The Kiko on the worktable came to me on a pipe picking expedition on December 27, 2019. My wife and I were still living in Sofia, Bulgaria, where we had lived for 15 years. In the center of the city is erected a majestic Orthodox church called Nevski Cathedral. Just a small distance from Nevski …
Continue reading Reviving a Kiko Countryman Genuine Block Meerschaum 7 Billiard of TANGANYIKA
The next pipe is another treasure from the prized St. Louis Lot of 26 which has produced several pipes that have made their way to the collections of new stewards. The pipe on the worktable is marked with an arrow.I have shared the story several times as these pipes have come to the worktable. In …
Continue reading A Surprise Discovery of a Meerschaum Lining for a Sculpted Billiard of Italy
The next pipe on the worktable came from the US auction block in January of 2018, from a seller in Warsaw, New York. I was attracted to this pipe because of the distinctive sculpted rustication. The canted Dublin bowl and slight taper of the stem was also attractive to me. The final bid favored me, …
Continue reading Bringing Life to a Whitehall Gulf Stream Imported Briar Sculpted Dublin
The KBB Yello-Bole Apple now on the worktable brings with it a bucket full of nostalgia for me. It was November 7, 2016, and my wife and I were in the States from Bulgaria for the wedding of our youngest daughter, Johanna, in Nashville, Tennessee. The wedding was the day before and we were heading …
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 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 my way as a gift in March of 2019. Nicky is the eldest son of dear friends in Bulgaria, Svetly and CC, who I’ve written of before. He is also brother of El, who lived with my wife and me in Sofia, while she studied Chinese language and …
Continue reading New Life for a Spanish Everest Master ‘Bing’ 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
In September of 2017, I landed on eBay the first large lot of pipes which helped to stock the ‘For “Pipe Dreamers” ONLY!’ online inventory where pipe men and women seek pipes that whisper their names and then commission them. The ‘Lot of 66’ pipes have contained many treasures that have already been restored and …
Continue reading A Fresh Start for a GBD Flame 1344 Poker Made in France
The Pipe Steward 