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
"Step up, lad," cried Silver. "I won't eat you. Hand it over, lubber. I know the rules, I do; I won't hurt a depytation." Thus encouraged, the buccaneer stepped forth more briskly, and having passed something to Silver, from hand to hand, slipped yet more smartly back again to his companions. The sea-cook looked at… Continue reading A Birthday Pipe and a Pirate Curse
Regular DadsPipes readers will not be surprised by now to find out that the Stanwell Shape 19 is yet another Sixten Ivarsson design, and a classic shape in Stanwell’s catalog. Bas Stevens, in his list of Stanwell shape numbers, characterizes the design rather drily as “Bent, triangular bowl, saddle mouthpiece” - a bland description that… Continue reading A Bit of TLC for a Stanwell Brazilia 19
Dal has provided a great history of pipemaking in St Claude, France here. A post worth bookmarking, and a pipe restoration to be proud of. Thanks for posting, Dal!
I recently attended a large, semiannual antiques and vintage items sale about an hour away from home. It was one of those outdoor, rain or shine, events and so of course it rained the entire time I was there. Despite a golf umbrella, raincoat and waterproof hiking boots, I was wet to the skin within… Continue reading The Thrill of the Hunt and a Bakelite Learning Curve with a 1920’s Grundel Special Canadian
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
This is likely one of the last “simple” restorations from the Danish Lot, the estate collection I purchased last Spring. I'll be getting into the weeds with some trickier repairs on future pipes, but cleaning up this Stanwell Royal Guard was about as straightforward as it gets. The pipe arrived on the worktable in excellent… Continue reading Refreshing a Stanwell Royal Guard 01-M Freehand Pickaxe
This freehand is one of those rare estate pipes that require very little effort to make smoke-worthy. This pipe was either very well cared for or smoked only once or twice in its previous life. The pipe is marked “Stanwell” over “De Luxe” on the left shank, and “Made in Denmark” on the underside. A… Continue reading A Quick Cleanup of a Stanwell Deluxe Shape 62
This beautiful Søren freehand pipe is similar in shape to the Karl Erik pipe in a previous post. Both pipes are freehand sitters with plateau tops on rim and shank, and both have fancy turned stems, but of the two, this Søren takes the prize for perfect briar. Unlike the Karl Erik, which had a… Continue reading Cleaning Up a Stunning Søren Freehand Sitter
I recently returned from a family vacation to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. It was great to see family and friends again and do a bit of “touristing” with the kids before the back-to-school maelstrom hit. My father-in-law helped me track down this pipe at an antique shop not too far from the Confederation Bridge, which… Continue reading Restoring a Vacation Find – A Cased Bruyere Garantie Long-Shanked Billiard
dadspipes.com 