This pipe restoration was a bit of a challenge, though not for the reason you might think. The refurb work was actually very straightforward and went smoothly but for one bump in the road. The challenge here rested in deciphering the brand information and tracking down the maker. The pipe is a straight Dublin shape.… Continue reading Researching and Reviving a Peter Piper by GBD
The door opened and a man walked into the bar, pausing briefly in the doorway to allow his eyes to adapt to the dim light inside. The place was what optimists would euphemistically call a dive. The establishment was empty except for a few drunks and a large, bored-looking man behind the counter wiping glasses… Continue reading Mission Impossible: Operation Long Shot
I purchased this little BBB 2-Star pipe on eBay quite a while ago, but was busy with other things when it arrived. I put it in my box of pipes to refurbish and forgot totally about it until it surfaced today. It looked like a quick cleanup so I pulled it out and gave it… Continue reading A Quick Cleanup of a Forgotten BBB 2-Star Small Apple
Hunting for estate pipes to refurbish has its ups and downs. Back in the heyday 1950s and 60s, almost every man had a pipe somewhere, which created a steady supply of pipes needing repair. Nowadays we refurbishers must be more adventurous, wading through the flotsam and jetsam of antique shops, second-hand stores and estate sales… Continue reading The Burn Unit – Reclaiming a Scavenged Danish Sovereign Rhodesian
Hi everyone. A quick note of apology for anyone trying to view the site between about 8:30PM and 9:00PM EST this evening (26 Jan). I've made the bold move of registering dadspipes.com as the new URL for the blog. The good folks at WordPress are still hosting the site, and will redirect any visitors using… Continue reading Moving to a New Domain
This is the first refurbishment of a half dozen pipes my older daughter and I found at a local antique sale recently. The clover logo on the stem clearly identified the pipe as a Kaywoodie, but it was only at home under better lighting that we spotted the "Made in England" stamp on the right… Continue reading Smartening Up an English Kaywoodie Standard
Tampers are an often overlooked yet essential part of pipe paraphernalia. We fuss and argue over matches, lighters, pouches, bags, racks and stands but no one really seems to get that fired up over a tamper. Perhaps it's because just about anything can be used as a pipe tamper as long as it meets certain… Continue reading A Quick Budget Tamper Project
They say that wait times at your local hospital Emergency Room are bad, but I think this case proves that some victims wait longer than others. The patient in question had obviously been lingering between life and death for some time before I encountered it on my operating table. The question was could I save… Continue reading A Bulldog with a Concussion – Emergency Surgery for a Brigham 526
I had the opportunity to add this Patent Era (1938-1955) Brigham 302 billiard to my collection recently. The online auction listing by an Ontario antique dealer described the pipe as in “great used condition”. The pics, though darker and more shadowy than I would have deemed acceptable in one of my sales, looked ok, so… Continue reading Reviving a Tired Patent Era Brigham 302
Charles Lemon lives in Eastern Canada and Steve Laug lives in Western Canada. Connecting them across the distance is a common passion for restoring old pipes. Both men find beauty and pleasure in the work of restoration, and share their work on their respective blogs. Charles started and maintains DadsPipes – exploring the art of… Continue reading The When and Zen of Pipe Restoration
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