Founded in London, England in 1863, Charatan's began making meerschaum pipes but soon became renown for its briar pipes. According to this article on Pipedia, Charatan was the first brand to make briar pipes entirely by hand, "from rough block to the finished pipe, including the stems. The stamp "Charatan's Make" refers to this method… Continue reading Shaping a New Double-Comfort Stem for a Lane Era Charatan’s Make Special
I was contacted recently by a gent who had acquired a Brigham Valhalla stummel some time ago and was looking to have a new stem fitted to it to make the pipe useable again. After a bit of discussion, the pipe was sent in to DadsPipes for the work, where I took the following initial… Continue reading Reviving an Early Brigham Valhalla
Over the years, I have had the pleasure of working on some truly vintage, museum-quality pipes, but never one is as good starting condition as the subject of today's post, an early Peterson Patent System pipe that predates the now famous Peterson P-Lip by three years. As you can see from this initial series of… Continue reading Crafting a Replica Stem for an 1895 Peterson Patent System Pipe
There is an old adage that tiny problems become large problems if left unattended, and the pipe on the bench this week is a prime example of this truism. This Savinelli Freehand Dublin was clearly a favourite of its steward but maintenance and repairs were put off, allowing hairline cracks down both sides of the… Continue reading Reviving a Hard Ridden Savinelli Freehand Bent Dublin
One of the fun parts of running a pipe repair and restoration business is working on pipes that I would otherwise never get to see. This early Dunhill Patent Shell Briar is just such a pipe, send in to DadsPipes for restoration as part of a larger lot of older Dunhills. As this initial series… Continue reading Restoring an Early Patent Dunhill Shell Briar Army Billiard
The Peterson P-Lip stem is rather famous in the pipe world. Patented by Charles Peterson in 1898, the stem design incorporates a tapered airway and a unique button shape featuring an airway that exits the stem on top of the button rather than through the end of the stem. This image, taken from Pipedia.org, shows… Continue reading Crafting A Hand Cut P-Lip Army Mount Stem for a Peterson System Standard 301
Every pipe smoker has a favourite pipe. It's almost inevitable, I think, as people tend to find something that works for them - a particular button design, width or height, a bowl with just the right capacity or size to fit their needs the majority of the time. Have a look at any pipe lover's… Continue reading Major Repairs to a Much Loved Peterson Aran 68
Stem replacement is one of the bread-and-butter jobs for any pipe repair shop. I have fit hundreds of stems over the last decade or so, from relatively simple jobs using pre-cast stem blanks in Vulcanite and Acrylic to fully custom hand cut stems crafted completely in-house from Ebonite, Acrylic or Resin rod. As a writer,… Continue reading Replacing a Worn Out Acrylic Stem on an Armellini Verona 903
Today's patient is a 2010 St Patrick's Day pipe by Peterson, sent in for some TLC by a Canadian piper in Ottawa, ON. Judging by the series of photos below, the pipe is one of its steward's favourites. The pipe had been well used but looked a bit worn out when it first arrived on… Continue reading Reviving a 2010 Peterson St Patrick’s Day Pipe
Metal pipes have been around since the 1930s, and while briar pipes make up the overwhelming majority of smoking pipes, metal pipes, made famous by the makers of Falcon and Kirsten pipes, have a strong following. Part of the success of metal pipes is their light weight and interchangeable bowls, which can be made from… Continue reading Restoring an English Made Arcadia Metal Pipe
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