This intricately carved meerschaum figural pipe came to me as part of an estate lot. It had waited patiently for restoration for a few years before I managed to get repairs underway, and even then it took me months to complete the work, picking away at it in the spaces between other jobs. As you… Continue reading Restoration of an Edwardian Lady
Every now and again I get the particular pleasure of working on a family heirloom pipe, a treasured part of someone's family history they wish to preserve for display or their own use. This Made in Czechoslovakia Bavarian style pipe is one such piece, first owned by the current pipe steward's grandfather. As this first… Continue reading Repairing a Horn Stem on an Heirloom Czech-Made Bavarian
A fellow pipe lover here in Ontario sent me a couple of old friends for a bit of TLC. One of those pipes is this 1980's vintage Brigham 384 Squire. This round-bottomed bent brandy shape was introduced to the Brigham lineup in the 1970s and quickly became a fan favourite. This particular example was certainly… Continue reading Reviving and Re-Stemming a Vintage Brigham 384 Squire
Not all estate pipes need major refurbishment work to bring them back to life, but, like everything else, benefit from regular cleaning and, every so often, a bit more involved TLC. The pipe on the worktable this time is a handsome Dunhill Chestnut in a classic Straight Billiard shape. It presented in reasonably good estate… Continue reading Refreshing a 1982 Dunhill Chestnut 51033 Billiard
As I've mentioned before, a broken tenon is by far the most common pipe repair, and for good reason. The stem tenon is the smallest structural part of a pipe and is subjected to a disproportionate amount of stressors as the pipe smoker removes and reinserts the stem in the shank. An overly-enthusiastic twist with… Continue reading Splinting a Broken Stem for a Castello Sea Rock
Finding a parcel in the DadsPipes mailbox is always a bit like Christmas morning - I never quite know what I'll find, but I'm usually excited by it! This Savinelli 616KS No-Nik pipe arrived with a few others some months ago but I'm only now getting around to writing them up. They belonged to the… Continue reading Reviving a Well Used Savinelli 616KS “No-Nik”
Today I'm back digging around in the estate lot of pipes I purchased last summer. Along with the Brigham 5W1 I wrote about last time, the lot included another Brigham - an interesting 5-Dot Bent Brandy. I have pulled it out of the refurb box several times since I acquired it, trying to get a… Continue reading Restoring a Unique Brigham 5-Dot Bent Brandy
I'm asked fairly regularly about where and how I source the estate pipes featured in the blog. I have bought many individually or in small groups from antique shops and fairs, but every now and then I buy an estate lot. Last summer I did just that, bringing home a mixed batch of about 60… Continue reading Reclaiming a Damaged 1960s-vintage Brigham 229L Large Author
About a year ago, I wrote about the rediscovery of Brigham's early line of non-Patent pipes and the subsequent restoration of two examples. I recently acquired a third Non-Patent Brigham pipe to add to the collection, this time in what Brigham called a Club shape, otherwise known as a Lovat. Here is how the pipe… Continue reading Reviving an Early Brigham Non-Patent Club
This pipe is another one of those that has been languishing in my refurb box for quite some time - long enough that I can't remember exactly when or where I acquired it! High time to give it some attention. Here is how the pipe looked when I brought it to the worktable. It was… Continue reading Sprucing Up a Beautiful Scantic Denmark 401 Billiard
dadspipes.com 