Charatan's Make 109 Rhodesian Restoration

[ssjones]

This Charatan Rhodesian Shape 109 shape showed up on Ebay last weekend. I don't often see this shape, particularly without the Double-Comfort stem.

I don't have my Charatan knowledge, so it was interesting to find out about this finish, which was known as a "rough grade". The pipes small size was also a factor in my purchase as I often find most Charatan bulldogs to be too large.
The stem took some work, but overall it was a fairly simple restoration. I detailed all of the steps on the Reborn Pipes blog.

http://rebornpipes.wordpress.com/2013/08/23/charatans-make-109-rhodesian-restoration/
Here are some before shots:





And finished:

 

[pruss]

Way to go Al! I envy your ability to pull out tooth chatter and indentation. I'm still trying to figure out how to do that consistently. Another nice piece of work mate.
-- Pat

 

[lestrout]

Al - most bodacious. Will that black goop fix a hole and broken out slot in a stem?
hp

les

 

[pitchfork]

Wow. Nicely done on the stem.
Nice pipe, too!

 

[captainsousie]

Beautiful pipe and great resto. I'm going to have to get me some of that black superglue.

 

[ssjones]

Thanks guys, it was fun to dig into the nomenclature on this one. I'm smoking it this morning, what a great little pipe.

Al - most bodacious. Will that black goop fix a hole and broken out slot in a stem?
hp

les

Les: Possibly. I did repair a hole in a stem of a Wellington system pipe (top of the bend) recently. Shoot me some pix or mail me the stem, I can give it a shot.

 

[petes03]

Nice job, and nice pipe!

 

[rmason]

Wow Al that pipe looks brand new and beautiful, and how did you fix the teeth marks in the stem?

~Ron

 

[papipeguy]

Al, I thought Rhodesian's have a round strummel and bulldog's are square. Nice job, BTW.

 

[kashmir]

Perfect stem work there, Al. Great finish and shape on that one too.

 

[ssjones]

Al, I thought Rhodesian's have a round strummel and bulldog's are square. Nice job, BTW.

Charatan calls the shape 109 a Rhodesian in their catalogs, but the pipe came with diamond or round shank/stems. I would normally also call this a bulldog shape.

Wow Al that pipe looks brand new and beautiful, and how did you fix the teeth marks in the stem?

~Ron

The waves on top were minimized (still faint waves) with a combination of heat to raise the lowered impressions and then sanding. I was fortunate, the stem material around the button was quite thick, which gave me some room to sand out and smooth some of the marks. The black superglue product fixed the issues under the button, which were too severe to lift out.

 

[durham270]

That stem works looks extra amazing! Great restore!

 

[trailspike48]

Nice job on that stem. I recently replaced a stem on a Sav Autograph. I saved the old one and with your technique I can probably save it. Thanks for the lesson.

 

[ssjones]

thanks Trailspike, good luck with your Sav stem. this little Dog has become one of my go-to pipes. i'd love to find a smooth finish 109, if such a thing exists.

 

[uberam3rica]

I love Rhodesians, bulldogs too. I'm really liking the finish on that one.

 

[ssjones]

The "Rough" grade Charatans were made with a mix of blasted briar and rustification.