I’ve been sitting on this restoration for a while, mainly because it took some time for me to come to grips with the pipe’s pedigree. The pipe in question is a Stanwell Collectors Piece, a special series of pipes issued during the company’s “Regd. No.” era (roughly 1948 – 1970) and apparently quite rare in… Continue reading A Rare Find – An Early Ivarsson Pickaxe Stanwell Collectors Piece
This is another of my recent antique fair finds. I added this Post-Patent Era (1956-69) Brigham Executive (3 Dot Vertical) 609 Apple to my bag along with the pair of Brigham Norsemen I wrote up last week. It was a good hunting trip! The Brigham Executive grade of pipe, pinned with 3 vertically aligned Dots,… Continue reading Refreshing a Post-Patent Era Brigham Executive 609 Apple
Old friends, Sat on their park bench Like bookends. - Simon & Garfunkel, Old Friends Even a casual glance through the posts here at DadsPipes will quickly identify me as the vintage Brigham pipe fan that I am. I blame it on my father, who is, of course, not here to defend himself and therefore… Continue reading Bookends! A Pair of 1970’s Brigham Norseman Pipes
When I first pulled this pipe from my refurb box, I thought I was looking at another Danish design. It was only after taking a closer look that I realized it was, in fact, an Italian pipe, a Savinelli Nonpareil 9904, which Savinelli describes as a Bent Dublin. The pipe is stamped “Savinelli” over “Nonpareil”… Continue reading Cleanup of a Savinelli Nonpareil Smooth 9904 Bent Dublin
The aroma of a pipe is one of those olfactory experiences that can thrill the senses and trigger a flood of memories and emotions - chats with Grampa on the front porch, the texture of the bench seat in an aluminum fishing boat, the scent of a campfire or the warm hazy aftermath of Christmas… Continue reading Deghosting a Stinky Champagne by Savinelli 606KS
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
I actually pulled this pipe out of the box of waiting estate pipes quite some time ago, getting part way through the restoration and then leaving it on my desk for several weeks before finally coming back to it. Some pipes just seem to need time on the worktable while I putter with other projects… Continue reading Restoring a Well-Loved Stanwell Bamboo Peewit
Having served in the Canadian Forces Reserve during my university days, I'm a big fan of all things Army, including military mount pipes, so when this Nino Rossi Sterling 167 hit my worktable, I was quite excited to see what lay under the layers of tar and tarnish. This pipe was obviously a favourite of… Continue reading Rehabilitating a Well-Used Nino Rossi Sterling Spigot 167
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
After working on the sandblasted English Kaywoodie La Roche 729 Dublin written about here, I've been keeping my eyes open for a Comoy's 623 shape to confirm or disprove my theory that the two pipes share more than a passing amount of DNA. When this Comoy's Skipper came up on eBay, I placed my bid… Continue reading A Diamond in the Rough – Restoring a Comoy’s Skipper 623
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