The next pipe on the worktable got my attention when I saw it in January of 2018 on the online auction block from a seller in Hillsdale, Indiana. Even though the only clue to its provenance was the stamp, ‘Italy’, I liked the oval shank and that gentle, slight bend that lends itself to the …
Continue reading A Fresh Start for an Unbranded Italy Slightly Bent Oval Shank Billiard
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: …
January of 2018 was when I saw this Mastercraft Bulldog on the eBay auction block. The Bulldog seemed to have good ‘bones’ from the seller’s pictures, but the straight saddle stem was a bit out of kilter mounted on a bent shank. The stem seemed to be begging to be bent to the proper orientation. …
Continue reading Reviving a Mastercraft Imported Briar Bulldog
The next pipe on the table has some sentimental value to me. It came to me in July of 2018 as a gift from a dear friend in Bulgaria. Svetly actually gifted me 3 pipes on this occasion with the bones of one more. A ‘Nelson’ quarter bent Billiard, London England, a Churchwarden Bruyere Garantie, …
Continue reading A Fresh Start for a Savinelli Oscar Aged Briar 102 Billiard of Italy
The next pipe on the worktable is an attractive Chacom Relief. I am surprised it stayed in the ‘For “Pipe Dreamers” ONLY!’ collection as long as it did. I acquired the Chacom December of 2018 in what I have called the ‘St. Louis Lot of 26’ that my son, Josiah, helped me to land. Josiah …
Continue reading Fashioning a New Stem and Chamber Repair for a Chacom Relief Oval Shank Billiard
ADDENDUM: After publishing this write up, Doug Bisbee of DK Metal Pipes, who has a wealth of knowledge about Kirstens, reached out to me indicating that the ramrod was on this Kirsten was broken off and would gladly send me a replacement mouthpiece with ramrod. Thanks, Doug! After again returning from a trip to Krakow, …
Continue reading A Fresh Start for a 1st Generation Kirsten PATS & PATS PEND MADE IN USA – S
I acquired this French made Vuillard Concorde Chubby Billiard in January 2017 from a seller in Giussago, Italy. It was part of an interesting lot of 4 pipes which caught my attention. The other 3 pipes were a Denicotea De Luxe Regatta, a Chacom Radford's Seventy-Six, and a Machiavelli Cambio. The final bid was sufficient, …
Continue reading A Challenging Refinish of a Vuillard Concorde 3S of St. Claude Chubby Billiard
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 …
My son, Josiah gifted this pipe to me Christmas of 2018. He was in St. Louis working on his master’s degree and happened upon a lot of 26 pipes in an antique store nearby where he lived. He knew that I’m always looking for pipe deals to help benefit the Daughters of Bulgaria – a …
Continue reading A Christmas Pipe for Me – A 1920s Champion Made in France House Pipe
The Mountbatten Pot shape on the worktable came to me in December 2018 when my son, Josiah, came upon a lot of pipes for sale in an antique shop in St. Louis where he was studying. He sent me a picture of the ‘St. Louis Lot of 26’ with the proposal that he would split …
The Pipe Steward 