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 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
In January of 2018 I saw this fist-filling saddle stem Billiard on the online auction block from a seller in Hillsdale, Indiana. The obscured grain had great potential, but the stem needed a good bit of help. I put out a bid and brought this stout Billiard home to Bulgaria where we lived at the …
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 …
I acquired this attractive Stanwell Handmade Canadian from a seller in Kallithea, Greece, just south of Athens. The final bid was sufficient and the Canadian made its way to Sofia, Bulgaria, where we were living, and it joined other pipes in the ‘For “Pipe Dreamers” ONLY!’ where pipe men and women can commission pipes that …
Continue reading A Stately Stanwell Handmade Canadian of Denmark Comes Back to Life
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 …
This ‘mobile restoration’ begins on Mother’s Day as my wife and I embark on a trip from Golden, Colorado, to Minnesota to visit family – mainly to see my wife’s father who now lives in an assisted living facility. When we returned to the US from Bulgaria last year, amid all the world pandemic concerns …
The iconic ‘Poker’ is a fun shape that always seems to evoke images of why it became known as the ‘Poker’ – engaged in a game of cards or some other worthy board game with friends around a table and joined by one’s trusted and ‘lucky’ pipe ‘parked’ next to the glass holding one’s preferred adult beverage and packed with the familiar, comfortable aroma of one’s favorite blend. THIS is the Poker capturing a picture of the ‘Fellowship of the Briar’ that unites many and diverse men and women around a shared passion. Bill Burney’s great description of the Poker shape is worth repeating here from Pipedia:
The Pipe Steward 