Meerschaum, a soft whitish mineral, has been used to make smoking pipes since the early 1700s. It is easy to carve, will not burn, and, with time and use, turns from white to a rich, dark red/brown. On the down side, meerschaum is fragile - easily chipped, cracked or otherwise damaged - and due to… Continue reading Vintage Meerschaum Shank Rebuild and Re-Stem
Today's estate pipe repair project features a Kriswill Bernadotte pipe, hand made in Denmark by the factory founded by Karl Robert Kris in 1947. The Kriswill factory became a chief rival of another Danish brand, Stanwell, especially in the export market, but was hit hard in the 1970s by the worldwide drop in demand for… Continue reading Replacing a Triangular Stem on a Kriswill Bernadotte
Stem replacement is one of the bread-and-butter jobs for any pipe repair shop. I have fit hundreds of stems over the last decade or so, from relatively simple jobs using pre-cast stem blanks in Vulcanite and Acrylic to fully custom hand cut stems crafted completely in-house from Ebonite, Acrylic or Resin rod. As a writer,… Continue reading Replacing a Worn Out Acrylic Stem on an Armellini Verona 903
I'm always impressed by the vast array of pipe shapes and styles available on both the new and estate pipe markets. While many pipe lovers enjoy the classic Billiard, Bulldog and Pot shapes, others take great pleasure in the more unusual or esoteric examples of the pipe carver's skill. The French-made pipe on the worktable… Continue reading A New Diamond Taper Stem for an Interesting Grapevine-Carved Bruyere Extra
A long-standing DadsPipes client contacted me one day with an interesting project. As part of a large and ever-growing collection of pipes, he had acquired a very well used vintage meerschaum pipe carved in the shape of a hand holding a bunch of grapes. The laundry list of needed repairs was extensive - a good… Continue reading Sour Grapes – Rescuing a Vintage Meerschaum
It's always fun to come across an old pipe brand I've not heard of before, and even better if I get to work on a representative pipe. This RBC branded cased Bulldog came into the shop for a cleanup and a new stem and, unlike many pipes of this vintage, it was destined to be… Continue reading Cutting a New Acrylic Stem for a Vintage RBC French Briar Bulldog
Meerschaum pipes have long been known for their capacity to be carved into an extraordinary range of shapes and styles, from sleek classic shapes like a Billiard or Bulldog to fanciful smokable sculptures. The pipe on the worktable today provides a rather geometric take on the venerable Egg & Claw shape. As this initial series… Continue reading Cleanup and a New Stem for a Unique Egg & Claw Meerschaum
Working on estate pipes can present a unique series of challenges at the best of times, but when presented with a very old pipe the restorer needs as many tools in the repair arsenal as possible. I really had to consider all the options when this vintage meerschaum Devil Anse (ish) pipe arrived at the… Continue reading Saving a Vintage Meerschaum Devil Anse
In a perfect world, a repair shop has access to every part it needs and can get them from suppliers quickly and easily. Enter COVID and the accompanying supply chain issues, and parts that once took about five days to arrive now takes up to 10 days, assuming they are actually available to order. Unfortunately… Continue reading A Square Peg for a Round Hole – An Exercise in Working With What You’ve Got
This pipe arrived at the workshop recently, sent in from a pipe smoker in the Prairies for a bit of TLC. The subject is a figural meerschaum in the shape of a Sultan's head. The obvious issue was the broken Bakelite stem, which had snapped off near the shank. Less obvious before a closer examination… Continue reading Rehabilitating a Modified Sultan Figural Meerschaum
dadspipes.com 