Tenon and shank repairs are often the bread and butter of pipe repair techs, and understandably so - the tenon is usually the weakest part of a pipe and can be easily damaged accidentally. That was the case with the subject of today's post, a striking Le Nuvole pipe in a shape I have dubbed… Continue reading A New Tenon for an Italian Le Nuvole Chubby Pickaxe
I was rummaging around the shop the other day and rediscovered a handful of odd parts that have been lurking around for some time. I didn't have anything pressing on the worktable, so I decided to have a bit of fun and see what I could create. The stummel is an oldie, though exactly how… Continue reading Having a Bit of Fun Salvaging a Frankenpipe Nosewarmer
Happy New Year, everyone! This post is deliberately going live after the holidays to avoid spoiling the Christmas surprise for one lucky piper. I was contacted by a lady who was on the hunt for a few vintage Brigham estate pipes to present to her partner as a Christmas gift. Fortuitously, I had a few… Continue reading Reviving a 1990’s Brigham 123 Bent Billiard in time for the Holidays
Sourcing the correct materials to restore vintage pipes is a constant task, and one made more complicated as the years go by. The youngest of the Canadian-made Brigham pipes are now nearly 20 years old, production having shifted to France and Italy in 2001. At about the same time the original aluminum tenon/filter holders were… Continue reading Tenon Transplant and New Stem for a 1970’s Brigham 113 Prince
Although some pipe retailers out there carry estate pipes, many of us find our vintage briars at antique shops, garage sales or similar places. Sometime, however, a new pipe smoker will inherit a cherished pipe from a family member. Such is the case with this Chacom Auteuil Bent Billiard, which belonged to the current owner's… Continue reading Saving a Burned Out Heirloom Chacom Auteuil 115 Oval Shank Bent Billiard
I found this Peterson pipe at a local antique mall a few months ago and finally had the chance to pull it from the refurb box and clean it up. As you can see from the attached pics, it had some cosmetic issues to contend with, mainly a heavily oxidized and mineral crusted stem. Made… Continue reading An Easy Yet Remarkable Transformation for a Peterson System Standard 312
This pipe was sent to me by a DadsPipes reader for some much needed R & R - read that as "Rescue and Resuscitation" rather than "Rest and Relaxation". As was explained to me by the owner, this Brigham Bent Acorn, along with a Sportsman model he also sent me, belonged to his late father.… Continue reading Burn, Baby, Burn! Rescuing a Heavily Scorched Brigham VIP 689 Bent Acorn
Welcome to Part III of this series about a "lost" line of unfiltered Brigham pipes. This time, I'm working on the second of two Brigham "Canuck" prototype pipes circa 1940s or 1950s. As I wrote about in Part I, the Canuck line was produced until the 1960s. Production pipes were fitted with a non-filtered Vulcanite… Continue reading Re-Discovering Brigham’s Canuck Line of Pipes and Rehabilitating Two Prototypes – Part III
In today's post I'll be working on the first of two Brigham Canuck prototype pipes I wrote up last time. This Pot shaped pipe, probably made in the 1940's or early 1950's, was certainly showing its age when I brought it to the worktable to start cleaning it up. The body of the pipe wasn't… Continue reading Re-Discovering Brigham’s Canuck Line of Pipes and Rehabilitating Two Prototypes – Part II
A DadsPipes reader and fellow Ontario piper dropped off a handful of eBay pipe purchases for me to go through before he added them to his rack and rotation. As many eBay pipe hunters have found, an estate briar listed as "cleaned and ready to smoke" may or may not actually be clean and ready… Continue reading A New Stem for a Savinelli Capri Root Briar 614
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