I'm sneaking in a mid-week post this week. I just couldn't wait to share this one! It's not every day that a self-identified pipe geek like me gets to contribute to a new series by their favourite pipe maker, so when I was approached by the folks at Brigham about just such a project, I… Continue reading Everything Old is New Again
After 18 months of stay-at-home orders and other restrictions, we here in Ontario are once again being permitted to use recreational properties. And with Bass season officially open, it's time to hang up the shop apron for a bit and head out to the lake! I will be away June 30 to 5 July, then… Continue reading Gone Fishin’!
A filterless, or Non-System, Brigham pipe is a rare bird, indeed. The Toronto-based manufacturer sold non-system pipes alongside their patented Brigham System pipes featuring the Rock Maple Distillator from the late 1930s until the mid-1950s. By that time the vast majority of Brigham pipes sold were system pipes, so the non-filtered versions were quietly retired.… Continue reading Dent Removal and Some TLC for an Early 2000’s Non-System Brigham 530
Last week I wrote about a Meerschaum Canted Billiard stummel that had been lost in the back of a drawer for decades. Hidden away with that pipe was another stummel, the Orlik P9 Bent Apple that is the subject of this week's post. The stummel was in above average estate condition, with the most notable… Continue reading Reviving a Forgotten Orlik P9 Bent Apple
The pipe on the bench today was sent to me by a gentleman who has become a regular client of mine over the last year or so. We have been restoring the pipes in his extensive collection batch by batch and just when he thought he was finished, a few loose stummels were discovered at… Continue reading Meerschaum Rescue & Re-Stem
As some of you may be aware, I have recently started doing repairs and restorations for a Toronto-based pipe seller. Some of these jobs are more involved but many are straightforward projects like this Ashton Pebble Grain, which really just needed a bit of sprucing up. As you can see in this series of shots,… Continue reading A Quick Cleanup on a Lovely Ashton XXX 27 Pebble Grain Canadian
If you are a lover of oversized or extra large pipes, then this post is for you! This Comoy's Extraordinaire 800 Straight Billiard was sent to me recently along with a few other pipes for restoration. There was a short laundry list of tasks to get this pipe ready for a new steward - a… Continue reading Restoring a 1930’s Pre-Cadogan Comoy’s Extraordinaire 800 Smooth Pot
Not all estate pipes need major refurbishment work to bring them back to life, but, like everything else, benefit from regular cleaning and, every so often, a bit more involved TLC. The pipe on the worktable this time is a handsome Dunhill Chestnut in a classic Straight Billiard shape. It presented in reasonably good estate… Continue reading Refreshing a 1982 Dunhill Chestnut 51033 Billiard
As I've mentioned before, a broken tenon is by far the most common pipe repair, and for good reason. The stem tenon is the smallest structural part of a pipe and is subjected to a disproportionate amount of stressors as the pipe smoker removes and reinserts the stem in the shank. An overly-enthusiastic twist with… Continue reading Splinting a Broken Stem for a Castello Sea Rock
Pipe manufacturers are constantly looking for ways to make their products more appealing to a wider audience - new shapes, new finishes, new colours, etc. The Chacom Atlas Calabash on the worktable today demonstrates one such innovation, the dip-dye finish. First seen in the 1990s, the finish process seen here consists of a solid base… Continue reading Touching Up Peeling Finish on a Chacom Atlas 863 Calabash
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