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
Following closely behind broken tenons on the list of the most common pipe repairs is the shank crack. Lengthwise cracks - those that run up the shank from the mortise - are usually the result of the same accident that broke the tenon and are typically easily fixed with the addition of a shank band.… Continue reading Shank Repair & a New Stem for a Brebbia Palladio
The hunt for hidden gems keeps a good number of pipe smokers and collectors wandering through antique shops, secondhand stores and other repositories of the past. One such treasure hunting prize, a John Brumfit Billiard, was sent to me recently for restoration along with its original box and sock. The manufacturer was unfamiliar to me… Continue reading A New Stem for a WWII-Era John Brumfit Straight Grain Billiard
Unlike the vast majority of estate pipes that pass across my worktable, whether found at antique shops, estate sales or, like this pipe, sent in by their current stewards, there was actually nothing wrong with this Savinelli Veritas 316KS when it arrived in my mailbox. Instead, it had been sent to me for a bit… Continue reading Refreshing a Savinelli Veritas 316KS
This lovely hand-made Danish pipe was sent to me for a new stem recently, and after a quick inspection, I could see why - the button on the elegantly slender oval taper stem had been worn down almost to nothing. The pipe must have been prone to sliding right out of its current steward's teeth!… Continue reading A New Stem for a Danish Pipe Shop 50th Anniversary Panel Brandy
This post is a bit different from most on this site in that the pipe on the table today was sent for preservation more than restoration. It is stamped simply "Master Bent" on the left shank and "Imported Briar" on the right. I have been unable to find any reference to a maker online,; if… Continue reading Preserving a Family Heirloom Master Bent
Leonard Payne was a British pipe maker who immigrated to Canada and set up shop in British Columbia. His pipes can be found on the Canadian estate market, though I'm not sure how many pipes were produced over the years. The entry on Pipedia.org is brief and to the point: Mike Glukler of Briar Blues, states,… Continue reading Cleaning Up a Leonard Payne Select Bent Billiard
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