One of the many benefits of belonging to a pipe club is the access membership provides to other pipe collections and tobacco cellars; this was demonstrated for me last November when the Briars & Bull Pipe Club here in Kitchener, ON held a Swap Meet during our monthly Smoker. Folks brought in pipes and tobacco… Continue reading Refreshing a Pioneer Block Meerschaum Bent Dublin
Happy New Year, everyone! It has taken me a bit longer than anticipated to get rolling on restorations and other posts for 2017. Surgery just before Christmas and renovations to my pipe room throughout December have delayed such endeavours until now, but I'm finally able to get back in the saddle and I'm itching to… Continue reading A 1940’s Brigham Churchwarden for the Collection
I picked up this meerschaum Poker on eBay from a fellow Canadian seller. I like to buy “local” pipes where possible for the glimpse it gives me of pipe history in towns and cities across the country. It’s also nice to deal in domestic currency every now and again! The stummel, which was in very… Continue reading African Meerschaum Poker Churchwarden Conversion
I stumbled across this Dunhill Tanshell on eBay near the end of the auction period. The (relatively) low bid price told me that there was probably something significantly wrong with the pipe, the auction listing, or both. Curious, I read through the auction description, which was almost ridiculously brief, but accurate as far as it went:… Continue reading Reclaiming a Hard-Smoked 1969 Dunhill Tanshell “K” Apple
They say life happens in threes, and I’m inclined to believe them, especially when it comes to my collection of vintage Brigham pipes. Not long ago I wrote about finding and restoring a pair of late 1970’s Brigham Norseman pipes, the first of that series to cross my path. The Norseman pipes were the rusticated… Continue reading And Then There Were Three – Adding another Norseman to the Collection
This Stanwell is one of the five additional pipes I purchased from the family that sold me the Danish Lot estate collection last spring. Presumably, these pipes were the go-to companions for their previous owner; keeping them in a quality leather pipe bag indicates a desire to have this selection of pipes close at hand.… Continue reading Sometimes Easy is Better – Restoring a Worn Ivarsson-Designed Stanwell RegD No Silver S 09
The Savinelli company has been famous for its quality pipes almost since its inception in 1876. Indeed, the Punto Oro series of classically shaped pipes were designed to compete head-on with those of English rival Alfred Dunhill, and carry a brass pin or “golden dot” on the stem in the same place as Dunhill’s famous… Continue reading Que Bella! Reviving a Savinelli Punto Oro Mister G 920KS
A lot of estate pipes require a fair amount of effort and energy to move from Thrift Store Decoration to Favourite Smoker or Prime Collectible. Every now and again, though, you stumble across one that seems to clean itself as the restoration work goes so smoothly. This Stanwell Bamboo was just such a pipe for… Continue reading Quick Cleanup of a Stanwell Hand Cut Bamboo Sitter
As the saying goes, “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.” I guess the same could be said for old pipes – they too are called to action, do their jobs uncomplainingly and are required to put up with a lot more BS than the average civilian. I suppose both also like to stand… Continue reading Old Pipes, Like Old Soldiers, Carry Their Scars with Pride – Rehabilitating a Well-Used Savinelli Nonpareil 9107
I found this somewhat battered meerschaum billiard at a local antique sale recently. It’s unmarked, so I can’t even begin to guess at who made it, but the Bakelite stem with orifice style opening puts the year of production somewhere between 1907 (the year Bakelite was invented) and the late 1920’s when orific stems were… Continue reading Undue Haste Leads to Shank Repair on an Old Meerschaum Billiard
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