I was recently sent several pipes for refurbishment from a gentleman in Nova Scotia . These were found on an estate pipe hunt through a local antique mall, and while they were in fairly good condition overall, they were all in line for some TLC. The little Billiard on the bench today was the worst… Continue reading Stripping and Refinishing a Patent Era Brigham 302 Billiard
If you are a lover of oversized or extra large pipes, then this post is for you! This Comoy's Extraordinaire 800 Straight Billiard was sent to me recently along with a few other pipes for restoration. There was a short laundry list of tasks to get this pipe ready for a new steward - a… Continue reading Restoring a 1930’s Pre-Cadogan Comoy’s Extraordinaire 800 Smooth Pot
I'm asked fairly regularly about where and how I source the estate pipes featured in the blog. I have bought many individually or in small groups from antique shops and fairs, but every now and then I buy an estate lot. Last summer I did just that, bringing home a mixed batch of about 60… Continue reading Reclaiming a Damaged 1960s-vintage Brigham 229L Large Author
This French-made Jeantet leather-clad Scoop came to me in an estate lot I bought last summer. At first glance the pipe appeared to be in good shape, requiring only a light cleaning to make it ready for a new pipe steward. First glances, however, are sometimes not as accurate as we would like. This series… Continue reading A Shank Band and a New Look for a Jeantet Leather-Clad Scoop
It's been a while since I worked on a pipe from my own box of refurbs-in-waiting, so today when I found myself temporarily in between other jobs, I dug through my pile of estate pipes and pulled out this 1990s vintage Brigham 303 Billiard. As you can see from this first series of pictures, the… Continue reading Reviving a 1990s Brigham 303 Billiard
Temporarily in between repair jobs the other day as I waited for a parts order to come in, I rummaged around in my refurb box and came out with a rather battered and neglected Bent Billiard stummel. An old "Pipes by Lee" briar, the original stem had departed long ago; I had, however, recently jumped… Continue reading Tangerine Dream – A “New” Pipe From an Old Stummel
This pipe caught my eye recently while digging through my box of refurbs-in-waiting. Made by Gardesana, this "Pecher" series Bent Egg is what I call a Mini-Warden, a pipe fitted with a shorter version of a Churchwarden stem. Here is the pipe as it looked when I first brought it to the worktable. Overall, it… Continue reading New Life for a Gardesana Pecher Bent Egg Mini-Warden
This smaller Peterson Canadian came to me in an estate lot I purchased earlier this summer. It was unremarkable at first glance, but I soon took another look at it after noticing the Peterson stamp on top of the slim oval shank. This series of pics shows the pipe as it was when I first… Continue reading Preserving a Piece of Pipe History – A Peterson Patent Era P-Lip 104 Canadian
About a year ago, I wrote about the rediscovery of Brigham's early line of non-Patent pipes and the subsequent restoration of two examples. I recently acquired a third Non-Patent Brigham pipe to add to the collection, this time in what Brigham called a Club shape, otherwise known as a Lovat. Here is how the pipe… Continue reading Reviving an Early Brigham Non-Patent Club
This pipe has been a project for a while, one that I have worked on in between other repairs over the last few months. The pipe in question, a Medico Medalist, had been knocking around the bottom of my refurb box for some time when I finally decided it was due some attention. It was… Continue reading From Junker to Jazzed – A New Vision for a Battered Medico Medalist
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