Vulcanite: (Chemistry / Elements & Compounds) a hard usually black rubber produced by vulcanizing natural rubber with large amounts of sulphur. It is resistant to chemical attack: used for chemical containers, electrical insulators, etc. Also called Ebonite

Many of the pipes we buy nowadays have acrylic stems. These are harder and easier to clean than the vulcanite stems that are slowly being replaced by the newer materials. We all know the problems with vulcanite. It turns greenish brown with age and exposure to light. What is actually going on is, that the sulphur used in the production of the vulcanite, is oxidising. If the oxidisation is not too bad, it can be polished out using a buffer, but it will return again and, usually, very quickly. I have a simple process that removes the oxidisation and the sulphur in the surface of the stem. It may sound a bit hard handed, but I guarantee, it works.

Remove the stem from the pipe. Find a glass that will hold the entire stem, drop the stem in and then fill the glass with chlorine. Yes, the household cleaning type chlorine. Let the stem stay submerged overnight. It will bubble a bit, but don’t worry. It’s supposed to. Get a good night’s sleep.

By morning, the process is finished. Pour off the chlorine and rinse the stem in cold water. It will appear rough on the surface and have a coal grey appearance. It is now clean. Both inside and out.

Now you will have to do some sanding. Very gently and with a paper with 1000 grit or higher, sand the stem until it is smooth to the touch. Do not sand the tenon (the bit that connects stem to stummel) as that would only make the stem loose in the pipe.

Once the stem is smooth again you can start the polishing process. If you have a buffer, then things will get done quickly. Start with a slightly abrasive wax. These are usually red in colour and are impregnated with jeweller’s rouge. Keep the stem moving against the wheel and you will see the stem slowly returning to it’s former black glory. Continue polishing until you have a smooth, polished and deeply black stem.
Change wheels and give a final polish either with carnauba or some other fine polishing wax.

If you don’t have a buffer, then polish by hand. Use the same waxes as stated above on a soft cloth and prepare yourself for an hour or so of polishing.

Congratulations. Your stem is like new again. Let it air out for a day to remove the chlorine taste before you smoke the pipe.

TIP: Practice with an old stem if you have one at hand. A little experience is invaluable in any process!

TIP#2. Pull a pipe cleaner dipped in cognac or whisky through the stem to sweeten it if the chlorine taste lingers.

It would be remiss of me not to post this pipe after having posted on the championships. The pipe is the best thing that came out of the competition and is a very pleasant smoker indeed. Made by the Szabo Cooperative in Hungary, it is a faux silver spigot bearing silver on both stem and shank but using mortice and tenon connection to fix the acrylic stem to bowl.

The pipe is marked “Szabo Cooperaci” with a normal stamp but almost under the shank is engraved “Hungary”, and I do mean engraved. The bowl sports similar engraving depicting the logo used for the championships. The lettering around the logo reads “World Cup in Pipe Smoking” – “Debrecen 11.10.2009”. I have no idea as to the process involved in this engraving. It may be laser cut or milling. Either way, the effect is stunning and very crisp as opposed to the stamping.

The markings on the silverwork are a simple “925” encircled in an oval ring on the stem side of the spigot.

The bowl is rusticated in 270 degrees leaving the port side smooth for the logo. It is comfortable to hold in the hand and is a well balanced piece of briar. The engineering is superb, the 4 mm airway meeting the bottom of the chamber at dead centre.

Dimensions:

Length: 150 mm

height: 50 mm

Bowl: Ø39 mm

Chamber: Ø20 mm x 42 mm

The World Championships in slow pipe smoking were held last weekend in Debrecen, Hungary. My pipe club had arranged a trip to partake in the annual madness and we travelled to Budapest for the week. We stayed at a modest hotel in the middle of Pest and my nearest companions and I quickly found a pub to use as a base of operations for sightseeing.

We mustered three teams for the championships and were bussed to Debrecen for the event. An hotel in Debrecen had made room for us and some 150 pipe smokers had met up to compete. They came from as far afield as Japan, Russia, the USA and all points European. Apart from the actual competition there was the usual exhibition of pipes from the finest of pipe makers. Though many caught my eye, I did not buy a pipe at the show, alas, my budget is a little too tight right now, however, I took pictures and noted who had what for future reference. The bar was busy issuing foaming pints of ale and finally, at two o’clock we sat down to the business end of the trip. It didn’t go well. We had a false start, threats of disqualification, protests over these threats, re-issuing of matches due to the false start and finally we all got lit up and started smoking. The tobacco was foul. Sorry, but it was. After thirty five minutes I could take it no more and called myself “out”.

