The Brigham System has been on the market since 1938 when it was patented by Roy Brigham in Toronto, Canada. The original system consisted of a long aluminum tenon/filter holder into which fit a tube of untreated Rock Maple, which absorbed moisture from the smoke stream as it passed through the stem. Pipes from this… Continue reading A New System Stem for a Patent Era Brigham 229 Author
Author: Charles Lemon
Summer Hours 2022
With the long Victoria Day weekend fast approaching, Canadians are once again marking the unofficial start of the Summer season! As of Thursday, 19 May 2022 and continuing through the Labour Day weekend in September, Summer business hours will be Monday to Thursday, 9am to 5pm Eastern As always, you are welcome to Contact Me… Continue reading Summer Hours 2022
The Trials of Perspex – A New Stem for a French C.G.T. Elite
Working with translucent or transparent pipe stems can be a real test of patience and skill. As everything is (almost painfully) visible, there is no margin for error when drilling, shaping or slotting Perspex (aka clear acrylic). To complicate matters further, cleaning clear acrylic with alcohol can lead to the formation of cracks inside the… Continue reading The Trials of Perspex – A New Stem for a French C.G.T. Elite
Repairing an Acrylic Mouthpiece on a Vauen Enzian 4 Bavarian-Style Pipe
The Bavarian style long pipe is an iconic and historical piece of pipe history, bringing to mind long evenings by the fire, perhaps with a good book. In North America, at least, the style tends to be an outlier of sorts - you just don't see people sitting at a park bench smoking a two-foot-long… Continue reading Repairing an Acrylic Mouthpiece on a Vauen Enzian 4 Bavarian-Style Pipe
Revitalizing a Well Used Peterson’s Kapruf 56 Chubby Bent Billiard
An estate pipe can be a lovely and thoughtful gift for new and experienced pipe smokers alike, but sometimes estate pieces need a bit of TLC before they can be added to a pipe lover's rack and rotation. Such is the case with this Peterson's Kapruf, which, as you can see in this initial series… Continue reading Revitalizing a Well Used Peterson’s Kapruf 56 Chubby Bent Billiard
Major Restorations for an Early 20th Century HBB Gourd Calabash
The Gourd Calabash pipe, in its current form with gourd body, rubber stem and meerschaum or clay bowl, has been around since the Second Boer War in South Africa (1899-1902). According to this article on smokingpipes.com, the war led to shortages of briar in Cape Town, pushing pipe makers to find an alternative material. Gourds… Continue reading Major Restorations for an Early 20th Century HBB Gourd Calabash
And Now For Something Completely Different – Carving my First Hobby Block
In the tobacco pipe world, pipe shops can usually be divided into two camps - those that make pipes and those that repair/restore pipes. It is somewhat counterintuitive, but these two activities are very different and require different skill sets and different equipment. I've been repairing and restoring smoking pipes since 2014 but have never… Continue reading And Now For Something Completely Different – Carving my First Hobby Block
Pinning Multiple Cracks in an Otherwise Lovely Rattray’s Bog Oak (Morta) Pipe
Smoking pipes have traditionally been made from only a handful of materials - clay and meerschaum originally, then briar and an assortment of fruit woods like cherry and pear. Most recently, Bog Oak, also called Morta, has entered the fray. So what exactly is Bog Oak? Bog Oak/Morta is semi-petrified oak that has lain under… Continue reading Pinning Multiple Cracks in an Otherwise Lovely Rattray’s Bog Oak (Morta) Pipe
Tenon and Stem Repair for an Interesting LL Bean Bent Billiard
This is the second heirloom pipe send to me for work, along with the Medico Square Pot about which I wrote last time. This time I'm working on an LL Bean Bent Billiard fitted with an interesting Smokemaster filter system first produced by Briarcraft in the USA in the early 210th Century, and again later… Continue reading Tenon and Stem Repair for an Interesting LL Bean Bent Billiard
IPSD 2022 Weekend Sale!
It's that time of year again! This Sunday, 20 Feb 2022, is International Pipe Smoking Day and to celebrate, DadsPipes is pleased to offer 15% OFF ALL PIPES & ACCESSORIES Sale prices in effect from Midnight (00:00) Eastern Time Friday Feb 18 through to 8pm (20:00) Eastern on Sunday Feb 20. Grab your IPSD 2022… Continue reading IPSD 2022 Weekend Sale!
