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  1. Mike N

    Question About Shining the Rim

    The toughest thing for me in rehabbing a pipe is bringing back the shine to the rim of a briar billiard. No matter how much oiling and polishing I can’t seem to make the rim look new. I’ve resorted to applying a thin coat or two of shellac to the rim (only) so as not to seal the entire bowl but...
  2. Mike N

    Making the Button More Comfortable

    I love my Nuttens Bing, but at 6.4 mm I find the button height a tad too high for clenching. A little 400 grit sandpaper takes it down to 5.1mm and the buffing wheel with blue compound polishes it up (at least for me) to a perfect 5.0 mm. The digital calipers are a must and very cheap on eBay at...
  3. Mike N

    Wally Frank, a True American Icon

    I’ve been searching for a 1960s Wally Frank pipe and got this one on eBay for $75. It arrived today and smoking it is a true pleasure. Here’s a link to more info: Wally Frank - Pipedia - https://pipedia.org/wiki/Wally_Frank (click on images to enlarge)
  4. Mike N

    A Visit To America’s Oldest Pipe Tobacco Company

    I was in Richmond VA today, and got a chance to visit Sutliff and get a tour of their tremendous facility. Jake McKenna runs the concierge service for Tobaccopipes.com, and I got to pick up several pipes and a load of tobacco. I highly recommend this service. Jake was great.
  5. Mike N

    Fish Plaque Pipe Holder

    I wanted a special pipe holder for my Neerup/Peder Jeppesen “Silver Salmon” series pipes, which also have a spinning fly reel on the stem. I bought a carved wooden fish (not taxidermy) for $20 at a flea market and mounted it on a plaque I made from plywood and birch tree bark from my property...
  6. Mike N

    Dr. Alan Harrelson Visits Chesterton’s in Steubenville, Ohio

    Alan Harrelson of The Pipe Cottage visited Chesterton’s in Ohio yesterday and held a blending session with about 30 pipers in attendance. The new proprietary blend is named for St. Bede and has a healthy dose of Latakia. An impromptu banjo and bluegrass session followed.
  7. Mike N

    C&D’s Palmetto Balkan

    I bought four 8-ounce tins of Palmetto Balkan from two sites upon its release this week.. My plan is to smoke one throughout the summer and cellar the other three. I love that they are individually numbered. My initial impressions are that it was a bit dry out of the tin but ready to smoke. It...
  8. Mike N

    Sara Eltang Pipes

    Before I read the book about Tom Eltang (It’s Good To Be A Pipemaker), I just assumed Sara Eltang was a relative who made her own line of pipes. When I learned that it’s a line made by Tom and named for his daughter I bought one and it arrived today. I can’t wait to smoke it. Has any one else...
  9. Mike N

    Armellini Wax-Sealed “Chastity Twine” To Verify Unsmoked Status

    I bought this pipe as new old stock from an old pipe shop in Akron, Ohio. Has anyone seen something similar to this “chastity twine?” I’m told that Sasseini did something similar to its high-end pipes in the 1980s. Thanks. (click on photos to enlarge)
  10. Mike N

    Third Pipe Of A Set From Simon

    LCS Briars carve-blasted commissions in black with pearl white stems. (left to right: a tall billiard, a bent brandy and finally, the apple, which arrived today.) (click on image to enlarge)
  11. Mike N

    Living My Best Cigar Life. —Moundsville, WV

    Living My Best Cigar Life, in Moundsville, WV, about 10 miles south of Wheeling near the Ohio River. I visited this newish brick and mortar today. Great tinned pipe tobacco selection and a super helpful owner. I picked up 10 tins: 1. Germain‘s Royal Jersey Dark Cavendish. 2. Germain‘s Royal...
  12. Mike N

    Suggestions for Trip to Castello’s and Lake Como?

    As a Castello pipe collector, I would love to visit the Lake Como region of Italy and visit the Castello shop in Cantu’ this summer. A visit to Corti pipe shop and Al Pascià in Milan, and maybe a train trip to a shop in Switzerland would be on my bucket list, too. Has anyone taken a vacation to...
  13. Mike N

    Help Identifying A Castello

    Can anyone help me identify the model and year of issue for this Castello pipe from the silver band nomenclature? Thx
  14. Mike N

    Did Dunhill Make a Bamboo Stem?

    I picked this pipe up from a European seller. I would like to know if the bamboo is Dunhill factory or later add on. I’ve not been able to find it in any catalog. It is marked Dunhill 4102 and the stem has the white dot. Thanks for any information. (tap on photo to enlarge)
  15. Mike N

    Quick Rehab of an ST DuPont 202

    I really like Dupont pipes because of their scarcity. I picked this one up on eBay for about $35. I gave it a quick reaming and sanding of the bowl and rim and used some leather dye. I then buffed it out with some heated carnauba wax. I made sure to protect the nomenclature.
  16. Mike N

    A Pair Of LCS Commissions - Bent Brandy And Billiard

    I posted about these LCS (London Calling with Simon) commissioned pipes separately, but with the arrival today of the matching bent brandy, here is a photo with its billiard big brother. I‘m going to have to just stare at these for a while before firing them up. (tap on image to enlarge)
  17. Mike N

    Two New Bent Brandy Commissions By Two Makers

    Here are two commissioned bent brandys that were both completed today per my specifications, including the pearl white stems. The black ring blast is by Simon at LCS Briars in London. It matches a straight stem billiard he made for me a few months ago. The brown rustication is by Tim Beaumont of...
  18. Mike N

    My first Eltangs

    I picked up these two estate Eltangs quite reasonably on eBay. I am shocked at how something so simple-looking can be such a smoking machine. The guy is a genius and lives up to the legend. . (tap on images to enlarge)
  19. Mike N

    Visit to Robusto & Briar (Cleveland)

    I was In Cleveland today and got to stop by a great brick and mortar, Robusto & Briar. Very large selection of pipe tobacco (see photo below of a few I picked up). The pipe section was great also. I purchased two Charlatan estates and they buffed them out in the back room while I waited. Great...
  20. Mike N

    Something A Little Different From Papa Bear Pipes

    I just got my 12th pipe from Tim Beaumont and this time he added a sterling silver fish embellishment to the stem for the fly fisherman in me. He’s such a craftsman. (Tap on photos to enlarge)
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