This is the second pipe sent to me by the owner of the Ardor Urano S. Holmes pipe I wrote about recently. This time I'm working on repairs to a very nice Claudio Cavicchi Bologna 04 Bent Billiard. It's a larger pipe, the owner's tastes tending heavily towards over-sized Italian briars. Unfortunately for the stem… Continue reading Stem Repair and a Small Briar Transplant for a Claudio Cavicchi Bologna 04
Here's another short tutorial-style post for a bit of quick Summer reading. This time I'm working on a broken Dunhill Shell 3105 Straight Dublin with a broken shank. Instead of a full restoration, this post will focus on splinting the break and making the pipe structurally sound again. Here is the picture I received from… Continue reading Splinting a Broken Shank on a Dunhill Shell 3105 Straight Dublin
This is the second of two dilapidated Blatter pipes gifted to me by a pipe friend before Christmas. I wrote about the first restoration here. This pipe is somewhat larger in size and, as you will see, the restoration turned out to be similarly larger in scope. Unlike the first Blatter pipe, this one arrived… Continue reading Salvaging a Burnt and Cracked Blatter Select Freehand
This large pipe came to me for refurbishment in the latest lot from a fellow piper living in Iqaluit, Nunavut. I’ve worked on quite a few pipes for him over the last year, and this particular Blatter proved to be quite a challenge. To begin with, as you can see in the pics below, the… Continue reading A Thorough Scouring and a New Tenon for a Robert Blatter Signature Select Dublin Freehand
A DadsPipes reader contacted me a little while ago to ask about a Brigham pipe he’d picked up at a local antique shop. Initially he had planned to clean up the pipe himself, but after running into possible burnout problems, he decided to send the pipe my way for an opinion. I was sent these… Continue reading Scorched Briar and Unique Stamping Reveal a Part of Brigham Pipe History
When it comes to the regular care and feeding of one’s pipes, it seems that pipe smokers can be divided into one of two camps – those who treat their pipes well and those that do not. In the first camp you will find people who clean their briar, meer or cob before it blocks… Continue reading Rescuing a Cracked & Beaten 1960 Dunhill Shell Briar 142 Dublin
Here is another quick Summer pipe refurbishment, this time a Jarl 733 Egg. I’ve come across a few Jarl pipes, but there’s not a lot of information out there about the brand. According to an entry on pipedia.org, Jarl pipes were made by Niels Mogens Jørgensen in a little factory in the town of Bramdrupdam,… Continue reading Freshening a Jarl 733 Egg
It’s been a while since I worked on a pipe like this. This Regis Billiard is a good example of the sort of estate pipe commonly found at antique fairs and flea markets. A little worn, a little gouged, with a bowl full of cake and a stem that doesn’t fit quite properly. Perhaps there’s… Continue reading Salvaging a Hard Used Regis Super Grain 139 Billiard
The Brigham Shape 18 Pear is quickly becoming one of my favourites; my very first pipe purchase back in university was a 2 Dot Pear, and it’s still in my rack and regular rotation. I’ve since added a 118, the restoration of which I’ve written about here, and now this 4-Dot version. The pipe arrived… Continue reading A Bevy of Brighams IV – Repairing Heat Fissures in a 1980’s Brigham 418 Pear
This larger Ardor pipe belongs to a fellow pipe club member who asked me to clean it up for him. It is the first Ardor I’ve worked on, so I did a bit of research to bring myself up to speed on the brand. The company that would become Ardor Pipes was founded in 1911… Continue reading Repairing a Near Burn-Out in an Ardor Giove Fantasy
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