One of the fun parts about pipe restoration is not knowing exactly what will show up in the shop. Will the next pipe be a Dunhill ODA, a huge artisan grade "War Club" or something more delicate, like the diminutive Frank Amberloid Bulldog that is the subject of today's post? Here is the pipe as… Continue reading Back From the Brink: A New Lease of Life for a Vintage Frank Amberloid Cased Bulldog
Over the years, I have worked on many older pipes passed down from one generation to the next. For their stewards, these pipes are tangible links to the past, evoking memories of significant people, places and events in their lives. The pipe on the bench today is just such a pipe, this time in the… Continue reading Treading the Line Between Restoration & Preservation of a Family Heirloom Pipe
I had a bit of down time in the shop over the Christmas holidays so I decided to have a bit of fun working up a stray stummel and a few other parts into a FrankenPipe. I first came across this term on Steve Laug's seminal pipe restoration site RebornPipes, used to indicate a functional… Continue reading New Year, New FrankenPipe
As you might guess after reading a few blog posts here, I really like estate pipes. Beautiful and functional in their own right, estate pipes also have a direct connection to the past, an attribute prized by many collectors. On the bench today is a lovely estate Dunhill, which arrived at DadsPipes with a rather… Continue reading A New Stem and a Cleanup for a 1986 Dunhill 5110
The art of estate pipe restoration is constantly evolving as creative restorers come up with inventive techniques and test new products, but sometime the pipe has other plans. The patient on the worktable today is a good example of the pipe leading the restoration. The pipe in question is a Don Carlos "two note" grade… Continue reading When Repair Doesn’t Work, Make a New Stem
After taking on a number of more complicated restorations lately, it was a nice change to see this Charatan's Make Special cross the worktable. An estate purchase for its current steward, the pipe was sent directly to DadsPipes for a good cleanup to get it ready for active service after an indeterminant period in storage.… Continue reading A Quick Refresh for a Charatan’s Make Special Chubby Pot
Accidents can happen to anyone, and mishaps seem most likely to strike when you're least expecting them. That was certainly the case for today's pipe restoration project. This 2002 Dunhill Amber Root 3208 Bent Bulldog fell out of its steward's pocket while he made the rounds of his farm north of Kingston, Ontario. Unfortunately, it… Continue reading Salvaging a Hog-Chewed Dunhill Amber Root 3208
In modern times it would be difficult to think of anything that has benefitted the pipe smoking community more than the advent of the internet. Indeed, while there has been a pipe renaissance of sorts over the last five years or so, the number of pipe smokers and collectors remains a relatively tiny percentage of… Continue reading Cleanup and a New Hand Cut Ebonite Stem for a 1968 Dunhill LB
One of the perks of doing what I do here at DadsPipes is having the opportunity to work on some very high end artisan-grade pipes that I cannot afford to buy for my own rack and rotation. One example is this lovely Danish hand made S. Bang that was sent to me for repair. As… Continue reading A Hand Cut Eldritch Resin Stem for a Lovely S. Bang Pipe
I always enjoy working on family heirloom pipes, and this Dunhill Shell Briar Pot, passed down to the current steward from his father, certainly fits the bill. As you can see from this first series of images, the pipe was in need of some TLC when it arrived on the bench. Like many much loved… Continue reading A New Stem for a 1960’s Dunhill Shell Briar Pot
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