I acquired this Dutch-made bent bulldog from Steve Laug of RebornPipes in a recent trade. It was in pretty good shape to start, which is a nice change from some of the estate pipes in my refurb box. It is stamped “Big-Ben” over “Grand Seigneur” on the left face of the diamond shank, and “15479S”… Continue reading A New Coat for a Big-Ben Bent Bulldog
This squashed bulldog was a very unprepossessing pipe when I pulled it from my refurb box. Dirty, dusty, and coloured a uniform dull grey/brown. I couldn't tell if the lumpy irregular look to the stummel was due to exuberant sandblasting or wretched neglect, the stem was oxidized and had a fair bit of tooth chatter,… Continue reading Freshening a Regis Super Grain Squashed Bulldog
My father died in an accident back in 1975 when my brothers and I were just kids. He was a pipe smoker, with a modest collection started with a humble One-Dot Brigham billiard back in the late 1950's. He must have liked it well enough, because by the early 1970's the bulk of his pipes… Continue reading A Real DadsPipe – Cleaning Up My Father’s Brigham 203 Billiard
A week ago, I published this post about my first “spare parts pipe” build, after which I was challenged by Steve Laug of RebornPipes to up the ante and create a pipe using three or more parts from other pipes. Not one to walk away from a thrown gauntlet, I accepted the challenge and started… Continue reading Challenge Accepted – The Frankenpipe Mark I
I scored this not-so-old estate BBB Luton billiard on eBay last week. It was listed as having been reamed and cleaned on the exterior, and looked pretty good in the listing pics. I took a gamble on an unfamiliar seller, and lo and behold, I won it. In due course, the pipe arrived and I… Continue reading Quick Cleanup of a BBB Luton Billiard
Several recent posts on RebornPipes and PipesRevival about CustomBilt pipes reminded me that I had a very similar pipe in my refurb box waiting for my attention. I found the pipe, but when I looked at the stampings, I discovered that it was not a CustomBilt at all; rather, it was stamped “Yello-Bole” over '“hand made”'… Continue reading Cleaning Up a Yello-Bole Hand Made, With a Bit of Learning Curve Thrown In
I pulled this Medico Double-Dri pipe out of my refurb box the other day. It had been rattling around in there for a while, and I decided it was time to do something about it. There are several well-known brands of pipes designed with removable and interchangeable bowls – the Falcon and Kirsten pipes jump… Continue reading Medico’s Answer to the Falcon – The Double-Dri
Hi everyone. Here's a quick mid-week post to share a DIY solution to every piper's perennial pipe storage shortage. I made this 28-pipe storage/display rack in just a few hours. I was lucky enough to find a 24" x 32" piece of 5/8" plywood in my garage, and a rummage through the fabric bin turned… Continue reading A Quick DIY Pipe Display
After a few more challenging refurbs, it was nice to change things up with a relatively straightforward one. This Mackenzie Extra bent pipe came out of my refurb box quite dirty – tarry rim, dings and dents, oxidized stem, etc – but even through the dirt one could plainly see that the grain on this… Continue reading Quick Clean-Up of a Mackenzie Extra 1452
Some pipe shapes jump out at you from across the room, grabbing your attention in the equal but opposite way other shapes make you wonder what the carver could possibly have been thinking. I was immediately drawn to this pipe when I spotted it on a recent estate pipe hunting expedition. The chubby bulldog reminded… Continue reading Restoring an Underwhelming Habitant Deluxe Chubby Bulldog
dadspipes.com 