Blog by Dal Stanton

I purchased the Savinelli Capitol in June of this year, at the Hole in the Wall antique store near Zhenski Pazar (Women’s Market) located in downtown Sofia.  Steve was visiting Bulgaria from Vancouver in the context of our work and we went to the Hole in the Wall for a mini pipe hunting sortie.  I’d remembered on other occasions the vendor producing a 4-pipe pouch that he kept behind the counter and I asked about it and he still had it with pipes intact.  The leather bag itself was a find.  The 4 pipes revealed after unzipping the bag were a Savinelli Tortuga 628, Danske Club Vario 85 (both occupying a place in my rotation), a Butz-Choquin Rocamar (which became a wedding gift for my new son-in-law), and the Capitol (that I learned was a Savinelli second) now before me.  Above, I linked the restorations…

Blog by Dal Stanton

When I landed this little pipe last March, I rolled together 3 other pipes from the same seller, reducing postage costs – I’m always happy when I can save!  The eBay seller listed the pipe as a ‘Short Norter’ stamped on the left side of the shank.  The right side was stamped, Imported Briar.  The pipe’s petite size listed was 5 1/4″ long 1 1/4″ tall and 3/4″ bowl opening.  Even though she was so small, the shape was what drew me in.  This is what I saw.Poor quality of photography notwithstanding, all the potential was there – the unique shape that I had yet to identify or collect, the rich briar grain peeking out here and there and the petite demeanor – perhaps this is a ladies’ pipe?  But then, the name?  Short Norter – the eBay nomenclature.  Despite the less than feminine name…

Blog by Dal Stanton

A pipe man’s dream scenario: His daughter and son-in-law, who live in Denver, give him the perfect birthday gift – a budget enabling him to land a special, coveted pipe on eBay!  It doesn’t get much better than that – there is the hunt, the find, the anticipation, the bid, the stress, and finally, the victory (hopefully)!  I started the hunt looking for a meerschaum to add to my growing briar collection, but when I saw the McLardy Calabash and it’s perfectly shaped and colored gourd – the quint-essential Sherlock Holmes pipe, decked out with silver cap and ferrule, it cried out to me and resistance was futile.  The eBay seller was in Manchester, UK, and his description of the Calabash was very helpful with silver hallmarks which dated the pipe in 1907 – the first year that the Chicago Cubs won the World Series followed…

Blog by Dal Stanton

My wife and I were on Interstate 24 nearing Manchester, Tennessee, returning to the Atlanta area after the wedding of our daughter in Nashville.  The billboard beckoned and, of course, I responded by taking the next exit!  Madeline’s Antiques & Uniques had the look of a classic pipe picker’s paradise and I was not disappointed! I’m thankful for my wife’s patience and her eagle eye.  She helped ferret out hidden pipes in need of help and a new home.In Palmetto, Georgia, I laid out the haul and recorded the picture above – including the six-pipe pipe stand!  The poker on the lower end is before me now on my work table back in Sofia, Bulgaria.  The left side of the shank has Aged over Imported Briar in a cursive script.  The other remarkable characteristics of this Poker are the red dot on the stem and…