to help clear the lava.  You can also see in the photo below an old fill that had lost the fill material.

With the lava finally cleared away I chose to work on the fills next.  It looked like most of the fills had come loose with wear.  Some picking of the old fill material was done with a fly tying bodkin.  New fills were made using brown cyanoacrylate (CA, super glue) and briar dust.  The fill received a drop of CA from the fly tying bodkin.  I then placed a small amount of briar dust onto the CA filled pit and pressed the dust into the pit.

Below photo shows a CA/dust filled pit. 

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

Here were two small pits below the rim.

Another pit filled along the bottom of the shank.

With the fills done and sanded with a 400 sanding sponge, I turned to cleaning the exterior of the stem.  I chose to use Soft Scrub on make-up pads to remove the oxidation from the stem.  The stem was first sanded with a 400 grit sanding sponge to remove the outer surface oxidation then the several Soft Scrub pads were used.  After the scrubbing the stem was coated in mineral oil and allowed to absorb the oil while I worked on other tasks.

Next came the cleaning out of the shank airway.  The photo below shows the dry crumbly tars that were scraped free with the dental scraper.  The cotton swabs and folded over pipe cleaners were dipped in 99% isopropyl alcohol.  

Once a good deal of the tars had been scraped free the cotton swabs helped moisten the tars.  This led to the scrapings being more tarlike.  You can see a couple streaks of tar residues wiped onto the denim near the scraping pile lower right.  I also used alcohol dipped nylon shank brush scrubbings to help free the airway.  I could effectively use a favored method of pouring alcohol into the bowl and scrubbing with the pooled alcohol and a shank brush due to the hole in the bottom of the bowl that is the carburetor.  Eventually the shank returned clean cotton swabs.

With the shank cleaned out I turned my attention back to the stem.  Rebuilding the button, to be exact.  Using a piece of flat plastic approximately 2 mm thick, from a lid, I measured and cut a “dam”.  This would be used to stop the black CA from flowing into the airway and keep the liquid CA out of places where I did not want new material deposited.  The airway was “painted with petroleum jelly to help seal the dam to the area where I didn’t want CA.

The dam was placed into the airway.  I had tested the plastic to make sure that the CA did not readily adhere to the plastic.

A thin coating of black CA was applied to the vulcanite.  I used a Cyanoacrylate drying accelerator spritzed onto the wet CA to quickly cure the CA.  I added additional coats of black CA filling the gap and spritzing with accelerator.  I have found that numerous thin applications will allow the CA to build up and cure better than fewer thicker applications.

The below photo shows the fill at about four applications of CA.

At this point I used a flat needle file to start shaping the flat surface of the reconstruction.

I gripped the plastic dam with a needle nose pliers and pulled it free of the new CA material.  The CA that was over flowed past the button was trimmed with scissors and flattened with the flat needle file and sandpaper.

Sorry about the photo quality.  The phone camera does not do well focusing on buttons, I guess.

Additional beads of black CA were added to the button to add material.  These were then spritzed with accelerator and shaped with the needle file and sandpaper to arrive at a shape that was acceptable.

I assembled the pipe and tried the draft to make sure the airway remained open.  I received the taste of “old pipe”, or rather the taste of old tobacco smoking residue.  Hmm, not acceptable.  It was getting late so I decided to pack the stummel with cotton, fill it with 95% ethyl alcohol and let the alcohol work by drawing the residues from the briar and into the cotton overnight.

I taped off the carburetor with Scotch tape in an attempt at keeping the alcohol in the bowl.

Using a disposable pipetteI added the ethyl alcohol slowly, allowing it to fill and saturate the cotton.

Approximately 12 hours later I returned to the workbench and discovered that my cleaning of the bowl and stummel were not as complete as I had assumed they were..

The cotton in the shank was quite dark with tars and smoking residue.

The ethyl alcohol and cotton had performed their jobs well.  Testing the draw of the pipe delivered the taste of ethyl alcohol.  I guess I’d have to wait another couple hours to see if a second treatment of cotton and alcohol would be required.

Moving on.  You probably noticed that I had used painters tape to cover the stamps earlier.  That was in preparation for the sanding that I knew would be coming.  And, here it is.  I sanded the pipe as a single piece.  Using the sanding sponges in series I sanded from the 1000-3500 grits.  Between each sponge I rubbed a finger dipped in mineral oil to the stem and wiped with a paper towel.  I would then dip a make-up pad in alcohol and wipe off the stummel before continuing to the next sponge.

After the sanding came the micro-mesh pads.  The pads were used in sequence from 4000-12000.  I again wiped the stem and stummel between pads.  A slight difference here is that instead of mineral oil I used Obsidian Oil on the stem.

The Pipe was looking very good.  I have to admit that sanding and micromeshing the panels of the pipe was far more tedious than working with a rounded shape.  Trying to maintain the flat characteristics of the panels took careful pressure and left little room for carelessness or watching television.  The stummel was given a coating of Before and After Restoration Balm and was allowed to sit for an episode of a silly aime I’d been ignoring.

After 20 minutes the Restoration Balm was wiped from the stummel using the inside of an athletic sock.

The final treatment of the Kaywoodie was to apply several coats of carnauba wax with the buffer.

This Kaywoodie turned out beautifully.  In bright light I did notice tinges of oxidation that remained on the stem.  I am debating giving the stem a dip in the Before and After Deoxidizing solution.  I probably will but the effect of the deoxidizing solution of the reconstructed area worries me.  The finish of the stem is just gorgeous under normal room lighting.  The smooth polished briar shows grain that was completely obscured by the grime that the pipe initially had and shows wonderful bird’s eyes on both sides.  As with most pipes from this era this is a smaller specimen.  The dimensions of this pipe are:

• Length: 5.40 in./ 137.16 mm.
• Weight:  1.18 oz./ 33.45 g.
• Bowl Height: 1.50 in./ 38.10 mm.
• Chamber Depth: 1.17 in./ 29.72 mm.
• Chamber Diameter: 0.65 in./ 16.51 mm.
• Outside Diameter: 1.34 in./ 34.04 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 Kaywoodie Triangular Setter Apple Carburetor.