After hearing the results, we realised the times had been confused and after a protest from the Danish team the results were corrected giving a third place to the Danish team from Zealand. Too late for prizes, the Italian team had been awarded the third place and had left. The results will be corrected. Prizes will be given later.

Beyond all that, I did bring home a few souvenirs in the form of a bamboo tamper and a strange little tool which is designed to hold a plug of tobacco for one pipe and has a built in tamper. More on these accoutrements in a later post.
After Debrecen, we had a three day period of sightseeing in Budapest and then home again.

Next year, it’s Lisbon, Portugal. I’m rather looking forward to that.

Last week, my pipe club visited Søren’s workshop in Søborg, a suburb of greater Copenhagen. Søren has been making pipes there for about forty years and has recently retired himself. He no longer spends ten hours a day in his workshop but, as he says, modestly, only comes in to work when there are orders to be filled. Which means he is still producing pipes but not on a full time basis. The workshop is well equipped, comprises two rooms, turning and finishing. A little office section hides away beyond a corridor separating it from the dust and noise of pipe manufacture.

Always willing to show the public how to make a pipe, Søren gathered those that had not seen the process around him and set to work. It took him a very short while to turn, sand and create a pipe to the point where it only needs staining and polishing. A true craftsman that knows that exactly what he is doing and knows how to do it well.

I last visited Søren’s workshop six years ago. I know beyond doubt it was six years ago because I was to celebrate my 50th birthday the following month. Unbeknown to me, my friends from the pipe club bought me a pipe the same night from Søren and presented me with it one month later. By designed chance, I had the pipe with me on this particular visit. Søren spotted it immediately and asked how it smoked. “It’s never let me down”, I said, which didn’t surprise him and brought a little smile to his face. I asked if he would mind repolishing the stem while I was there, which of course he gladly did and now my Refbjerg looks like new again.

Finally the time came to plunder the stock and reserves that were to be had. Søren opened all his cases and boxes and the bargaining began. I saw many beautiful pipes bought that evening.

Søren says the workshop is up for sale, including all the machinery and the Corsican briar stocks. Søren was the main importer to Denmark of this briar and he says that now it’s almost impossible to get. I felt that even if he sells the shop, he will still be there making pipes for a long time to come.

Retirement, it seems, is a loose term in this business!

Here is the pipe I bought following the visit by Peder Jeppesen to my pipe club. It is a six panelled half bent with saddle stem sporting a silver ring and acrylic decoration on the shank. The orangey-brown staining gives this pipe an almost natural look and the polished finish is delightful to behold and feel. In my opinion, nothing beats the feel of highly polished wood.

The pipe is stamped simply, “P.Jeppesen” over “Hand made”, which is all the credentials it needs. I must mention Peder’s generosity here. He visited our club, entertained us with his stories and then showed us a lot of pipes which he had for sale. He sold a lot of pipes, but all of them at reduced prices. I am not about to reveal how much I paid for this lovely pipe, so please, no e-mails asking what I gave for it! I won’t tell.

Dimensions:

Length: 150 mm

Height: 60 mm

Bowl max: 40 mm (Port to Starboard).

Chamber: Ø18 mm; Depth: 50 mm.

Mouthpiece; 20 mm broad at the tip.

This is the man behind Jeppesen and Neerup pipes. Peder is one of the few remaining true pipe makers left in the business. I met with him at my pipe club last night. Peder has been making pipes for around thirty years having started with the famous Karl Erik and, later, with the also famous Erik Nørding. Finally he went off and became independant and started producing Neerup pipes.

He came with an interesting story concerning the Neerup name. Apparently a German importer, one of Peder’s biggest customers, registered the Neerup name in Germany under his company name thereby effectively trademarking Neerup in Germany as his and not exclusively Peder’s.
This importer then went on to have pipes made in Albania and stamped them with the Neerup name. Obviously, this wasn’t acceptable to Peder, even though it is not illegal in Germay. Needless to say the cooperation between the two soon broke down and Peder has had to contest the use of his name in the German courts. He won, but the importer has 18 months to sell his present stock. True Neerups are no longer exported to Germany.

Peder has since found a new German importer, but because of the Neerup case he has had to shift over to using his registerd name, “P. Jeppesen”, on his pipes. This continues into the daily production. Basically speaking, Neerup pipes are machine produced. Jeppesen’s are hand made.

Be careful when you consider buying Neerup estates. If it hasn’t got a “Made in Denmark” stamp, it may be a cheap Albanian knock-off and probably isn’t worth a nickel.

A few other small details came out of the meet and greet:

Peder’s machines are the same machines that were used by Georg Jensen. When Jensen stopped, Peder bought his workshop machinery.

