One of the fun parts of running a pipe repair and restoration business is working on pipes that I would otherwise never get to see. This early Dunhill Patent Shell Briar is just such a pipe, send in to DadsPipes for restoration as part of a larger lot of older Dunhills. As this initial series of pictures illustrates, the pipe was definitely overdue for some TLC. The chamber carried an uneven layer of carbon cake around the walls, the rim of the bowl was also obscured by more carbon deposits, but not enough to hide an uneven and out of round inner rim, likely the result of careless reaming with ..read more

The Peterson P-Lip stem is rather famous in the pipe world. Patented by Charles Peterson in 1898, the stem design incorporates a tapered airway and a unique button shape featuring an airway that exits the stem on top of the button rather than through the end of the stem. This image, taken from Pipedia.org, shows a cutaway view of the design. Those pipe smokers that enjoy the Peterson System tend to love the P-Lip stem. Today’s project was initiated by a Peterson fan from Kingston, Ontario who reached out to me to see what might be done to resolve a somewhat peculiar situation. The gentleman i ..read more

Every pipe smoker has a favourite pipe. It’s almost inevitable, I think, as people tend to find something that works for them – a particular button design, width or height, a bowl with just the right capacity or size to fit their needs the majority of the time. Have a look at any pipe lover’s rack and I’m willing to bet that a select few pipes seem to get used more frequently than the rest. A favourite pipe is like an old friend – faithful, reliable, and consistent without making undue demands. But sometimes a favourite pipe gets over used and, often , under maintained and that’s when little p ..read more

Stem replacement is one of the bread-and-butter jobs for any pipe repair shop. I have fit hundreds of stems over the last decade or so, from relatively simple jobs using pre-cast stem blanks in Vulcanite and Acrylic to fully custom hand cut stems crafted completely in-house from Ebonite, Acrylic or Resin rod. As a writer, I try not to inundate you, the reader, with too many blog posts on the same subject, but it’s hard to get away from talking about stems sometimes. They are, after all, “wear items” – parts that will eventually wear down through use, even by the most diligent of pipe smokers ..read more

It’s February 20th, and every pipe smoker knows that it is also International Pipe Smoking Day! I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you to pipe smokers across Canada and around the world for their continued support of DadsPipes.com. I have had the unique pleasure of repairing and restoring smoking pipes, new and old, sent in by pipe stewards from every province and territory of Canada and from countries on almost every continent (still waiting on you, Antarctica). Quite something for a little repair shop in Southwestern Ontario! I have also published more than 500 blog posts on Dads ..read more

Some pipe lovers really enjoy a shiny pipe, something that pipe makers have recognized for decades. One common way to provide a low-maintenance, high shine finish to briar pipes is to add a gloss topcoat over the colour coat during finishing. While a topcoat maintains a pipe’s shine for quite a while, it inevitably begins to flake off from use. The briar and topcoat expand and contract differently due to changes in heat and moisture. This uneven movement eventually causes the clear coat to delaminate from the briar, usually starting at the rim where the pipe is subjected to higher heat from sm ..read more

Today’s patient is a 2010 St Patrick’s Day pipe by Peterson, sent in for some TLC by a Canadian piper in Ottawa, ON. Judging by the series of photos below, the pipe is one of its steward’s favourites. The pipe had been well used but looked a bit worn out when it first arrived on the bench. The bowl was slightly gritty feeling and sported large dark patches on its left and right sides, loosely corresponding to where a smoker’s thumb and fingers might grip the bowl. The rim was hidden under an uneven layer of carbon “lava” and the chamber appeared out of round due to a lopsided buildup of cake w ..read more

Metal pipes have been around since the 1930s, and while briar pipes make up the overwhelming majority of smoking pipes, metal pipes, made famous by the makers of Falcon and Kirsten pipes, have a strong following. Part of the success of metal pipes is their light weight and interchangeable bowls, which can be made from briar, meerschaum, morta (bog oak) or other alternative woods. The pipe on the bench today came into the shop from a gentleman in Nova Scotia, Canada who had inherited the pipe from his grandfather. As you can see in this initial series of images, the pipe needed some TLC to brin ..read more

Welcome to 2024, everyone! The move into a new year should be a time for looking forward to new experiences, new events, and better times ahead (or at least wishing a heartfelt good riddance to parts of the previous year we’d rather not repeat), so while I extend my best wishes to you for the year ahead, I also find myself waxing nostalgic about certain things I’d like to see again. More specifically, as a pipe repairman, I really miss the previous availability of acrylic stem blanks. At the time of writing this post, there were only ten (10) acrylic stem options available – three Churchwarden ..read more

At this festive time of year, filled with family, friends (and special edition pipes!), I’d like to say thank you for a great 2023 and wish you and yours all the best for the year ahead. May your holidays be everything you hope. DadsPipes will close for the holidays on December 23rd and reopen on Wednesday, January 3rd. Looking forward to continuing to serve your pipe repair and restoration needs in 2024. – Charles ..read more