Latest Antique Store Find- Need Your Input

[ghost]

I was able to visit one of my favourite antique stores today while traveling for work. They always have a few pipes for sale (Medicos and the like), but every so often I've been lucky enough to get my hands on a real sweet pipe or three. (This is where I found my first Custombilt, and also the "Black and Decker" poker some of you may remember...)
So obviously I picked up a couple of pipes today. I've done cursory Google and Pipephil logo searches, but I thought I may get a better insight here. Especially if I post a few pics. Here's what I found...
Pipe#1- Peterson Meer? This is what appears to be a Peterson Meer. The 'P' seems to corroborate it, but as you can see there is no band and the only stamping is on the bottom of the stem where it says "Great Britain". It doesn't appear to be a Pioneer Meerschaum, and I found one reference online (with no pics) that said that it may have been made by Barling...? Any thoughts?

Pipe#2- "J"
Okay, so I wasn't so sure about this one. I don't think it's a Jobey since the logo is just a "J" and not the full word. A search of the "J" pipes on Pipephil had no matches. I went over the whole pipe, and there are no other markings. This is another example of a pipe that at first glance I found it homely, then found myself buying it. It has a strange rim as you can see. I think after a good cleaning there is some nice grain to be had there. Has anyone seen one of these before?

 

[plet]

The second one could be a Jeantet, but I'm not 100%,still very nice find!

 

[ghost]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I may bump the J to next in line on the bench. I really have to remember to post after pics when I clean these up...

 

[ghost]

Just went back to the pipephil website, I think you're right plet. I think it's a Jeantet.

 

[captainsousie]

Yep, A Pete African meer and probably a Jeantet. With the inlaid symbol it might just be a Jeatet Signature which is a fairly nice pipe. A trick for seeing the markings is to wipe a little saliva where they should be, wipe it off with you finger and then look at it under a magnifier with some light on it.

 

[ghost]

Nothing that I can see under the magnifier yet, but I have to say again that there seems to be a nice grain under there. I may not get a chance to give it a going over until the weekend, but it's getting done next for sure.

 

[captainprophesy]

Very nice haul Ghost... Can't wait to see them all cleaned up and polished.

 

[rcstan]

Nice! The first is a Pete African Meer, looks like a 999 shape. From what I gather, most Pete African Meers were Systems and had the nickel or silver cap. Awesome pipes, I have one with nickel cap and I've another with silver on the way, from a most kind member of this forum ::
Second one has a cool looking bowl but I have no input.

 

[plet]

ghost I found some info that could suggest that the second one is a Jeantet "Signature", see link .

 

[ghost]

Thanks Plet, I'll see if I can uncover a signature when I clean it up...
Rcstan- I'm wondering if this one had the cap at some point? There's no indentations that I can see. That it didn't have one was what was confusing me at first. No matter, it's used but in great shape. Should be an easy cleaning.

 

[plet]

Just went back to the pipephil website, I think you're right plet. I think it's a Jeantet.

I didn't see your post, there ghost
I look forward to see them cleaned!

 

[ghost]

Okay, so the Peterson meers don't necessarily have the silver or metal. Good to know! This one isn't a system either.
I'm going to break my oath of only working on one pipe at a time and get both of these cleaned up right away. Impossible to resist the urge.

 

[rcstan]

rothnh, I stand corrected. I should have typed "most Pete African Meers I saw offered on eBay and other places".

 

[ghost]

Just a quick update. I started the cleaning on both pipes tonight. The inside of the stem on the Pete came clean in about 15 minutes. Awesome. It's in the Oxyclean bath right now, vaseline on the 'P', and even though it was heavily oxidized I expect it to be cleaned up by tonight and the pipe ready to go
The Jeantet...oh my. I don't know what it is lately, but I've had some real nasty jobs. This one is no exception, if not the worst one yet. I'm just starting to get it cleaned after two separate retorts and a lot of Q-Tips. Before I retorted, I checked the airway, and while I could pass a cleaner through it was tight. I took a light and checked out the shank and saw what looked to be a piece of metal. It was a stinger that stayed stuck in the shank after I removed the stem. Loverly. I managed to get it out in short order.
I'm not sure if I'll strip the bowl and restain yet. I'm very glad I didn't wait until the weekend to start, this one may take awhile.

 

[wildcat]

Great finds ghost! Good luck this weekend, enjoy!!

 

[ghost]

Okay the Pete is done. I didn't do too much to the outside of the bowl. I didn't want to risk damaging it, so I just scrubbed it with a dry toothbrush to clean it up. Light reaming of the bowl, shank cleaning, stem cleaning and voila!

The Jeantet is still being worked on, what a stubborn pipe! The stem has taken a lot of work, and I'm still not done. It's going to be worth it though. Pics soon.

 

[ghost]

Here's the Jeantet. I may work on the stem a little bit more, but I'm fairly pleased with how it cleaned up.

 

[ghost]

Thanks Roth! I love character on an old pipe, if the bones are there I don't want to do more than I have to. Having said that, I actually stripped and re-stained the J. It was coated in some horrible lacquer, bowl to stem, and most of the work was involved in getting that off. I used Fiebings brown, very diluted with Isopropyl, just to smooth the colour out again. We often talk about letting a pipe breathe, this one was suffocating!
I like the craggy look on the Pete's bowl compared to the cleaned up stem. It wasn't a very dirty pipe at all, just a little faded if anything. The previous owner definitely cared for it.

 

[shawn]

Looking good

 

[rcstan]

Very nice work! +1 on what rothnh said about the Pete's exterior. Also, be very mindful when using any alcohol for cleaning the bowl on that guy, it strips the dye off that Meerschaum like there's no tomorrow ( been there, done that 8O )