Over the years, I have had the pleasure of working on some truly vintage, museum-quality pipes, but never one is as good starting condition as the subject of today's post, an early Peterson Patent System pipe that predates the now famous Peterson P-Lip by three years. As you can see from this initial series of… Continue reading Crafting a Replica Stem for an 1895 Peterson Patent System Pipe
There is an old adage that tiny problems become large problems if left unattended, and the pipe on the bench this week is a prime example of this truism. This Savinelli Freehand Dublin was clearly a favourite of its steward but maintenance and repairs were put off, allowing hairline cracks down both sides of the… Continue reading Reviving a Hard Ridden Savinelli Freehand Bent Dublin
One of the fun parts of running a pipe repair and restoration business is working on pipes that I would otherwise never get to see. This early Dunhill Patent Shell Briar is just such a pipe, send in to DadsPipes for restoration as part of a larger lot of older Dunhills. As this initial series… Continue reading Restoring an Early Patent Dunhill Shell Briar Army Billiard
The Peterson P-Lip stem is rather famous in the pipe world. Patented by Charles Peterson in 1898, the stem design incorporates a tapered airway and a unique button shape featuring an airway that exits the stem on top of the button rather than through the end of the stem. This image, taken from Pipedia.org, shows… Continue reading Crafting A Hand Cut P-Lip Army Mount Stem for a Peterson System Standard 301
Every pipe smoker has a favourite pipe. It's almost inevitable, I think, as people tend to find something that works for them - a particular button design, width or height, a bowl with just the right capacity or size to fit their needs the majority of the time. Have a look at any pipe lover's… Continue reading Major Repairs to a Much Loved Peterson Aran 68
Some pipe lovers really enjoy a shiny pipe, something that pipe makers have recognized for decades. One common way to provide a low-maintenance, high shine finish to briar pipes is to add a gloss topcoat over the colour coat during finishing. While a topcoat maintains a pipe's shine for quite a while, it inevitably begins… Continue reading Refinishing a Peeling Peterson Killarney 65 Bent Billiard
As a restorer and pipe repairman, I am often asked about the value of a particular pipe. On the surface this is a straightforward question about potential resale value, but when one digs into things a bit further, the definition of "value" becomes quite a bit more complicated. Take today's pipe, a Medico VFQ Apple,… Continue reading A Complete Bowl to Button Restoration of an Heirloom Medico VFQ
Hard to believe that Summer is gone and Autumn is well upon us. Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends and fellow pipe enthusiasts! For many North American pipe lovers, Autumn is a prime season for outdoor pipes, when cooler weather prompts the switch from lighter blends to more full-flavoured pipe mixtures. Whatever is in… Continue reading Happy Thanksgiving!
As one might imagine, the majority of the pipes sent in to me for repair or restoration are fairly new, at least in pipe terms, dating from the Post-WWII years through to the present day. Every now and then, however, I get the chance to work with a genuinely old pipe like this 1902 Loewe… Continue reading Crafting a New Orific Stem for a 1902 Loewe & Co Army Mount Meerschaum
One of the things I enjoy most about operating a web-based business is that I never know where my next job will come from. Nearly a decade after first hanging my shingle out, about half of the repair and restoration projects that arrive on the bench are from domestic clients across Canada; the other half… Continue reading Rebuilding a Scorched & Shattered Dunhill Cumberland Dublin
dadspipes.com 