One of the joys of meerschaum is that it is fairly easy to carve and thus meerschaum pipes come in just about every shape imaginable, from basic Billiards to fantastical dragons, castles and more. The carver of today's estate pipe project took this block of meerschaum in a very different direction - folk art. The… Continue reading Reviving a Rather Unsettling Folk Art Carved Meerschaum
Half the fun of doing pipe repairs and restorations is seeing what arrives in the mail. Many pieces sent in for refurbishment date from the 1960s and forward, while every now and again a real antique crossed my bench. This 1906 Peterson Bent Billiard Meerschaum is just one such example. Like many pipes from this… Continue reading A New Stem and a Refresh for a 1906 Peterson Patent Meerschaum
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
This old meerschaum stummel came to me in a lot of bowls I purchased from a pipe friend in the Netherlands. It caught my eye immediately due to its obvious age and deep amber coloration, though it had a few issues that would need to be sorted out before it found its next pipe steward.… Continue reading Creating a Mini-Warden from a Vintage Meerschaum Dublin
Over the years, I have developed a generally good sense of the age of a pipe based on its size, shape and finish, among other details. This Peterson Sherlock Holmes meerschaum, however, surprised me. When it arrived on the work table, the pipe was looking far from its best. The stem was heavily oxidized with… Continue reading Restoring a Hard-Ridden 2006 Peterson Sherlock Holmes Meerschaum
The pipe on the bench today was sent to me by a gentleman who has become a regular client of mine over the last year or so. We have been restoring the pipes in his extensive collection batch by batch and just when he thought he was finished, a few loose stummels were discovered at… Continue reading Meerschaum Rescue & Re-Stem
More than a few years ago now I was involved with an unfortunately short-lived local pipe club which held, among other things, a few swap meets where members could trade pipes, tobaccos etc. That is how this rather unloved-looking meerschaum pipe came to live in my box of refurbs-in-waiting. I have pulled the pipe out,… Continue reading Something from Nothing – Creating a Mini Warden from a Junk Meerschaum Stummel
This meerschaum Bent Billiard came in to the shop for a new stem, part of the same batch of pipes as the Nording freehand I wrote about last week. If you have read that post, the condition of this pipe when it arrived won't be much of a surprise. As this series of pics shows,… Continue reading A Deep Cleaning and a New Stem for a Large Meerschaum Bent Billiard
The range and diversity of meerschaum pipes never fails to impress me. From traditional shapes to intricately carved designs and figurals, there is a meerschaum pipe to meet any taste. The pipe on the worktable today is a traditional smooth Author with a bit of Teutonic flare in the shape of a crowned nickel wind… Continue reading A New Stem and a Good Waxing for a Capped Meerschaum Author
Today's estate pipe restoration is a bit more esoteric than some of my recent posts. I'm working on a rather petite figural meerschaum pipe carved into the likeness of a lady's head. I would tentatively date this pipe to the latter half of the 19th Century, though there are no markings on the pipe or… Continue reading Replacing a Bone Screw Tenon on a Petite Lady’s Head Figural Meerschaum
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