This pipe arrived at the workshop recently, sent in from a pipe smoker in the Prairies for a bit of TLC. The subject is a figural meerschaum in the shape of a Sultan's head. The obvious issue was the broken Bakelite stem, which had snapped off near the shank. Less obvious before a closer examination… Continue reading Rehabilitating a Modified Sultan Figural Meerschaum
I have been kept busy this summer with repairs and restorations for other pipe smokers and collectors, so when I finally had a bit of free shop time, I decided to work on one of my own. This Peterson-esque full bent stummel came to me in a lot of about a dozen loose bowls. My… Continue reading Restoring a French-Made Wellbor Army Mount Full Bent
Last week I wrote about a Meerschaum Canted Billiard stummel that had been lost in the back of a drawer for decades. Hidden away with that pipe was another stummel, the Orlik P9 Bent Apple that is the subject of this week's post. The stummel was in above average estate condition, with the most notable… Continue reading Reviving a Forgotten Orlik P9 Bent Apple
I’ve been sitting on this restoration for a while, mainly because it took some time for me to come to grips with the pipe’s pedigree. The pipe in question is a Stanwell Collectors Piece, a special series of pipes issued during the company’s “Regd. No.” era (roughly 1948 – 1970) and apparently quite rare in… Continue reading A Rare Find – An Early Ivarsson Pickaxe Stanwell Collectors Piece
Old friends, Sat on their park bench Like bookends. - Simon & Garfunkel, Old Friends Even a casual glance through the posts here at DadsPipes will quickly identify me as the vintage Brigham pipe fan that I am. I blame it on my father, who is, of course, not here to defend himself and therefore… Continue reading Bookends! A Pair of 1970’s Brigham Norseman Pipes
I recently attended a large, semiannual antiques and vintage items sale about an hour away from home. It was one of those outdoor, rain or shine, events and so of course it rained the entire time I was there. Despite a golf umbrella, raincoat and waterproof hiking boots, I was wet to the skin within… Continue reading The Thrill of the Hunt and a Bakelite Learning Curve with a 1920’s Grundel Special Canadian
When I first pulled this pipe from my refurb box, I thought I was looking at another Danish design. It was only after taking a closer look that I realized it was, in fact, an Italian pipe, a Savinelli Nonpareil 9904, which Savinelli describes as a Bent Dublin. The pipe is stamped “Savinelli” over “Nonpareil”… Continue reading Cleanup of a Savinelli Nonpareil Smooth 9904 Bent Dublin
This beautiful Søren freehand pipe is similar in shape to the Karl Erik pipe in a previous post. Both pipes are freehand sitters with plateau tops on rim and shank, and both have fancy turned stems, but of the two, this Søren takes the prize for perfect briar. Unlike the Karl Erik, which had a… Continue reading Cleaning Up a Stunning Søren Freehand Sitter
I recently returned from a family vacation to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. It was great to see family and friends again and do a bit of “touristing” with the kids before the back-to-school maelstrom hit. My father-in-law helped me track down this pipe at an antique shop not too far from the Confederation Bridge, which… Continue reading Restoring a Vacation Find – A Cased Bruyere Garantie Long-Shanked Billiard
My apologies on the wait for this post. I had hoped to get it done before our family vacation but there you have it. This one is for all you Danish Freehand pipe fans. The Danes invented Freehand pipes and have proven to be darned good at it. This example is a Karl Erik pipe,… Continue reading Refreshing a Karl Erik Grade 2 Freehand Sitter
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