I'm pushing this post out a little early this week. I head out tomorrow on a long-anticipated fishing trip with my brothers, but I wanted to make sure I left something for you to read while I'm (hopefully) reeling in some walleye! This is the next pipe I worked on from the box of Blatter… Continue reading Sprucing Up a Blatter Bent Pot
Here is the next pipe from the box of Blatter pipes sent to me from a piper in Iqaluit, Nunavut for refurbishment. This one is a nicely shaped rusticated Bent Egg, stamped “Quebec 1989” over “Blatter” on the smooth underside of the shank. The stem is original and carries the Blatter Red Dot. The pipe… Continue reading Refreshing a Blatter 1989 Rustic Bent Egg
Needing a break from all the Brigham and Blatter pipes I've worked on lately, I dug down through my box of estate pipes and came up with this Stanwell Buffalo. It is a Shape # 140, which Bas Steven's list of Stanwell shapes identifies as a "Small freehand, slightly bent, full mouthpiece by Jess Chonowitsch".… Continue reading Repairing a Cracked Horn Shank Extension on a Stanwell Buffalo
These two Brigham Sportsman pipes are the 4th and 5th of the seven Brigham pipes I purchased as a lot back before Christmas. For those unfamiliar with this series, the Sportsman pipes were roughly shaped, semi-finished and sold each year at the Toronto Sportsman’s Show as rugged, rough-and-ready pipes suitable for bringing along to the… Continue reading A Bevy of Brighams Part III – A Pair of Unsmoked 3 Dot Sportsman Pipes
This is the second of six Blatter pipes sent to me for refurbishment. Of the lot, this Canadian is the owner’s admitted favourite, and I can see why. The long, elegant shape is rather appealing, and the amber acrylic stem on this pipe is quite eye-catching. The pipe hit the worktable in very nice estate… Continue reading Repairing Old Fills in a Blatter Canadian
I was recently sent a box of six pipes for refurbishment from a gentleman in Iqaluit, Nunavut. All six pipes were made by Blatter & Blatter, Inc of Montreal, known at one point in the firm’s 100 year history as Blatter Bros. Established in Montreal in 1907, Blatter & Blatter has remained, by choice, a… Continue reading Freshening a Blatter One Dot Zulu
I picked up this Hardcastle’s Royal Windsor pipe in a small lot of estates sometime last year and it has been waiting patiently in my refurb box since then; in fact, I’d forgotten it was even there! When I rediscovered it, I brought it to the worktable for a good look. I’ve called this shape… Continue reading Reviving a Hardcastle’s Royal Windsor 36 Liverpool
This Brigham 503 Billiard is the second pipe I worked on from the lot of seven 1980’s vintage Brigham pipes I purchased before Christmas. Unlike the Brigham 562 Student pipe I wrote about previously, which featured a mix of smooth and rusticated finishes, this Billiard is fully smooth with a contrast stain that makes full… Continue reading A Bevy of Brighams – Part II: Refreshing a Brigham 503 Billiard
My personal pipe preferences, notwithstanding the handful of Danish-style freehand pipes in my collection, tend toward classic, English shapes. This ROPP Virgin Deluxe, though battered and bruised in the eBay listing, had just the classic charm that I can’t seem to ignore, which is a bit ironic given its French heritage. When the pipe arrived… Continue reading A Diamond in the Rough – Restoring a Well-Smoked ROPP Virgin Deluxe
Back in November of last year, I wrote about a meerschaum billiard with a loose bone tenon joint. The threads in the meerschaum shank had worn and the tenon could no longer get a firm grip on the stummel. My solution at the time was to build up the threads on the tenon with CA… Continue reading The Repair I Should Have Done – Revisiting an Old Meerschaum Billiard
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