Blog by Dal Stanton

The next pipe on my worktable affords me the opportunity to take a trip down memory lane.  The Lincoln London Style Real Sandblasted Billiard was found along with 8 other pipes at a favorite walking street antique shop in Burgas, Bulgaria.  Burgas is located on the coast of the Black Sea near where my wife and I made our annual summer pilgrimages to the beach.  During the summer of 2017, one of the side trips we enjoyed was to go into Burgas and stroll down the main walking streets lined with shops and a favorite second-hand/antique store.   The vendor on this particular visit was fun to talk with and to finally strike a deal with to acquire the 9 pipes that made their way to the For “Pipe Dreamers” Only! collection available online for pipe men and women to commission benefiting the Daughters of Bulgaria.

Blog by Dal Stanton

The large Apple now on the worktable came to me in September of 2017 in a Lot of 66 pipes from a seller in Georgetown, Texas.  The lot had belonged to a pipe man which had been donated by his family after his passing to a charitable organization to auction.  I was privileged to add these pipes to the For “Pipe Dreamers” Only! collection for other pipe men and women to commission benefitting another good cause close to my heart, the Daughters of Bulgaria – helping women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited.  Many of these ‘66’ have made it to the collections of new stewards all over the world.  One pipe man, Nat, who is from South Florida, saw the St. Regis De Luxe and reached out to me about it.  Some years ago, I had met Nat briefly in my mother’s…

Blog by Dal Stanton

My friend and fellow pipe man restorer, Dave Shane (see: The Pipery.com) donated the pipe now on the worktable, the Dr. Grabow Sculptura, along with 12 other pipes.  Dave and I worked together several years ago in Ukraine.  Our paths met again in January of 2018 when I was in the US from Bulgaria and went to his home in the Atlanta area to catch up.  After much talk, some adult beverages and of course, sharing a few bowls together, Dave gifted me these pipes to benefit the Daughters of Bulgaria.  Some have already found their way to new stewards and the Dr. Grabow (in the picture on the far right) caught the attention of another friend and fellow pipe man, Todd.

Todd has already commissioned several pipes from The Pipe Steward and is an active contributor on several Facebook groups dedicated to pipe…

Blog by Dal Stanton

I remember well when I received this beautifully sculpted ‘Edelweiss’ in 2017.  Kari, a gifted young Bulgarian lady who is a fellow colleague working with the Daughters of Bulgaria in Sofia, Bulgaria, saw the pipe in a second-hand shop on a visit to London while visiting her parents who lived and worked there.  Among colleagues of Daughters of Bulgaria, my pipe restoration exploits benefiting the daughters, is well-known.  Kari purchased the pipe and gifted it to The Pipe Steward for the Daughters on her return to Sofia.  Kari’s support did not end there!  She ALSO commissioned a pipe for herself which also benefited the Daughters.  That pipe was a graceful beauty which joined our fellowship during a break at work (pictured below) in Sofia a few years ago (See: A Lady’s Choice – WDC Milano Swan Neck Billiard).   Kari, along with several other staff and…

Blog by Dal Stanton

This Butz-Choquin Costaud came to me from the auction block in January of 2017 as one in a Lot of 13 pipes from a seller in Nevada.  Several of these pipes have already found their way to new stewards who found them in online ‘Help Me!’ baskets in the ‘For “Pipe Dreamers” Only!’ collection.  It was in the ‘Dreamers’ section that Craig spied the BC Costaud 1597 and reached out to me about commissioning the BC.  The BC Costaud is at the 12 o’clock position in the picture below.

I was interested to find out from Craig later that he lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where I also met a young woman at Covenant College atop Lookout Mountain, who in time, became my wife – I married up!  Few in the US haven’t seen signs, bird houses and barn sides with the famous, ‘See Rock City’ or…

Blog by Dal Stanton

Ryan described his Dr. Grabow Omega as a lowly drugstore pipe – not me! 😊 He emailed me several months ago about his Dr. Grabow Omega and which set the table for what followed:

Dear Mr. Stanton, I recently came across one of your blog posts from 2017 detailing a restoration you performed on a Dr. Grabow Omega billiard. The final product was stunning and made me wonder whether you allow customers to send pipes in for restoration or whether commissions are limited to the pipes listed on your website. I ask because I also own a Dr. Grabow Omega and have always been bothered by the heavy red finish that completely obscures the grain. I wanted to ask (if outside commissions are accepted) whether you could perform the same sort of restoration on my pipe and about how much it might cost.  Thanks for any…

Blog by Dal Stanton

For those in the metric world, I am 3,293 meters above sea level here in skiing heaven, Keystone, Colorado.  One of the wonderful things about being based in Golden, Colorado, is that the Rocky Mountains are literally in our back yard!  With two of my children and their families along with us (that would total 5 grandchildren to dote on!), we’ve enjoyed God’s creation looking at mountain peaks, hiking through pristine countryside and enjoying family – the frosting on the cake.  I packed my mobile work desk, and The Pipe Steward is on the road again!

What does a ‘mobile’ restoration unit look like?  I have a smaller DeWalt TSTAK tool chest that opens on the top with an organizer section and a larger open compartment below.  I’ve ordered a deeper DeWalt TSTAK that will stack with the one I have and hold the taller bottles…

Blog by Dal Stanton

The Kaywoodie now on the worktable is the second of 3 pipes that Skeet commissioned after seeing them in the virtual ‘Help Me Baskets’ in the ‘For “Pipe Dreamers” Only!’ collection.  This large collection of pipes I’ve acquired from antique/secondhand shops, antique malls, and from online sellers – and some have been gifts.  The Kaywoodie was part of a lot of 13 pipes that caught my eye from a seller in Nevada a few years back.  There were some interesting shapes and system pipes that I had not seen before – a LHS Purex (9 o’clock), a Demuth SnapKleen 34 (5:30 o’clock) and a Cyclone London England (1 o’clock).  These specific pipes were new to me.  The Kaywoodie that beckoned Skeet  is situated at the 4:30 o’clock place on the pipe dial.

The first pipe Skeet commissioned benefiting the Daughters of Bulgaria came out well.  The…

Blog by Dal Stanton

A few years ago, I acquired the Jeantet Superior Chimney now on the worktable in the ‘French Lot of 50’ which demanded my attention on the French eBay auction block.  It has provided several treasures that are now in the care of new stewards benefiting the Daughters of Bulgaria.  Another from this Parisian Lot, is now in the offering.  Skeet saw the Jeantet in the online inventory, ‘For “Pipe Dreamers” Only!’ along with a few other pipes and reached out to me with questions about the possibility of commissioning some.  Part of why I love restoring pipes is not only their innate beauty and intrigue delving into their pedigrees and stories, but also when I can learn about their former stewards or potentially in this case, their future stewards.  Here is a portion of Skeets initial email to me:

Greetings Dal,

I have been looking…