In somewhat startling contrast to today's pipe collecting and preserving mindset, there was a generation of pipe smokers who saw their briars as mere utility objects, tools for capturing and delivering the smoke from all-days blends. Bowls were cleared of dottle and ash by knocking them against the closest convenient surface, chambers were rarely, if… Continue reading Salvaging the Rim of a Very Knocked About Brigham 1-Dot
Anyone who has taken a look through past posts here or on other pipe restoration blogs will know that stem replacement is one of the most common repairs, and with good reason. The stem is where the (Vulcanized) rubber meets the metaphorical road for pipe smokers. Stems are regularly dented or bitten though by teeth.… Continue reading Tutorial: Let’s Replace a Stem!
BBB pipes are a pillar of old English pipe making, started in 1856 as "Blumfeld's Best Briars" (later "Britain's Best Briars") when an 18-year-old Louis Blumfeld took over the management of the Adolph Frankau Company. The pipe on the bench today, a BBB Ultonia 442 Rhodesian, screams "classic English pipe", and shares a lot of… Continue reading Replacing a Broken Tenon on a BBB Ultonia 442 Rhodesian
Pipes of the Year are a relatively new development in the marketing of smoking pipes. In the early 1980s there were just a few manufacturers putting out limited runs of special edition pipes annually. Today, based primarily on demand from collectors, I'd wager that the majority of established pipe brands participate in at least one… Continue reading Restoring and Re-Stemming an Ascorti Business 2004 Pipe of the Year
Pipe smokers can usually be sorted into one of two camps when it comes to pipe maintenance. On one side are the pipe stewards who go out of their way not to damage their pipes in any way. These folks may clean the pipe after each and every smoke, never ream carbon cake with a… Continue reading Stem Repair and a General Freshening of a Carlo Scotti Castello Old Sea Rock Chimney
I was recently sent several pipes for refurbishment from a gentleman in Nova Scotia . These were found on an estate pipe hunt through a local antique mall, and while they were in fairly good condition overall, they were all in line for some TLC. The little Billiard on the bench today was the worst… Continue reading Stripping and Refinishing a Patent Era Brigham 302 Billiard
A broken pipe is always a tragedy to a pipe smoker, and all the more so when the pipe is out of production. Such was the case of this Patent Era Brigham 105, the smallest of the marque's classic Dublin shapes. A touch of misadventure on a backpacking trip had snapped the shank off just… Continue reading Repairing a Broken Shank and Crafting a New System Stem for a Patent Era Brigham 105 Dublin
Shank obstructions are a fact of life for many smoking pipes, so much so that a long, thin shank reamer is part of just about every pipe tool on the market. Typically not much more than a length of stiff steel wire, shank reamers are designed to push through a blockage in the pipe's airway… Continue reading Clearing a Tough Shank Obstruction & Re-Stemming an Astley’s Straight Apple
Meerschaum-lined briar pipes hit the market around the 1960s and were very popular for a time. Indeed, some are still being made today, but this tends to be limited to Turkish brands since the exporting of raw meerschaum was banned in the 1970s. Some consider a meerschaum lining little more than a gimmick, while others… Continue reading Trash to Treasure? Removing a Broken Meerschaum Bowl Liner from a Lord Rusticated Pot
After a Spring and Summer of Hand Cut stems and special projects, it's nice to be able to write about a much simpler restoration. The pipe on the bench today is a vintage Peterson System 3 in shape 357. It was sent in by a fellow Canadian pipe lover for a bit of TLC. As… Continue reading Refreshing a Peterson System 3 Shape 357 Bent Billiard
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