In the tobacco pipe world, pipe shops can usually be divided into two camps - those that make pipes and those that repair/restore pipes. It is somewhat counterintuitive, but these two activities are very different and require different skill sets and different equipment. I've been repairing and restoring smoking pipes since 2014 but have never… Continue reading And Now For Something Completely Different – Carving my First Hobby Block
This week's estate pipe restoration is the fitting of a new stem to a Hardcastle's Seaton Billiard stummel, which came to me as part of a large lot of pipes for repair. As this series of pics shows, the stummel was in very good, if not unsmoked, condition. It had clearly been without a stem… Continue reading A New Stem for a Hardcastle’s Seaton 172 Billiard
Amid all the work I've been doing on other people's pipes lately, I try to squeeze in one of my own where I can. This Brigham 206 has been waiting patiently for a little love for quite a while, so I decided that it was time to give it some attention. The series of pictures… Continue reading Cleanup and Stem Work for a 1990’s Brigham 206 Medium Straight Dublin
This attractive freehand pipe was sent to me by a client near Kingston, Ontario with the request to clean it up and, if possible, install a 9mm filter system. When it arrived at DadsPipes Central, I brought it to the worktable and made a full inspection. A good-sized freehand, the pipe was in obviously used… Continue reading A New Stem and a 6mm Filter Conversion for a Thomas Grand Luxe Footed Freehand
This Brigham 4-Dot was a surprise gift from my daughter, who came across it at a local antique fair. She got a good price on it due to its rather rough condition, which she figured I could remedy without too much trouble. I brought the pipe to the worktable to assess the scope of the… Continue reading Bowl and Stem Repairs for a Brigham 489 Bent Acorn
Like many collectors, I feel a little jolt of adrenaline every time I add a new pipe shape to my growing array of Brigham pipes. That jolt gets bigger when a new shape comes in a mid to high grade pipe like this Brigham 4 Dot. The pipe arrived on my worktable in decent estate… Continue reading Quick Refresh of a Brigham 454 Smooth Bent Pot
Just before Christmas I received a very generous gift from my pipe friend in Iqaluit who has been sending me his Blatter pipes for refurbishment. Along with a tin of pipe tobacco and an assortment of cigars, the box contained two Blatter pipes – one whole but in poor shape, and one stummel missing its… Continue reading Restemming a Blatter Bros Make Selected Freehand
I was recently sent another batch of Blatter estate pipes from a forum friend in Iqaluit, Nunavut. This large Rustic Ball pipe is the first of that lot to be tackled. I decided to start with an easy one this time. The pipe was in very good estate condition when it arrived on my worktable.… Continue reading Tidying Up a Large Blatter Select Rustic Ball
I found this Peterson meerschaum pipe during a recent visit to an antiques mall about an hour’s drive from my house. I hear stories of antique shops seemingly overflowing with estate pipes, but in my neck of the woods, the pipe hunt is often more of a feast-or-famine game. Many times I don’t come across… Continue reading Surprises While Refreshing a Peterson “Aboriginal Finish” Meerschaum 80S
They say life happens in threes, and I’m inclined to believe them, especially when it comes to my collection of vintage Brigham pipes. Not long ago I wrote about finding and restoring a pair of late 1970’s Brigham Norseman pipes, the first of that series to cross my path. The Norseman pipes were the rusticated… Continue reading And Then There Were Three – Adding another Norseman to the Collection
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