Peder uses Sicilian briar.

So now you know!

And yes, I bought a pipe while I had the chance to get a cut-price hand made Jeppesen. I will be posting on that shortly.

I received some comments the other day on my Peterson 303 post. The commentator remarked that it was the same pipe that he was smoking but that his was stamped 302, not 303. OK, I can understand this as the 302 and 303 are basically the same shape but the size varies by an appreciable amount. This is, of course, hard to evaluate on a single photograph where no comparison can be made. To give some idea of the difference I refer to, here are some comparative shots of the two together. After all, a picture says a thousand words, doesn’t it?

In the left hand picture, the 302 is the upper pipe. In the right hand picture, the 302 is on the right. As is obvious in both, the 302 is a considerably larger pipe.

Of the two, I prefer the 302 while relaxing. On the other hand, the 303 gets to see all the action! Both pipes smoke well. It would be difficult to choose an absolute favourite. If there are horses for courses, then there are also pipes for pastimes.

It arrived today. After waiting all weekend, it finally arrived this afternoon. It was worth the wait. I found this one on E-bay. I was almost sniped out of it but managed to snipe the sniper in the last second of the auction. Serves him right. I hope I ruined his day.

This Mastro is nice. I don’t often go for straight models but this one called to me from afar. I suppose one would have to call it a Rhodesian or a Bulldog but I don’t really like to hang myself in names. I like the form of this one and that’s good enough. I like the half rustication too. In fact the whole finish on this pipe is very nice.

It is marked as a “Medio” followed by the number “5”. It bears the Sun stamp, the name “Pesaro” and, of course, the Mastro signature stamp.
Should anyone be in any doubt, it is also marked  “Fatta a mano” and “Italy”.
The stem is decorated with the round Mastro de Paja silver badge.

Dimensions:

Length: 150 mm

Height: 51 mm

Bowl: Ø 50 mm at the widest point

Chamber: Ø 23 mm x 45 mm

Airway: 4 mm and the stem is bored for a 9 mm filter

I have several 9mm filter pipes but never do I smoke them with a filter. I see no reason to use one. Generally I buy a plug to replace the filter and reduce the stem airway to 4 mm.

I have only one small detail to get sorted out. This is an estate pipe and the person who owned it before me has smoked a really foul aromatic tobacco in it. That aromatic has left a ghost that will need exorcising before I can really enjoy this pipe. I will try smoking a latakia blend in it for the first three bowls and then see if the ghost remains. If it does, then I will treat the bowl with salt and alcohol.

For €83.00, I think I have a bargain here. It is light and elegant and may well become a favourite for smoking whilst walking the dogs.   

This is one Peterson I thought I would never own. Named after the American author, the father of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, this pipe was mainly made for the American market. Occasionally they are to be found for sale on E-bay, which is where I found this one.

It is from the 1983-84 series, the hallmarking dates it to 1984. This was the last series produced. Basically a system pipe with a spigot stem, this pipe is decorated with a broad silver cap over the stem.The band is marked “Peterson” over “Sterling Silver” and holds the usual hallmarks.

The bowl is stamped “Peterson’s” over “Mark Twain” on the port side and “Made in the Republic of Ireland” on the starboard. This pipe can hardly be described as having a straight grain but it does have some beautiful markings and considerable bird’s eye. The bowl measures Ø 22 mm by 37 mm deep.

This is probably one of the best smoking pipes I have ever owned. I paid a good price for it, $100.oo, and have never regretted it. If I ever get the chance to purchase a second, I will.

And a rather little one at that. This beautiful little horn shape from France dates back to the 1920’s. It was unsmoked when I acquired it but I have since smoked it several times and it is fast becoming one of my regular “go to work” pipes.

The bowl is not big and I can fill it loosely and happily smoke it within the allotted smoke periods at my workplace. This pipe is much smaller than anything else I have and I find myself holding it somewhat like a cigarette. It is clearly marked with the “Bruyere Garantie” stamp and I believe it hails from St. Claude in France. The stamping is picked up in gold lettering. The nickel (or is that silver?) band makes a nice decoration and the bowl is stained with a burgundy red colour. The finish is either a varnish or some sort of lacquer. It never seems to dull nor does it melt. Removing grubby finger marks is easy with the use of no more than a clean cloth. The shine is permanent! The stem is made from horn. A lovely little pipe to have in the shirt pocket and it smokes very well.

Dimensions:

Length: 140 mm

Bowl height: 43 mm

Bowl diameter: 30 mm

Chamber: Ø 19.5 mm, Depth: 37 mm

The airway is a surprising 4 mm in the shank.