Blatter & Blatter have been producing high quality pipes in Montreal since 1907, established in that city only a year after Brigham set up shop in Toronto. I've wanted to work on a Blatter pipe for some time, so when this Red Dot Lovat came up on eBay, I snapped it up. It was listed in… Continue reading Quick Refresh of a Very Lightly Smoked Blatter Montreal Red Dot Lovat
I came across this Chacom 296 Canadian pipe at a local antique market, and though it was in rough shape, it had a few things going for it in my mind. First was the unique leather pipe case it came in that featured a snap closure just like Grandma’s change purse. The case is unmarked,… Continue reading Restoring a Cracked Chacom 296 Canadian
Regular DadsPipes readers will not be surprised by now to find out that the Stanwell Shape 19 is yet another Sixten Ivarsson design, and a classic shape in Stanwell’s catalog. Bas Stevens, in his list of Stanwell shape numbers, characterizes the design rather drily as “Bent, triangular bowl, saddle mouthpiece” - a bland description that… Continue reading A Bit of TLC for a Stanwell Brazilia 19
Dal has provided a great history of pipemaking in St Claude, France here. A post worth bookmarking, and a pipe restoration to be proud of. Thanks for posting, Dal!
My apologies on the wait for this post. I had hoped to get it done before our family vacation but there you have it. This one is for all you Danish Freehand pipe fans. The Danes invented Freehand pipes and have proven to be darned good at it. This example is a Karl Erik pipe,… Continue reading Refreshing a Karl Erik Grade 2 Freehand Sitter
This pipe was another one sent to me by a DadsPipes reader for a bit of “spit and polish”, this one coming to me from El Paso, Texas via a VERY circuitous route – when the parcel arrived, it was marked “MISSENT TO JAMAICA”. That explains the late arrival! The pipe is a Republic-era Peterson,… Continue reading Refreshing a Republic-Era Peterson Kapet X105
Just about the worst thing that can happen to a pipe smoker is damage to a favourite pipe. We wince at the smallest handling marks, dread rim dents and try our darnedest to keep our Vulcanite stems from oxidizing. So I can understand a panic reaction when something really dreadful happens to a favourite pipe.… Continue reading Splicing a Broken Shank on a 1960’s Era Brigham 384 Bent Brandy
This beautiful GOC President freehand pipe is one of a handful of non-Danish pipes I received in my recent estate lot purchase, hailing instead from St. Claude, France. It was an eye-catcher right out of the box with its gracefully flowing shape and horn shank extension. I wondered at first whether this might be a… Continue reading OMG, What a GOC! Freshening a GOC President Freehand
This old Brigham is the pipe I used when writing up my previous post on fixing common stem issues. To paraphrase the late Paul Harvey, here is the rest of the story. - Charles I spotted this old Brigham in a mixed lot of mostly basket pipes I bought recently. As many of you know,… Continue reading Restoring a Patent Era Brigham 232 Saddle Billiard
I picked up this Dr Plumb billiard off eBay for very little money; the pics below of its original condition will tell you why. It was in rough shape to say the least. The rim had been absolutely destroyed by repeated hard dottle-knocking against stone or brick. The scarred remains were layered with lava and… Continue reading New Life for a Beaten Dr Plumb Standard 9132 Billiard
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