One of the things that was on my ‘genuine’ Bucket List was to take my wife back to Mexico. Beth grew up in Mexico where her parents were missionaries in the state of Guererro where the city of Acapulco is located. During her years there her family lived in Acapulco, but more years were spent …
Continue reading A Fresh Start for an Unbranded Briar Calabash Made in London England
The next pipe on the worktable has some sentimental value for me. I remember well seeing a trove of pipes sitting on the vendor’s table in the shadow of Nevski Cathedral in the center of Sofia, Bulgaria. It was December 27, 2019, and two of my five children were visiting from the US with one …
The W.Ø. Larsen HANDMADE came to me in August 2021 in what I call the Lakewood Lot of 14. I met Ron in the Denver suburb of Lakewood when I went to his house to purchase a Zero Gravity reclining lawn chair. When I pulled up to his house, he was sitting in the driveway …
Continue reading Refreshing a Striking W.Ø. Larsen HANDMADE Selected Grain 15 Made in Denmark
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 next pipe on the worktable is an Amphora X-Tra of Holland which came to me via the online auction block in December of 2017, from a seller in Fort Meyers, Florida. The bid was sufficient for the day and the Amphora Poker made its way to the For “Pipe Dreamers” ONLY! online collection. Gary …
Continue reading Restoring a Gubbels Amphora 815 X-tra of Holland Poker
I love the Season of Christmas when most of the world celebrates the fact that Christ was born. When I consider the shape of the world, and our prayers for the people of Ukraine, I am thankful for a reason to celebrate something that is good news. The next pipe on the worktable was commissioned …
My wife and I love to travel. Ever since returning from living in Bulgaria for 15 years – and before that in Ukraine and Spain, our 30 years living in Europe has made it difficult to stay in one place for long. This introduction is to serve as the backdrop for the next pipe on …
Continue reading A Utah Camping Trip Restoration of an Unbranded Bent Dublin
This Republic era Kildare came to me in one of my first larger acquisitions in September of 2017 when I landed a lot of 66 pipes on the auction block. The ‘Lot of 66’ came from an NGO in Texas called ‘The Caring Place’ – an organization that takes donations and resells to help the …
Continue reading A Rim Rebuild Resuscitating a Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 86 Apple
It’s fitting that the next pipe on the worktable is another well-known Italian pipe name, Savinelli. Pipe man Gary from North Carolina added this Italian to the Brebbia Portofino, which came out great. In the research drilling down to understand the origins of the Brebbia Portofino line, I discovered that this production line was an …
Continue reading Sprucing Up a Classy Savinelli Silver 111 KS Italy Billiard
After a 1 month and 9-day road trip covering 1400 miles I’m finally back at the worktable. My wife and I visited several churches, family and friends in our trek that went east from Colorado. We pulled our Forest River R-pod and camped along the way. In addition to our visits, we were able to …
The Pipe Steward 