Toronto's Brigham Pipes Limited was a company in flux in the 1970s. After enjoying decades of growth and increased sales, the pipe industry suffered a global drop in demand, and by the middle of the 1970s, Brigham had truncated its main line of production pipes from seven quality levels to only five. Apart from the… Continue reading A New System Stem for a 1970s Vintage Brigham 424 Bent Billiard
The pipe on the bench today is a bit of a Canadian classic - a Brigham Shape 29 Author. Part of the Brigham lineup almost from the very beginning, the 29 shape is, in this age of larger pipes, rather a small version of the shape, especially when compared to contemporary cousins like the Savinelli… Continue reading Crack Repair and Restoration of a Vintage Brigham 629 Author
I was contacted recently by a gent who had acquired a Brigham Valhalla stummel some time ago and was looking to have a new stem fitted to it to make the pipe useable again. After a bit of discussion, the pipe was sent in to DadsPipes for the work, where I took the following initial… Continue reading Reviving an Early Brigham Valhalla
A fellow pipe lover here in Ontario sent me a couple of old friends for a bit of TLC. One of those pipes is this 1980's vintage Brigham 384 Squire. This round-bottomed bent brandy shape was introduced to the Brigham lineup in the 1970s and quickly became a fan favourite. This particular example was certainly… Continue reading Reviving and Re-Stemming a Vintage Brigham 384 Squire
I'm switching things up this week. Instead of a pipe restoration, I thought you might enjoy a sneak peek at some content from the Brigham pipes book. In this blog, we're going to take a closer look at Brigham Patent Era pipes, those made between 1938 and 1955. 1938 was a big year for Brigham… Continue reading A Sneak Peek at the Brigham Book – Patent Era Pipes
I have had this late-1960s or very early 1970s Brigham 3044 Oversize Billiard in my box of refurbs for at least the last year if not longer. I've checked on it several times over that period, but I've never been able to tackle the work it needed until now. The problem has not been a… Continue reading A New Stem and System Transplant for a Huge Brigham 3044 Oversize Billiard
The pipe on the worktable today is a good example of how Brigham made good use of old stock left over from discontinued product lines. I think this practice was very much in line with Herb Brigham's penchant for tinkering with pipe shapes and his son Michael's focus on efficiency and cost-savings in the 1980s.… Continue reading A New Stem for a Brigham 4W5 Freehand
Today's post is another trial of the replacement aluminum tenon/filter holders I designed and made in my shop for use in repairing vintage Canadian-made Brigham pipes. If you missed the earlier post on the development of these tenons, you can find it here. As I've mentioned previously, Brigham moved to the newer composite tenons in… Continue reading Major Stem Repairs and a New Aluminum Tenon for a 1980s-Era Brigham 365 Bent Acorn
I acquired this Bent Prince from the same vendor that sold me the Brigham Saddle Bulldog I wrote up back in July. They share the same honey-gold stain that really shows off the grain in this old briar. As this series of pics illustrates, the pipe was in overall good shape when I brought it… Continue reading Cleaning Up a 1960’s Era Brigham Prince for the Collection
Sourcing the correct materials to restore vintage pipes is a constant task, and one made more complicated as the years go by. The youngest of the Canadian-made Brigham pipes are now nearly 20 years old, production having shifted to France and Italy in 2001. At about the same time the original aluminum tenon/filter holders were… Continue reading Tenon Transplant and New Stem for a 1970’s Brigham 113 Prince
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