La Fond's Vintage Algerian
GBD House Brand 9242
Restoration Project for September / Potential Rustication
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| La Fond's Vintage Algerian 9242 Chubby Rhodesian (GBD Made) |
La Fond was a pipe shop that opened in Destroit in 1898 and operated at least through the 50s. They got most of their pipes from GBD and possibly Comoy's.
This pipe is simply marked La Fond's Vintage Algerian (reverse side of shank reads) Made in France 9242. Most French Made GBDs of this period are highly collectible. The use of alleged turn-of-the-century Algerian Briar is the main drawing point. 2nd would be the wonderful craftmanship.
Overall thoughts on this pipe:
Briar - not noticeable scratched or dents. Nice carving and a pleasing grain. The color is a beautiful honeyed tan color. Clearly old briar. Rim of the pipe shows only light use / dings. There is a decent build-up of tar - hoping not to find any char.
Not pictured or mentioned on e-bay were some small fills on the front of the bowl. Will get better pictures once this is cleaned up for you to see.
Stem - fits perfectly if not a bit snug. Taking the stem out of the shank was a bit of work but cleaning it up a bit, it went back in firmly. I'm sure after it's cleaned it will be a perfect fit. Likely hasn't been smoked in decades. There is a small remnant of a stinger / inner tube in the tenon that was probably broken off years ago. Shouldn't effect smoking qualities. We'll see... Light chatter on the butt end of the stem. Stem is a thick taper stem with a small 'un-flared / fish tailed' end. This was a popular style in the 20s and 30s which is the vintage I'm guessing this is from...possibly the 40s but no later.
Plans for the pipe:
Will begin cleaning this pipe tomorrow and will post pictures as I progress. I will ask for your feedback when it's cleaned up to see if you think the pipe should be rusticated. If so, I will take step-by-step pictures and explanations.
Until then, here are the remaining pictures of the pipe from the listing.
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| Reverse side reads Made in France (over) 9242 |
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| Top of pipe. Oxidation on the stem + tar build-up on the rim |
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| Under-side of the pipe. Nice grain and color. |
More pictures taken 9/10/15 - pre cleaning. Will likely get this done before the football game tonight...
Looking forward to some feedback on whether it should be a rustication project or not. You can see from the pictures there is a fill in the front of the bowl - although it blends OK, it drives me a bit nuts.
On with the show:
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| Before picture |
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| Before - showing rim build-up |
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| Before picture side view |
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| Before picture - showing stampings |
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| Before - love this shape, Needs cleaned up! |
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| Before - shape and origin stamp view |
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| Before - Underside - nice grain on this pipe. Hypnotic even... |
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| Before - let's get cleaning. |
On to the restoration process:
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| 1/2 scoop of Oxi-Clean powder |
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| Fill nearly full with semi-warm water - note the brown spot in the bubbles where I threw the stem in... |
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| Get your gloves on - this is messy stuff. |
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| My Grandfather's (Wade) pipe reamer - don't see a brand name but I love this expandable reamer. Just be sure not to crank it up too wide or you'll risk damaging the side walls |
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| Initial carbon dust from the minor cake build-up. |
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| Bring out the special scraping tools my father sent my way. - Item #38028 5 Pcs Spatula & Chisel Sets - stainless, made in Pakistan (very useful for clearing out the bowl. |
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| Filled the bowl with Isopropyl Alcohol (91%) let it soak for a minute or two then reamed around the inside of the bowl with the tall spatula from the set. Wiped off the remnants on the paper towel. Fairly clean bowl considering how old the pipe is (40s?). |
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| Rim cleaned with a bit of Isopropyl Alcohol and 0000 steel wool. Should go easy on the rim not to take it down too far but this works great. Last bit I get off with a bit of saliva and 0000 steel wool. |
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| Initial bowl work completed - now it's time for the stem. |
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| Stem taken out of Oxi-Clean bath and wiped down with a dry paper towel. Not bad but needs some sanding. |
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| Combination of wet and dry 1000 grit sanding gets me where I need to be. Make sure you run the sand paper top to bottom on the stem instead of around the stem - could mark up the stem that way. |
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| Prepping the wheel with fresh white buffing compound. I get mine at Ocean State Job Lot in Massachusetts. |
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| I lightly (not lightly) take this to the bowl - I know - people might be losing their minds right now, but I find this to be a good alternative to soaking the entire bowl in alcohol (which I've done before). |
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| After one light (and complete) run on the wheel with white compound. |
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| After 1 coat of wax on my other wheel. Note you can see the puck of Carnuba in the background. I've had this for years and years. Doesn't take much. |
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| After two coats of wax - note the fill that is really getting on my nerves in the front of the bowl. |
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| Second coat rubbed in with my handy Space Invaders sweatshirt...still use it...can't fit in it... |
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| Bowl complete - three coats of wax and neatly rubbed in by the sweatshirt again. |
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| Now time to take the stem to the wheel with white buffing compound. |
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| Buffed and wiped down once from its turn on the white compound wheel. |
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| Finished product all waxed and wiped down by the sweatshirt. Very rich color. Stem cleaned up nicely. |
Conclusion
I like how it turned out but the rim needs more attention. It will likely need to be topped to get the scorch marks off the rim.
Having said this, I'm likely going to rusticate the pipe (like previous pipes I've done). Anyone have any thoughts or feedback on whether you WOULD or WOULDN'T rusticate this pipe.
Chances are very high this will be listed and sold either on this site or on E-bay. I enjoy rusticating and refinishing pipes and I feel this one would be stunning with dark brown and natural stain with a smooth top.
Anyway, I'll put it to the pipe community to set me straight!
Thanks for looking!
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