Bertram Grade 125

[Briar Lee]

With about the worst oxidized stem I’ve ever seen and a charred rim, $30 and $8 shipping and taxes bought the highest grade Bertram 125 I’ve ever seen.

This pipe is worth sending off. But I can surely improve it a lot, myself. Murphy’s Oil Soap and Everclear work wonders.

I’ve read of a pair of Grade 150s, but 125 is the highest I’ve seen. I own a Grade 95, a Grade 80 Rustic, and a 70S, and others. Any number grade Bertram is magnificent, the higher number the more goodern.

Probably a perfect strait grain, a later one priced to exceed $100 London Best pipes.

With Senators and Admirals and Generals coming in the doors a Dunhill had to be cheaper than the top grade Bertram.

Pierre Salinger cleaned out Bertram’s of JFK’s favorite cigars right before the 1962 embargo.

They sold Camels and ornate cigarette holders to the minions of FDR.

Stalin would get pounds of Bertram’s best blend in a diplomatic pouch.

Churchill bought his Havanas at Bertram’s for a dollar each.

Highest class tobacco shop in America, if not on the planet.



Look how much cake slows down these coloring to oxblood. In five minutes after I get this I’ll solve that.

 

[didimauw]

Beautiful pipe. Someone loved the shit out of that one!

 

[telescopes]

To get that pipe back to where it should be, send it off to Briarville and let them work on it. For $30 they will bring it back to where it was and you will have a new pipe. If it is destined to be tossed in with the rest of the basket of pipes in the tool shed, clean it up yourself.

 

[telescopes]

Beautiful pipe. Someone loved the shit out of that one!

My concern with the vulcanite on that pipe is that the oxidation is so deep that it will be a problematic pipe even after it is cleaned. A new stem is a cheaper fix especially given that the stem on those pipes has nothing to do with the value in terms of original mouthpiece.

 

[didimauw]

My concern with the vulcanite on that pipe is that the oxidation is so deep that it will be a problematic pipe even after it is cleaned. A new stem is a cheaper fix especially given that the stem on those pipes has nothing to do with the value in terms of original mouthpiece.

I wouldn't touch that pipe with a 10 foot pole. But looking at the pictures of it well smoked, beaten and abused, ohhhhhhh yeahhhhhh.

 

[telescopes]

I wouldn't touch that pipe with a 10 foot pole. But looking at the pictures of it well smoked, beaten and abused, ohhhhhhh yeahhhhhh.

Nor would I. I have only a small interest in Estate Pipes - My pipe collection is complete and it is primarily pipes I bought new. I have some estates, but most of them are pipes that could not be purchased new. My M. Kabik is an example - it is a genre of pipes no longer really made. Also, Dunhills with specific dates are obviously used. Of my used pipes, or pre-owned it you will - all of them were in great condition and if there was the slightest bit of wear on them, off they want to Briarville where they were returned as if they were brand new pipes inside and out. For example, a Lane Era Charatan's Make is going to be most likely an estate pipe. A Stanwell 91, the same. Oddly enough, the majority of my Marxman pipes with standard shapes and finishes are all brand new and have never been smoked. I take care of my pipes and they are kept in a pipe cabinet where they are routinely oiled and waxed. I don't have so many that I can't get to all of them and I have enough that I don't need to worry about ever smoking one so much that it will need a deep cleaning. I have some pipes that I would love to give to a good home. They are a Hardcastle Bulldog, a rusticated two star Lee, a nice Dublin Williard, as well as a few others that really, I just don't need although they are each excellent smoking pipes. It's just that I would now prefer to focus on my higher grade pipes that I purchased brand new from the beginning. I can't send them to @Briar Lee as he would immediately set steel wool to their finish and remove their stingers. So what am I to do?

 

[telescopes]

With about the worst oxidized stem I’ve ever seen and a charred rim, $30 and $8 shipping and taxes bought the highest grade Bertram 125 I’ve ever seen.

This pipe is worth sending off. But I can surely improve it a lot, myself. Murphy’s Oil Soap and Everclear work wonders.

I’ve read of a pair of Grade 150s, but 125 is the highest I’ve seen. I own a Grade 95, a Grade 80 Rustic, and a 70S, and others. Any number grade Bertram is magnificent, the higher number the more goodern.

Probably a perfect strait grain, a later one priced to exceed $100 London Best pipes.

With Senators and Admirals and Generals coming in the doors a Dunhill had to be cheaper than the top grade Bertram.

Pierre Salinger cleaned out Bertram’s of JFK’s favorite cigars right before the 1962 embargo.

They sold Camels and ornate cigarette holders to the minions of FDR.

Stalin would get pounds of Bertram’s best blend in a diplomatic pouch.

Churchill bought his Havanas at Bertram’s for a dollar each.

Highest class tobacco shop in America, if not on the planet.



Look how much cake slows down these coloring to oxblood. In five minutes View attachment 397518after I get this I’ll solve that.

View attachment 397507View attachment 397508View attachment 397509View attachment 397510View attachment 397511

The stem is not beyond repair. I am concerned that the oxidation has rooted too deeply into the material. You may be able to restore it back to black, but as it dries and is once again exposed to air and sunlight, the oxidation, like a bad stain in a carpet, will once again rise to the top. However, given that the stummel has value, a new stem would easily bring that pipe and grain back into the showcase that it should be.

