Found a Barling!

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nevadablue

Lifer
Jun 5, 2017
1,192
4
I have stumbled onto a Barling pipe! It is actually a BB&S Cherrywood 6989, a transition pipe I believe. (It came as an unidentified member of a group of 5 estate pipes I got for 11 bucks shipped off ebay)
Nomenclature on the bottom of the pipe:
Gladiator

London England

BB&S

6989
I have researched quite a bit and haven't found much on the Barling sub-types marked BB&S.
If anyone has more info, I would appreciate it. This pipe has no stem, so I will have to make one.
This is my pipe. It looks to be lightly smoked and in excellent (but dirty) condition.
(ebay pics)
38417226202_b2d4fb57d5_h_d.jpg

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This is the closest reference photo I could find, from smokingpipes.com:
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38448823131_35b866848e_z_d.jpg


 

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,385
7,295
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
Looks like it was carved with a chainsaw! Was it possibly a smooth pipe when bought then home carved? Are you going for the saddle stem as per the smooth pipe or going the taper route?
Whatever you do I look forward to seeing the finished article.
Regards,
Jay.

 

nevadablue

Lifer
Jun 5, 2017
1,192
4
Yes, does look chainsaw-ish. I have never understood that type of disfigurement of a pipe. Even if the briar has flaws, OMG those grooves are huge flaws. I will make it work though. I would like to try the saddle stem like the smooth example has. Until I found the nomenclature, I was thinking of a metal shank cap and a military mount, but this gives me a good excuse to try the saddle stem route.

 

nevadablue

Lifer
Jun 5, 2017
1,192
4
It wouldn't. I was thinking that it was just another no-name pipe I could mess with. But, seeing the Barling info, and given that I will probably never have another, I just thought it would be fun to restore it instead of modifying it. I have some others I can put the military mount on.

 

cwarmouth

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 10, 2017
244
3
Nice find, lucky dog! Do you think you'll leave the bowl alone or perhaps rusticate it? Can't wait to see this one.

 

nevadablue

Lifer
Jun 5, 2017
1,192
4
I am not sure about the bowl. I bet it would look a lot better rusticated. My sand blaster is still in storage. Hmmm... I will wait till I clean the stummel and then decide. I think I found a vulcanite stem that will work in my box of parts this evening. It looks like it should be perfect.

 

nevadablue

Lifer
Jun 5, 2017
1,192
4
Thanks Al. It does look like a sample of 'worm hole' sandstone I used to have.
This one is starting to feel like a new favorite pipe. I hope it smokes well. The bowl will swallow the first two joints of an index finger. All day smoke for me.
I decided to start working on the pipe today. I did the 'nobody can do it' like I like to. I filed the tenon by hand and didn't ruin it. I used a diamond file, which is rather coarse to start and finished with a safe edge jewelers file. Hard to beat a jeweler's file. Slow, careful turning and filing produced a good fitting tenon.

Then the scary part. There was a slight 'air gap' on the bottom of the shank. Very careful filing on the top of the shank face produced a perfect fit and maintained the sharp edge. I am happy with this.

Then, on to the cleanup of the stummel. It had more cake than it appeared. The chamber is tapered and didn't fit any of my reamers, so it became a game of switching reamers and working my way down the chamber. The last work was done with my Chinese Senior. I set it to hit the ridge left by the last Decatur reamer that fit, reamed a few turns, loosened the reamer a bit, then a few more turns and repeated until I got to the bottom. This had to happen several times, several passes. Patience rules again. The finish was with the next to smallest Decatur to get the bottom smooth.

The shank was wanting to be difficult. The draft hole is a tiny way up the shank from the bottom, as is normal in this kind of pipe. But, my draft hole drill wouldn't start it. I couldn't get a pipe cleaner to start either. So, out came the special tool, a piece of coat hanger wire. Handy stuff that is. It poked the crap out of the draft hole, which was mostly dottle. Then a pipe cleaner went through and finally I got the drill started.

The rim and outside of the stummel were 'sanded' with a bit of green scouring pad. Very carefully the rim was cleaned. I may still go back with a hot iron and wet towel to raise a few dents in the edge of the rim, but it looks pretty good now. The outside was scrubbed several times to remove the dirt and grime and old finish. After drying, I oiled the thing with mineral oil. At that point it looked pretty good overall. I did buff it some for the pictures though. Now I have to bend the stem and smoke the pipe! I think I will use the hot sand method to bend the stem. I don't want to chance damage to the stem after all the work I put into it. And, I don't have another.
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38458445622_39581926a5_k_d.jpg

Oh, it was suggested that I might rusticate the pipe to make it look better. I think it looks fine now. I will wait on that idea. I haven't found another pipe like this anywhere (marked Gladiator), so for now I will maintain it as much as original looking as possible.

 

nevadablue

Lifer
Jun 5, 2017
1,192
4
Thanks! The stem is slightly smaller. I decided not to attempt reducing the shank right now. I will wait until I have a bit more experience with lesser pipes first. I have grown to like this one. If it smokes well, I may just agree to leave it alone and enjoy it. And, after looking at the example above, it appears that one isn't perfect either. Won't push my luck right now.

 

nevadablue

Lifer
Jun 5, 2017
1,192
4
Well, the pipe smokes great! I am pleased with myself on this one. I managed to bend the stem to my liking by dunking it in a cup of specially microwaved water. Worked fine.

I will just use this pipe as-is now. Wouldn't change it.
38508601001_df2ea4624a_k_d.jpg


 

nevadablue

Lifer
Jun 5, 2017
1,192
4
:D
She is a silk purse to me now. The ugliness has gone. The pipe is nice in the hand, clenches well and smokes great. Thanks for the compliment. I won't tell her what you said though. 8)

 
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