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 …
Continue reading Pipe Picking in Athens, Greece – An Unbranded Slightly Bent Oval Shank Billiard
The next pipe on the worktable came to me in the Lot of 68. In February 2019 a seller located in West Hartford, Connecticut, placed this lot on eBay and my final bid won the day. These pipes were placed in the ‘For “Pipe Dreamers” ONLY! online collection where pipemen and women can find and …
Continue reading New Life for a Savinelli Punto Oro 602 Italy Bent Egg
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 …
The next pipe on the worktable came to me from a pipeman in Lakewood, Colorado, who was reducing his collection. I met him when he placed for sale online a Zero Gravity recliner which I went to check out. When I pulled into his driveway, he was sitting comfortably in his own chair with a …
Continue reading An Exquisite Ben Wade Preben Holm Prominence A 4 Hand Made in Denmark Freehand
(Hold the press! Well, I didn't wait long enough and this post went out before I received a note from well-known Peterson expert, Mark Irwin. Please see the addendum and the conclusion for Mark's comments on the dating of this Peterson's De Luxe) The next pipe on the worktable is a Peterson’s classic. This is …
After pressing through a boat load of flu of some variant, I’m happy to be back at the worktable. Other than getting well again, I always enjoy this time of the year for football season – both college and NFL. Since my team has gone on vacation back to Florida (Miami Dolphins) I’ve been pulling …
Continue reading Rescuing a Lowly Mastercraft Pot of Italy from Basket Pipe Oblivion
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 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 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 Pipe Steward 