The next pipe on the worktable is a stout straight Bulldog. It came to me in March 2016 from a seller in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. It worked out well because the seller had two other pipes which I had an interest in that were also ticking down on the eBay auction block. In the …
Continue reading Christmas Tree Bound: Renewing a Stout French Made Pickwick Arms Bulldog
The Medico now on the table came to me from a friend and fellow pipe man Dave Shain. ‘Shainy’ and I first met when we served together in Ukraine back in the 1990s/early 2000s. Shainy has become a well-known and respected contributor to the pipe community and is known through his website, https://thepipery.com where he …
Continue reading Resurrecting a Venerable Medico ‘F’ Frank Imported Briar Apple
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 next pipe on the worktable is unbranded, but I’m 99% sure it is French made. It came to me in August of 2018 from Paris, and I have called this acquisition the French Lot of 50. I have only a few of this French lot left as the majority have found homes with new …
Continue reading Overcoming a Severely Charred Rim for an Unbranded Horn Stem Bulldog
The next pipe on the worktable came to me in what I have called the St. Louis Lot of 26 which my son, Josiah, discovered in a local antique shop. He sent pictures to me in Bulgaria where we were still living, and I liked what I saw. Josiah had one caveat regarding the purchase: …
It doesn’t surprise me that this unique, petite French Billiard came to me in a lot of pipes I purchased from a seller in Paris. The French Lot of 50 was on the French eBay auction block in August of 2018 when my wife and I were still living in Sofia, Bulgaria. A pipe man …
The next pipe on the worktable I found on the online auction block in December of 2017. I was drawn to the pipe by its unique shape and deeply carved rustication which could almost pass for an ‘extreme’ blasted surface. As often is the case with online sellers, the pictures don’t always tell everything, and …
When Todd used the word, ‘kapnismology’ to describe taking his French GVG First Quality to the next dimension, I paused to search the dictionary. I had not heard this word before and after searching Websters, Cambridge and Dictionary.com, I discovered that the learned folk who write dictionaries for a living, had not heard of this word either. A general internet search of the word, Kapnismology, renders references and labels, but I found no definition that would definitively describe the ‘next dimension’ Todd envisioned for his pipe. Generally, what I culled was that Kapnismology describes the study of smoke. It is used most often in reference to all things ‘pipe’ – pipe culture, pipe paraphernalia, pipes, pipe smoking, pipe lovers, pipe tobaccos, pipe holder, pipe adds, vintage pipe, pipe….
The next pipe on the worktable is an attractive, Lorenzo Eleganza – another pipe that Daren has commissioned from the For “Pipe Dreamers” Only! collection which benefits the Daughters of Bulgaria – helping women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. Darren is an active member in his Pennsylvania based pipe and cigar club (See: FB Chester County Cigar Club – Holy Smokes) and reached out to me after he discovered a fellow member acquired a pipe restored by me. The Lorenzo that caught Darren’s eye was acquired with the help of my son, Josiah, who connected me with a lot of 26 pipes at an antique store located in St. Louis, where he and his wife reside. It was a great addition to the Dreamers collection and many of these have already found new homes with happy stewards. The Lorenzo Elegeanza is marked.
The Pipe Steward 