Wally Frank Bullmoose Restoration

I have a bit of an ulterior motive for showing off this pipe. Before I get that though, let me introduce you...
This Italian-made, Wally Frank bullmoose was obviously well-loved by someone. They weren't content with building cake in the bowl and decided to build a fair amount on the rim as well. If a little cake is good, then a lot of cake is even better, right? Aside from being a filthy, little beast, it was riddled with faded fills that the rustication pattern barely covered, the rim had a sizeable chip above the bead line on the front (possibly another fill), the shank face was chipped, and the stem was tooth-marked.
Speaking of the stem, it had oxidized in a way that I had never seen before. Rather than turning the yellowish/brownish/reddish color that I'm used to, it remained black. However, the surface was pitted and it was rough and chalky to the touch.
Here's the pipe before the work:

While working with the stem, I think that I discovered the reason for the weird oxidation. After removing the deteriorated surface, I could see that the stem was flecked with tiny metal particles. From what I've learned in working with these old pipes, that means that the rubber that was used was probably produced during the war years when they would grind up tires, studs and all, to be recycled into new rubber. That leads me to believe that the pipe was older than I at first thought. Possibly from the 50s. I've worked with a few of these before, but never one with this much metal. It's almost like a metal-flake paint job and the stem has a bit of a rubbery wet-look to it.
I stuck closely to the original color when restaining, but punched it up a bit to accent the grain. I really like how this one turned out. It appears to have almost a warm glow from within.
Here's the finished pipe:







Now, here's where we get to my ulterior motive. This pipe is not mine, but I very much wish that it were. I can't really tell you what it was about it, but I fell in love with it and I was a little heartbroken to have to send it home again. So, now I'm on the hunt for one of my own. I know that Tom Howard also made some of a very similar design and I would be just as pleased with one of those. So, if you know where one is or run across one in the future, I would appreciate it if you would let me know about it.

Stop looking at my chest, Dave. My eyes are up here. :x

Thank you for the kind words, gents!
@Spencer - I hear it smokes very well when the stinger is removed, but I don't can't say for myself.

^^^ Obviously, I need a haircut.

Al, I really didn't need to recut the ring. I used a form to preserve the edge while I applied the patch. Then, I filed and sanded the edge to smooth it out after it had set. The rest of the patch was left more or less unfinished to match the rustication.