 

[telescopes]

@Briar Lee Algerian briar is easiy sanded. Removing the charred rim and returning it to its original shape can easily be accomplished. If you have micro mesh pads, you can bring it to a fine smooth finish as well as restoring the grain on the stummel to a showcase look. Some pipe balm on the finish can add the correct moisture back into the finish to also highlight the grain. You don't have the equipment, but a nice ozone soak would chase away all the bad odors that I suspect have soaked into the briar as well.

 

[Briar Lee]

My concern with the vulcanite on that pipe is that the oxidation is so deep that it will be a problematic pipe even after it is cleaned. A new stem is a cheaper fix especially given that the stem on those pipes has nothing to do with the value in terms of original mouthpiece.

Bertram stems are delightfully chewy.

I’ve found them also to be very prone to oxidation.

Thanks to your chiding I’ve upgraded my buckets to new sealed Rubbermaid containers and they sleep in an air-conditioned and heated garage.


I own close to a dozen Bertram pipes now, and I’ve discovered one particular thing they all seem to have in common.

Unlike a Marxman, whatever oil cure Bertram used left the briar rock hard.

The briar may just be dirty, and a Murphy’s Oil Soap treatment clean it all right up.

Soaking the stem in mineral oil may release the oxidation.

They are easy to clean up.


Briarville is always a parachute if I can’t.

 

[Briar Lee]

@Briar Lee Algerian briar is easiy sanded. Removing the charred rim and returning it to its original shape can easily be accomplished. If you have micro mesh pads, you can bring it to a fine smooth finish as well as restoring the grain on the stummel to a showcase look. Some pipe balm on the finish can add the correct moisture back into the finish to also highlight the grain. You don't have the equipment, but a nice ozone soak would chase away all the bad odors that I suspect have soaked into the briar as well.

Bertram briar is some fairly hard stuff, I’ve found. I do have a micro mesh assortment in my pipe stuff I’ll have to try.

 

[telescopes]

Chewy vulcanite unfortunately is poor vulcanite. On several pipes I own that have that style of vulcanite, the oxidation went too deep and like a bad carpet stain, easily rises. I fear that you have one of them. However, Briarville does have some specialty chemicals designed to soak deep into the vulcanite - but my experience is that even still, it returns like a cheap B Horror movie.

 

[telescopes]

Bertram briar is some fairly hard stuff, I’ve found. I do have a micro mesh assortment in my pipe stuff I’ll have to try.

Reborn Pipes has some articles on restoring beat up Bertrams. It's worth a read.

 

[Briar Lee]

The stem is not beyond repair. I am concerned that the oxidation has rooted too deeply into the material. You may be able to restore it back to black, but as it dries and is once again exposed to air and sunlight, the oxidation, like a bad stain in a carpet, will once again rise to the top. However, given that the stummel has value, a new stem would easily bring that pipe and grain back into the showcase that it should be.

Betram sold General MacArthur his famous cob pipes.

Missy LeHand bought Franklin’s Camels there.

Bull Halsey and Ching Lee probably smoked Bertram pipes on the bridges of their battleships.

Robert Oppenheimer, Einstein, Hemingway, all would have been customers or given a Bertram.

And this one reads 125.

I don’t want to hurt it, you know?

My 25,30, and 40 grades are just outrageously righteous pipes.

Even an ungraded Bertram is super nice.

By the way, what shape is it?



Is it a quarter bent Apple, or a variation of an Author or a Scoop?

 

[tbradsim1]

Many yrs ago, daughter had 4 Bertram's with grade over 100 to sell for 600$, this Odem was 165 grader, bought the 4

 

[Briar Lee]

View attachment 397581Many yrs ago, daughter had 4 Bertram's with grade over 100 to sell for 600$, this Odem was 165 grader, bought the 4

There had to be not only the last Bertram but the highest number grade.

What bothers me, is that I was on the Capitol Mall in late July 1977 and Bertram’s was so close, and I didn’t know about it. They closed a couple of months later.

We paid $100 for a cheap motel about twenty miles away from Washington D.C. in 1977 and took a tour bus into the city.

I’ll bet they had a 250 grade or better at Bertram’s before they locked the doors.

 

[tbradsim1]

The owner was a Dr, he passed and his daughter was selling his pipes, when she said what the grade was I immediately bought them.

 

[Briar Lee]

The 125 grade arrived and was surprisingly easy to clean up.

100% acetone is a fine thing, very fine thing.

 

[Alejo R.]

Betram sold General MacArthur his famous cob pipes.

Missy LeHand bought Franklin’s Camels there.

Bull Halsey and Ching Lee probably smoked Bertram pipes on the bridges of their battleships.

Robert Oppenheimer, Einstein, Hemingway, all would have been customers or given a Bertram.

And this one reads 125.

I don’t want to hurt it, you know?

My 25,30, and 40 grades are just outrageously righteous pipes.

Even an ungraded Bertram is super nice.

By the way, what shape is it?

View attachment 397548

Is it a quarter bent Apple, or a variation of an Author or a Scoop?

Looks like a Prince to me.