Improving a "French Briar"

[SBC]

About a year ago, I picked up an unstained bulldog with a bakelite stem in an antique shop for $5.



The tenon embedded in the bakelite was threaded, and the female threads were cut directly into the shank briar:



At the time, I asked you all what you could tell me about this pipe, and the best suggestion seemed to be that it was probably a Saint Claude made for the American market to be finished as a "house pipe" by an American tobacconist. But this particular one, for whatever reason, never was finished.

Well, I finally got around to working on it.

For starters, I did not like a screw tenon depending on wooden female threads. It seemed to me that the briar threads would fail over time. So, I filed out the female threads in the shank, and set out to make the screw tenon into a push tenon.

To do this, I began by filling in the gaps between the threads with J-B Weld. (I stuck a skewer in the tenon and then into a roll of paper towel, to keep the stem upright while the epoxy set):



After this I still needed to build the tenon up further to give a snug fit, since I'd filed out the shank threads, so I did this with a few coats of clear nail polish until the fit was just right.

Next I took leather dye to the stummel:



(Stummel is on a wine cork)

The final two steps were

(a) to give it a buff with Halcyon II wax

(b) to shape and fit a nickel band I ordered from Vermont Freehand.

I'm pleased with the results:

 

[agnosticpipe]

Nice work! The band adds to the pipes appeal too.

 

[Hillcrest]

About a year ago, I picked up an unstained bulldog with a bakelite stem in an antique shop for $5.

View attachment 178355

The tenon embedded in the bakelite was threaded, and the female threads were cut directly into the shank briar:

View attachment 178361

At the time, I asked you all what you could tell me about this pipe, and the best suggestion seemed to be that it was probably a Saint Claude made for the American market to be finished as a "house pipe" by an American tobacconist. But this particular one, for whatever reason, never was finished.

Well, I finally got around to working on it.

For starters, I did not like a screw tenon depending on wooden female threads. It seemed to me that the briar threads would fail over time. So, I filed out the female threads in the shank, and set out to make the screw tenon into a push tenon.

To do this, I began by filling in the gaps between the threads with J-B Weld. (I stuck a skewer in the tenon and then into a roll of paper towel, to keep the stem upright while the epoxy set):

View attachment 178365

After this I still needed to build the tenon up further to give a snug fit, since I'd filed out the shank threads, so I did this with a few coats of clear nail polish until the fit was just right.

Next I took leather dye to the stummel:

View attachment 178367

(Stummel is on a wine cork)

The final two steps were

(a) to give it a buff with Halcyon II wax

(b) to shape and fit a nickel band I ordered from Vermont Freehand.

I'm pleased with the results:

View attachment 178368

How does it smoke ? Have you tried it yet ? What tobacco will/did you choose ? Enquiring minds want to know !

 

[seanv]

Looks great

 

[Kobold]

Awesome work!!

 

[mikethompson]

That cork trick is genius. Great work!

 

[Ahi Ka]

Awesome bro. Now you need to do this with that other turn of the century bulldog!

 

[camaguey]

I have one very similar. The problem is that it have on the stem a mint,eucalyptus,etc. taste wich i dislike. There is no way to remove that taste. It seems that it is related to the stem material. After a stem change for regular vulcanite , the funny taste disappear. Probably by that time they were experimenting with some materials to counterfeit amber and maybe initially it was not a problem but eventually after many years yes. Does your stem taste like that?

 

[huntertrw]

You have created a diamond from a lump of coal. Congratulations on a job well done!

Your thread brings to mind a question: Are Bakelite stems safe to use?

The reason for this query is that I have in my collection a beautiful Johnson's Handmade briar with a red Bakelite stem. I would very much like to smoke this pipe on a regular basis; however, I have refrained for fear of the spectre of toxicity. Your thoughts, Forums members?

 

[jttnk]

We’ll done. Great looking pipe!

 

[bullet08]

Lovely pipe!

 

[kcghost]

Hope you get the best out of this baby.

 

[UB 40]

Good morning SBC, I don’t agree with the comments. The bulldog was an unpolished gem, for sure, now it’s a pipe. A proper restoration is not what you did, imho.

That pipe has been a nice pipe with some decent grain and bird eyes. Now you covered it in a whole load of dark leather dye.

For me it showed a certain underestimated look for a true gentleman. The bare wood once cleaned up maybe buffed and polished to a certain shine surely would have fitted quite nicely to the yellow stem. Remember natural or virgin briar has its own charme, like some of the Bone briars presented on this forum show us. Maybe it was intended like that.

And I doubt that your work on the stem will be as durable as the original screw in solution (nail polish). Briar is a hardwood like oak or beechwood and threads worked in those materials are quite durable if handled with some care. Only the silver band adds a little blink to your attempt to “improve”.

No handclaps for that one from me. But you must do, what makes you happy.

Maybe you can lighten up the dark hue with some pure isopropyl alkohol to get the pipe back into a visual balance to the beautiful stem like it was before and point out the grain again.

Something like that:

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I think it looks great. I'm a little skeptical about your tenon fix, but this is your pipe. If it brings you joy, then you succeeded 100%.

