This restoration is a bit special for me, not for the pipe, but rather for the refurbishing apprentice I gained on this project – my daughter. Interested to know more about a subject that obviously captures my attention, my daughter asked if she could help with a refurb. Naturally, I gave her free pick of… Continue reading Refreshing a Whitehall Washington Park Zulu, with a Little Help From an Erstwhile Apprentice.
This is another pipe from my recently auction lot purchase. The shape and size of this Rhodesian is, at least for me, very appealing, though it may be a tad heavy for those that like to clench the pipe in their teeth. It is marked “Treaty Bond” over “Made in France” on the left shank,… Continue reading Filling and Filing – An Exercise in Repairing Pits and Dents on a Treaty Bond Rhodesian
This is the second pipe I've tackled from my recent auction lot. It is a Dunhill Shell Briar which met a horrible, Anne Boleyn-esque fate – off with its head! I'm guessing most of the auction lot came from the same estate, as no less than four of the 17 pipes had similar injuries. Was… Continue reading Resurrecting a Beheaded Dunhill Shell Briar Billiard
This is the first of 17 pipes I bought recently as an auction lot. This Medico Gold Crest billiard pipe had sat somewhere undisturbed for quite some time - there were actually cobwebs in the bowl! - but it promised to be a quick and rewarding refurb job. The 14K gold band and birdseye hiding… Continue reading Sweeping the Cobwebs Out of a Medico Gold Crest Billiard
My apologies to Mr. Dickens for the title, but it seemed appropriate for this teaser post! Until now, I have made estate pipe purchases in ones and twos - a pipe here, two there, working on them one at a time, getting them cleaned and restored/refurbished before adding them to my rack and starting the hunt… Continue reading The Ghost of Pipe Refurbs Yet to Come!
Pipe makers and restorers use various types of bowl coatings for a variety of reasons. Some coatings are factory-applied to new pipes in the belief that they help protect the briar wood of the bowl from burnouts and assist in the formation of cake - that even layer of hard ashy stuff that insulates the… Continue reading A Simple & Effective Bowl Coating
This is a reblog of a repost of a step-by-step pipe refurbishing tutorial by Troy Wilburn I found on RebornPipes.com. I had an idea of writing my own refurbishing overview, but Troy covers the basics very nicely indeed, so why reinvent the wheel? - Charles
Sometimes, the best thing you can do with your time is nothing. In our fast-paced, plugged in, always connected, be there yesterday world, it can be increasingly difficult to find time and space in which to truly rest, relax, and recharge both body and spirit. This is where a favourite pipe and a good tobacco comes in… Continue reading My Kind of Summer Afternoon
I've found most of my estate Brigham pipes on eBay so far. This one caught my eye for two reasons - it was a model/shape that I hadn't seen before and it was a bit of a mystery! The listing pics were not of the best quality, so it was nearly impossible to make out… Continue reading King of the Brighams – Identifying a Presidential Series A Grade Freehand!
Here is another of my Estate Brigham refurbs. This one is a Brigham 4-Dot full bent. There is no shape number stamped in this one, but judging from the Brigham shape charts and size, it's likely a 424 (ie a 400-series/4-dot pipe in the 24 shape). Below is the Classic Shapes chart from the Brigham… Continue reading Refurbishing a Brigham Pat # 4-Dot Bent Estate Pipe
dadspipes.com 