This pipe was a challenge – more to come later…. The pipe on the table today is a nice-looking Prince. It has the right stem orientation, and the apple shaped bowl is on the petite side. I saw this Mastercraft Custom Made Prince on the online auction block in March of 2016, from a seller …
Continue reading Resuscitating a Mastercraft Custom Made Italy Prince (aka: ‘Pandora’s Pipe’)
The next pipe on the table came to me in August of 2021 which I call the Lakewood Lot of 14. The Lakewood Lot came from a pipe man selling his collection because of health reasons. Ron had several pipes in his collection that I would consider higher shelf pipes – several were Freehands and …
Continue reading Bringing New Life to an Elegant Unbranded Freehand
The next pipe on the worktable was part of a Lot of 4 pipes that were on the online auction block from Giussago, Italy, in January of 2017. Three of the 4 pipes were similar in that they sported red, glossy shellac-like finishes. It seemed to point to the affinity of the former steward’s taste …
Continue reading Replacing a ‘Shellac-Candy Apple Finish’ for a Machiavelli Cambio Ball of Italy
The classic Gourd Calabash on the table came to me a few days before Christmas in 2018, when my wife and I were in the US from Bulgaria to celebrate the holidays with family. I was anxious to do some ‘pipe picking’ and so the family went on a ‘picking’ day together. One place we …
Continue reading Mending Shank Cracks to Revive a Gourd Calabash – Austria
The Pipe Steward 