Blog by Dal Stanton

When I first saw this Eldorado Lucite, I believed it to be a Zulu or Woodstock, the Dublin’s smaller cousin.  In the end, I settled on it being a bent Dublin because the stummel was larger than I would expect a Zulu’s to be.  When I saw the Eldorado Lucite bent Dublin on the eBay auction block, two things, no, three things drew my attention motivating me to slog through the bidding and bring this pipe home to Bulgaria.  First, the shape is very attractive – I like the curve of the Dublin’s natural ‘nose-forward’ stummel flowing to and through the stem; an attractive pipe, I wanted to try it out in my palm.  Secondly, the briar’s potential.  I love taking smooth briars and bringing out the grain to encourage a double-take.  The straight grain of the Eldorado is nice.  Thirdly, the band – a touch…

Blog by Dal Stanton

After a wonderful time in the US, sharing Christmas and New Year with our family, and catching up on ‘grandpa time’ with our two grandsons, my wife and I returned to Sofia, Bulgaria, to find as much snow as we left in Denver!  Two memorable ‘piping events’ transpired while in Denver.  First, the inaugural smoke of the restored 1907 McLardy Gourd Calabash (See: Link) which was filled with a tasty bowl of Dark Star recommended by Steve for the special occasion.  It was a wonderful, cool smoke.  The McLardy did admirably. The second ‘piping event’ was a pipe-picking expedition several of my family members (guess who this trip was for?) did to Denver’s huge Brass Armadillo Antique Mall!  We had a great time in search but unfortunately, I found no treasures to bring home.  Yet secretly, my youngest son stowed away his Christmas gift for…

Blog by Dal Stanton

Having semi-completed the restoration of the unmarked Weber Short Snorter previously (see Link), since my wife and I were heading to Denver for Christmas, I ran out of time to complete the needed repair of this Short Snorter’s burn through problems.  The slender horn shape had contributed to a thinning front firewall which in turn had created a darkened burnt area on the front of the bowl, which in turn had produced a burn fissure crack in the impacted briar.  My subsequent attempt to repair the crack by drilling holes (not going through to the fire chamber!) on either side of the crack to halt any crack creep, resulted in one of the drilled holes punching through the thinner-than-expected wall…. Things went from bad to worse in a blink!  A briar dust mixed with superglue patch soon followed.  I completed the full restoration of stummel…

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…

Blog by Dal Stanton

The pipe before me now was acquired from an eBay seller in Arkansas.  The full bent shape (billiard or egg?) as well as the reddish, highlighted rustification drew my attention to this pipe – the rustified bowl reminded me of a bee hive – the tree hangers that Winnie the Pooh greatly coveted.  Undoubtedly, a good choice for those pipe wielders who enjoy the tactile and sensory connection with the briar.  Overall, it looked like it would fit well in a new steward’s palm.  Information about the pipe was scant from the eBay seller, as is usually the case: Selection from Italy, was all.  The eBay pictures describe some of the strengths and needs of this beehive rustified bent billiard:When I retrieved the pipe from the ‘Help me!’ basket and put it on my work table here in Sofia, Bulgaria, I took some additional pictures…

Blog by Dal Stanton

After celebrating our daughter’s wedding and family reunion in the US and returning to Bulgaria, I was anxious to begin a new restoration.  While in the US, I added a few pipes to the pool when my wife and I stopped at an antique store advertised on an interstate billboard between Nashville and Chattanooga – this story for the future.   I’ve developed a bit of an eBay purchases trove and I found in the ‘Help Me!’ basket what I believe is a Calabash shaped unmarked briar from a seller in New Mexico.  I was drawn by the shape and the lateral movement of grain – a very nice looking piece of briar with great potential.  I wasn’t sure on the shape and checked out Pipedia’s Pipe Shapes Chart (Link) and Calabash seems to be the best fit – please let me know if I…