I've collected a few Brigham Shape 26 Bent Bulldog pipes over the years. The shape is one of my favourites, and was produced at every level in the Brigham range except the entry-grade 100 series. I had examples of the shape in 3-, 4-, and 5-Dot versions, so when I had the opportunity to acquire… Continue reading Completing My Set of Brigham Bent Bulldogs
This King's Ransom pipe is another from my recent haul of estate pipes at a local antique market. It is stamped “King's Ransom” over “London Made” on the top of the shank, and “604” on the bottom. Unfamiliar with this marque, and finding nothing online, I emailed Steve Laug of RebornPipes, who linked me to… Continue reading Refreshing a Comoy’s King’s Ransom Bent Dublin
This pipe came to me via a recent eBay auction all the way from Israel. I usually try to stay a bit closer to home in my buying, but the prospect of adding a new Patent Era pipe shape to my Brigham collection had my mouse hand clicking “Bid Now” on this one. The seller… Continue reading Re-Stemming a Repatriated Patent Era Brigham 273 Panel Billiard
This pipe restoration was a bit of a challenge, though not for the reason you might think. The refurb work was actually very straightforward and went smoothly but for one bump in the road. The challenge here rested in deciphering the brand information and tracking down the maker. The pipe is a straight Dublin shape.… Continue reading Researching and Reviving a Peter Piper by GBD
The door opened and a man walked into the bar, pausing briefly in the doorway to allow his eyes to adapt to the dim light inside. The place was what optimists would euphemistically call a dive. The establishment was empty except for a few drunks and a large, bored-looking man behind the counter wiping glasses… Continue reading Mission Impossible: Operation Long Shot
I purchased this little BBB 2-Star pipe on eBay quite a while ago, but was busy with other things when it arrived. I put it in my box of pipes to refurbish and forgot totally about it until it surfaced today. It looked like a quick cleanup so I pulled it out and gave it… Continue reading A Quick Cleanup of a Forgotten BBB 2-Star Small Apple
Hunting for estate pipes to refurbish has its ups and downs. Back in the heyday 1950s and 60s, almost every man had a pipe somewhere, which created a steady supply of pipes needing repair. Nowadays we refurbishers must be more adventurous, wading through the flotsam and jetsam of antique shops, second-hand stores and estate sales… Continue reading The Burn Unit – Reclaiming a Scavenged Danish Sovereign Rhodesian
This is the first refurbishment of a half dozen pipes my older daughter and I found at a local antique sale recently. The clover logo on the stem clearly identified the pipe as a Kaywoodie, but it was only at home under better lighting that we spotted the "Made in England" stamp on the right… Continue reading Smartening Up an English Kaywoodie Standard
They say that wait times at your local hospital Emergency Room are bad, but I think this case proves that some victims wait longer than others. The patient in question had obviously been lingering between life and death for some time before I encountered it on my operating table. The question was could I save… Continue reading A Bulldog with a Concussion – Emergency Surgery for a Brigham 526
I had the opportunity to add this Patent Era (1938-1955) Brigham 302 billiard to my collection recently. The online auction listing by an Ontario antique dealer described the pipe as in “great used condition”. The pics, though darker and more shadowy than I would have deemed acceptable in one of my sales, looked ok, so… Continue reading Reviving a Tired Patent Era Brigham 302
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