One of the things I’ve “enjoyed” doing during the past year is exploring new tobacco blends. Define “new tobacco blends” as blends I haven’t smoked before. Since July 2020, I have become an even bigger fan of Rattray’s, HU Tobacco, Kohlhase & Kopp, and Dan’s Tobacco. The problem is that many of the blends I enjoy are hard to find …
When is an estate pipe find not sweet? When it’s a Savory pipe. If you never ever heard of a Savory pipe, you’re not alone. When I first saw the “Crown over S” logo I thought it was a Stanwell. But, it was stamped “Made in London England” so I knew it wasn’t a Stanwell. I started doing some research. …
Pipe smokers keep asking me how I keep finding good pipes at antique shops, malls and junk shops. My answer is always, “Just dumb, blind luck,” and that is the Truth. I’ve come to the conclusion, that I go looking for a pipe, I don’t find one. For some reason, I seem to have more success just going into a …
I saw my first Ardor pipe seven years ago at a Denham Springs “antique shop.” It had eight or nine beautiful, new Ardor pipes on display and priced at the MSRP. This “antique” shop – about a half-step above a roadside flea market, was asking full retail for the pipes. The least expensive one was $375. (In my opinion, an …
Which Stem for Which Pipe? When the Ben Wades arrived, the Martinique came with a beautiful, amber colored but transparent acrylic stem. There was a minor amount of tooth chatter near the bit, but nothing I felt the need to repair. The airway, on the other hand, was black from being smoked. The stem was tight in the mortise and …
Not Ben Wade the U.S. politician or Ben Wade the baseball player and scout, but Ben Wade pipes. Specifically, a Ben Wade Martinique and a Ben Wade Royal Grain produced by Preben Holm in Denmark. I first saw the Martinique and the bowl for the Royal Grain at Penny’s Little Flea Market just outside of Marion, MS two weeks ago. …
August has been a good month for rescuing pipes from various antique shops in Mississippi. Earlier this month, I bought a Peterson Kapp-Royal and a Søren Refburg Rasmussen freehand from an antique mall in Picayune, Mississippi. Click the link to read about the Peterson and read about the Søren at the end of this post. This past weekend, we visited …
Not long ago, I was discussing a Peterson Kapp-Royal I was restoring with Mark Irwin at (https://petersonpipenotes.wordpress.com/) and he mentioned soaking the stummels in an alcohol bath to clean the exterior. Both Mark and Steve Laug at (https://rebornpipes.com/) use 91% isopropyl alcohol the bath. After 24 hours, the alcohol removes the finish, removes some of …
One of my four sisters likes to shop flea markets, street fairs, antique/collectible and junk shops. She recently found a Royal Danish 991R which she gifted to me as a restoration project. In researching the pipe, I’ve found that it is a Ukulele shape designed for Stanwell by Sixteen Iversson. Royal Danish is one of the “seconds” brand of Stanwell …
Even a blind squirrel finds an occasional acorn. That’s how I feel sometimes when I walk into a junktique shop (the signs usually say “Antique & Collectibles) and finding something worth adding to my collection. A recent Saturday expedition to one of these shops uncovered 15 or 16 usual Medicos, Dr. Grabow’s and Kaywoodie’s damaged beyond consideration. I found the …
