The next pipe on the worktable is an Amphora X-Tra of Holland which came to me via the online auction block in December of 2017, from a seller in Fort Meyers, Florida. The bid was sufficient for the day and the Amphora Poker made its way to the For “Pipe Dreamers” ONLY! online collection. Gary …
Continue reading Restoring a Gubbels Amphora 815 X-tra of Holland Poker
I love the Season of Christmas when most of the world celebrates the fact that Christ was born. When I consider the shape of the world, and our prayers for the people of Ukraine, I am thankful for a reason to celebrate something that is good news. The next pipe on the worktable was commissioned …
With Christmas soon to come, I have received commissions from loved ones of very fortunate pipe men. This beautiful Nørdin Freehand was commissioned by Jocelyn who wrote to me with this request: We live in Butler PA, USA. My husband, Mark, is an avid pipe smoker. I would love to give him a unique, possibly …
Continue reading A Christmas Gift for a Blessed Husband: A Nørdin Made in Denmark Freehand
I’m glad to be back at the worktable after a hiatus where my wife and I traveled from Colorado to the eastern side of the US. We traveled for 2 months putting 7546 miles on the car while pulling our small travel trailer. The primary purpose of our journey was to visit churches which have …
Continue reading Bringing a KBB 1940s-1955 Yello-Bole Filter Brush Panel back to life
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 next pipe on the work table came out of the box with some obvious issues. The Chap Ecume had tape wrapped around the shank which is a sure sign of a crack or fracture of some sort. It came with the ‘French lot of 50’ I acquired from a seller in Paris, France, in …
Continue reading Rescuing a Chap Ecume of Saint-Claude: A Broken Shank and Meerschaum Lining Repair
The Savinelli Punto Oro on the table has special sentiment attached to it. It came from a friend and colleague in Bulgaria. Jacob is a husband and father and also a pipe man that knows his tobaccos and pipes. Whenever I have a question about trying a particular blend or brand, he’s the one I …
The Pipe Steward 