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 hundred years of operation is a milestone for any company and pipe makers are no exception. Blatter Pipes was established by brothers Ernest and Henri-Georges in Montreal, Canada in 1907 as an artisanal hand-crafted pipe house and remains a family-run business today. In 2007, Blatter released a special pipe to mark their 100th year.… Continue reading Going The Extra Mile for a Blatter Centenary Pipe
I have often said that any pipe is restorable if the will to do so exists. This project put that statement to the test as I faced down some significant challenges on this Patent Dunhill Lovat's road to redemption. Sent to me by a Canadian college professor teaching in Massachusetts, the pipe had belonged to… Continue reading Restoration or Necromancy? Reviving a Well Loved Dunhill Patent Lovat
Filtered pipes have been around in one form or another for decades. According to this article on Pipedia.org, the Dr Grabow paper filter was first patented in 1932. This was not the first such paper filter on the market, however; the German firm Vauen introduced the Dr Perl paper filter more than a decade earlier… Continue reading Repairing a 9mm Tenon on a Stefano Exclusive Tomato
The pipe on the workbench today came in to the DadsPipes shop as part of a larger lot of estate pipes sent to me for restoration from a gent in California. The pipe caught my eye immediately - a larger Oom Paul shape tends to do that, but Peterson is known for its stoutly-carved stummels.… Continue reading Resuscitating a Well Used Peterson XL18 Oom Paul Silver Spigot
It's always fun to come across an old pipe brand I've not heard of before, and even better if I get to work on a representative pipe. This RBC branded cased Bulldog came into the shop for a cleanup and a new stem and, unlike many pipes of this vintage, it was destined to be… Continue reading Cutting a New Acrylic Stem for a Vintage RBC French Briar Bulldog
I recently wrote about the work done to restore a vintage Frank Bulldog. Today's patient is of a slightly older vintage but where the Frank needed structural work to bring it back to life, this Kaufman Brothers & Bondy pipe arrived in pretty good estate condition. The pipe was in need of a good general… Continue reading Refreshing an Elder Statesman – a KB&B Blueline Bakelite Cased Bulldog
Today's pipe restoration project is a fairly straightforward undertaking - a nice break from the more involved repairs I have been dealing with lately. The patient on the bench today is a handsome Savinelli Punto Oro 616KS Bent Billiard. This description from Smokingpipes.com sums up the shape: One of the most full-bodied examples of Savinelli's… Continue reading Putting the Gold Back Into a Savinelli Punto Oro 616KS
dadspipes.com 