A Survivor of the Now Gone Bertram ‘The Nation’s Pipemaker’ – a Bertram Washington DC 30 Billiard

The next pipe on the table is a workhorse Billiard without doubt.  It was found along with a few other treasures November 2021 at The Antique Market in Michigan City, Indiana.  We were traveling from Colorado to my son’s home in Dearborn, Michigan for Thanksgiving celebrations.  My wife and I always like to explore the …

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Quite the Find in Burgas, Bulgaria: Resurrecting A Lorenzo Spitfire Goliath Oom Paul

This resurrection project cannot be descibed as a mere restoration.  It started in August 2021 when my wife and I returned to Bulgaria a year after leaving this our home of 15 years.  One of our special places we visited and a place of respite during our time in Bulgaria was a little lazy fishing …

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Pipe Picking in Athens, Greece – An Unbranded Slightly Bent Oval Shank Billiard

The next pipe on the table brings back very good memories.  Our 15 years living in Sofia, Bulgaria, provided many opportunities to visit our neighbor to the south, Greece.  One such visit was in April 2018 when I attended a conference on better understanding of the Eastern Orthodox Church and its impact on Eastern European …

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Rescuing a Barok Bruyere of St. Claude Pickaxe from the Mother of All Pipe Injuries – a Cracked Bowl

Well, after about a month of fighting off sickness and finally getting some antibiotics, I’m able to get back to the restoration of this Barok Pickaxe.  Here we go!  The next pipe on the worktable came to me in what I call the Lot of 68 that I acquired in February of 2019 from a …

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Fashioning a ‘Middle Earth’ Churchwarden from a Rusticated Orphaned Bowl

Middle Earth Churchwardens are cool, and truth be known, I don’t think I’ll achieve either the Hobbit or Wizard standard when this project is completed, but I like to fashion Churchwardens out of the orphaned, tossed away bowls.  A simple search in Google of ‘Pipes in Middle Earth’ produces many Tolkien worthy pipes and Lord …

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A New Start for a Savinelli Capri Root Briar 310 Italy Cherrywood

The next pipe on the worktable is the second of three pipes that N.R. has commissioned.  The first pipe was a Lillehammer GL Super Extra 61 Made in Norway which came out beautifully (New Life for a Classic Lillehammer GL Super Extra 61 Made in Norway – The Pipe Steward).The Savinelli Capri Root Briar that got …

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New Life for a 1954 Dunhill Bruyere 48 F/T Made in England 4 Pat. No. 417574/34 (4) A Bulldog

This is the second Dunhill commissioned from the ‘For “Pipe Dreamers” ONLY!’ collection by United Airlines pilot and pipe man, Jeff.  Jeff lives at Havre de Grace, MD (right at the beginning of the Chesapeake Bay) with his wife and 3 dogs.  Havre de Grace is well known to my wife and me as we …

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Road Trip Restoration:  A Sullivan Powell Burlington Arcade London, London Made 283 Cherrywood

The next pipe in the queue is FINALLY on the ‘mobile worktable’ here at Dale’s Hollow Campground in Tennessee.  My wife and I embarked on a 4-month road trip in April from Golden, Colorado, and we will not return until mid-July.  We are visiting churches that have supported us over the years in Ukraine, Spain …

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Addressing Chamber Heating Problems with a Ben Wade Made in London England 23 Dublin

I describe this next pipe on the worktable as a Dublin shape.  The bowl is slightly canted and has nice lines. It has beautiful vertical grain and that is the main draw-factor of this pipe.  This is the second pipe that pipe man Bill from Pennsylvania has commissioned.  The first was a Tribune Rusticated Dublin …

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A New Beginning for a Tribune 909 Rusticated Dublin

The next pipe came to me in what I have called the Lot of 68.  The Lot was acquired in February 2019 from a seller in West Hartford, Connecticut, and these pipes have been getting the attention of pipe men in the For “Pipe Dreamers” ONLY collection helping to support the Daughters of Bulgaria, a …

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