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Restorations, Uncategorized

A Churchwarden Conversion for a 1980’s Brigham 129 Author

This was an interesting project for me, requested by the same piper that brought me the Brigham Sportsman Freehand I wrote about last time. He had been wanting a Churchwarden pipe for some time and brought me a handful of pipes he thought might make good candidates for a conversion. In the end, we selected… Continue reading A Churchwarden Conversion for a 1980’s Brigham 129 Author

Restorations, Uncategorized

Easing Into Things with a Quick Refresh of an Unusual 1970’s Era Brigham Sportsman

Hello, everyone, and thanks for your patience while I have been getting settled in the new digs. I'm starting things off with an easy one - a quick tidy-up of a 1970's Brigham Sportsman. There are a fair few of these not-quite-finished vintage Brigham pipes kicking around, but this one is a bit unique for… Continue reading Easing Into Things with a Quick Refresh of an Unusual 1970’s Era Brigham Sportsman

Announcements, Pipe Essays, Uncategorized

Things I’ve Learned About Restoration over Three Years of DadsPipes Blogs, Part II

Welcome to Part II of Things I've Learned about Restoration over Three Years of DadsPipes Blogs! I ended Part I of this series on the topic of Sanding and Polishing using both MicroMesh pads and buffing wheels. That got me thinking about all the things I've learned about using a buffer, so that's where we're… Continue reading Things I’ve Learned About Restoration over Three Years of DadsPipes Blogs, Part II

Pipe Essays, Uncategorized

Things I’ve Learned About Restoration over Three Years of DadsPipes Blogs, Part I

Hi folks. I had a chance recently to read back through the last three years of DadsPipes blog posts, an experience I found both interesting and informative. Apart from becoming more comfortable writing the blogs themselves and some technical improvements in my photography skills, I have noticed several changes in my restoration process and techniques… Continue reading Things I’ve Learned About Restoration over Three Years of DadsPipes Blogs, Part I

Pipe Essays, Uncategorized

A Pipe, Good Coffee and the Love of a Dog

I'm sitting on the back patio this morning, enjoying the first nice weather we've had for a while - a probably all too short break in an otherwise hot, sticky summer here in Southwestern Ontario. It's a welcome change, and I'm making the most of it with a good cup of coffee and one of… Continue reading A Pipe, Good Coffee and the Love of a Dog

Restorations, Uncategorized

Splinting a Broken Shank on a Dunhill Shell 3105 Straight Dublin

Here's another short tutorial-style post for a bit of quick Summer reading. This time I'm working on a broken Dunhill Shell 3105 Straight Dublin with a broken shank. Instead of a full restoration, this post will focus on splinting the break and making the pipe structurally sound again. Here is the picture I received from… Continue reading Splinting a Broken Shank on a Dunhill Shell 3105 Straight Dublin

Restorations, Uncategorized

Replacing the Mortise & Tenon on a Sultan Carved Meerschaum

Today's post is a bit different than usual; instead of a  complete restoration, I'm going to focus on a repair that is surely one of the most common when presented with a damaged meerschaum pipe - replacing a Push-Pull fitting, the small plastic/Delrin parts used to create a strong mortise and tenon joint between stem… Continue reading Replacing the Mortise & Tenon on a Sultan Carved Meerschaum

Restorations, Uncategorized

Salvaging a Burnt and Cracked Blatter Select Freehand

This is the second of two dilapidated Blatter pipes gifted to me by a pipe friend before Christmas. I wrote about the first restoration here. This pipe is somewhat larger in size and, as you will see, the restoration turned out to be similarly larger in scope. Unlike the first Blatter pipe, this one arrived… Continue reading Salvaging a Burnt and Cracked Blatter Select Freehand