 

[SBC]

How does it smoke ? Have you tried it yet ? What tobacco will/did you choose ? Enquiring minds want to know !

I actually haven't smoked out of it, yet! Maybe I will today. I'll report back!

 

[SBC]

I have one very similar. The problem is that it have on the stem a mint,eucalyptus,etc. taste wich i dislike. There is no way to remove that taste. It seems that it is related to the stem material. After a stem change for regular vulcanite , the funny taste disappear. Probably by that time they were experimenting with some materials to counterfeit amber and maybe initially it was not a problem but eventually after many years yes. Does your stem taste like that?

Very interesting. I actually haven't smoked this yet, but I'll let you know if I taste anything like that.

 

[SBC]

You have created a diamond from a lump of coal. Congratulations on a job well done!

Your thread brings to mind a question: Are Bakelite stems safe to use?

The reason for this query is that I have in my collection a beautiful Johnson's Handmade briar with a red Bakelite stem. I would very much like to smoke this pipe on a regular basis; however, I have refrained for fear of the spectre of toxicity. Your thoughts, Forums members?

I had the same concerns, but felt reassured by this older thread --

Bakelite Pipe Stems :: Pipe Talk

Hi everyone, For my next pipe acquisition (in 6-9 months time), i am contemplating to get a pipe with a bakelite stem. I did some light research and keep reading that bakelite is toxic. Also that cleaning it will be difficult with alcohol. Does anyone here have a recently made Bakelite pipe...

pipesmagazine.com

Apparently the danger is in sanding/cutting, and in heating, not in normal smoking use.
But I'm just parroting what others are saying!

 

[TheIronMonkey]

I wasn’t going to post, but, after seeing @UB 40 ’s post, I thought why not offer a slightly different perspective?

As it’s your pipe, I’m glad you made it into a fun project and are happy.

As an archivist and collector, it pained me to see the transformation—I thought the original state was already beautiful in its simplicity, and more interesting and unique in its unadulterated condition, but, I lean towards preservation with my various collections.

Is the tenon bone or wood? I wonder if the pipe is older than you think.

 

[SBC]

Good morning SBC, I don’t agree with the comments. The bulldog was an unpolished gem, for sure, now it’s a pipe. A proper restoration is not what you did, imho.

That pipe has been a nice pipe with some decent grain and bird eyes. Now you covered it in a whole load of dark leather dye.

For me it showed a certain underestimated look for a true gentleman. The bare wood once cleaned up maybe buffed and polished to a certain shine surely would have fitted quite nicely to the yellow stem. Remember natural or virgin briar has its own charme, like some of the Bone briars presented on this forum show us. Maybe it was intended like that.

And I doubt that your work on the stem will be as durable as the original screw in solution (nail polish). Briar is a hardwood like oak or beechwood and threads worked in those materials are quite durable if handled with some care. Only the silver band adds a little blink to your attempt to “improve”.

No handclaps for that one from me. But you must do, what makes you happy.

Maybe you can lighten up the dark hue with some pure isopropyl alkohol to get the pipe back into a visual balance to the beautiful stem like it was before and point out the grain again.

Something like that:

View attachment 178456

UB 40,

I can see where you're coming from. I like natural grain a lot, and love my pipes that showcase it. In this case, I didn't feel strongly that this grain needed to be showcased.

I just happen to be partial to dark finishes anyway, and thought a dark finish might contrast nicely with the honey-colored bakelite, especially with a silver (in this case nickel) band between them. The aesthetic turned out the way I imagined it -- which is striking to me.

But this was never meant to be a restoration. The pipe didn't really need to be restored -- it was perfectly functional. These were just modifications to my personal preferences.

As for my approach to the tenon, I never would have done that if I ever hoped to re-home this pipe. That modification is clearly red-neck. But for personal use, I preferred an easy route to a push tenon vs. what it was. We'll see how it holds up over time.

Thanks for chiming in!

 

[UB 40]

UB 40,

I can see where you're coming from. I like natural grain a lot, and love my pipes that showcase it. In this case, I didn't feel strongly that this grain needed to be showcased.

I just happen to be partial to dark finishes anyway, and thought a dark finish might contrast nicely with the honey-colored bakelite, especially with a silver (in this case nickel) band between them. The aesthetic turned out the way I imagined it -- which is striking to me.

But this was never meant to be a restoration. The pipe didn't really need to be restored -- it was perfectly functional. These were just modifications to my personal preferences.

As for my approach to the tenon, I never would have done that if I ever hoped to re-home this pipe. That modification is clearly red-neck. But for personal use, I preferred an easy route to a push tenon vs. what it was. We'll see how it holds up over time.

Thanks for chiming in!

Don’t mind my criticism. It’s just a different aesthetic approach. As I mentioned the Bulldog just seemed right to me, with the previous understatement in look and the adventure of handling the old threaded mortise and (bone) tenon. Maybe not an all day smoke. I would have treated it like a precious Oldtimer rather than turning it into a Toyota.

Sometimes things tell us a lot about the feel of times long ago.

But maybe what comes first is the fun we have in doing things, and suite objects to our own liking. After all it’s not a Picasso. Just have fun smoking it anyways.