Another thread on Charatan pipes got me to thinking about one of mine that I had repaired a couple years ago.
I bought it online, and when I recieved, it I found that it had a cracked lip.
It felt so good in hand, and the bowl was in such good condition that I decided to keep it, and one day get it fixed.
The only problem was that the nomenclature on the shank ended right at the very end of. There was no room for error in fitting another stem. Not too many pipe repair people can do what this pipe needed. Also I wanted the stem to be a double comfort bit just like the original.
I put it away for the time being. Then one day I read Pease's article "The Pipe Whisperer". In it he mentioned George Dibos of Precision pipe repair, and what a perfectionist he was. Not only that, but George was only one of two people able, and more importantly, willing, to make a double comfort bit stem. I had found just the man to fix my Charatan.
I sent it off to George. About a week later he called me and we discussed the problem, and possible cost involved. I told him I did not want to loose any of the nomenclature on the shank, and I wanted a double comfort bit just like the original. The CP logo and reg. no. wasn't important to me, as it would be a smoker, and not something I wanted to show off as an original, since it wouldn't be.
George took quite a while getting this done, as he was ill most of that year, but when I got the pipe back, it was beautifully executed. It looked like the original stem and what's more important, felt like it too.
I can highly recommend George Dibos. He is truly a master pipe repairman.
Pictures:
damaged stem:
I bought it online, and when I recieved, it I found that it had a cracked lip.
It felt so good in hand, and the bowl was in such good condition that I decided to keep it, and one day get it fixed.
The only problem was that the nomenclature on the shank ended right at the very end of. There was no room for error in fitting another stem. Not too many pipe repair people can do what this pipe needed. Also I wanted the stem to be a double comfort bit just like the original.
I put it away for the time being. Then one day I read Pease's article "The Pipe Whisperer". In it he mentioned George Dibos of Precision pipe repair, and what a perfectionist he was. Not only that, but George was only one of two people able, and more importantly, willing, to make a double comfort bit stem. I had found just the man to fix my Charatan.
I sent it off to George. About a week later he called me and we discussed the problem, and possible cost involved. I told him I did not want to loose any of the nomenclature on the shank, and I wanted a double comfort bit just like the original. The CP logo and reg. no. wasn't important to me, as it would be a smoker, and not something I wanted to show off as an original, since it wouldn't be.
George took quite a while getting this done, as he was ill most of that year, but when I got the pipe back, it was beautifully executed. It looked like the original stem and what's more important, felt like it too.
I can highly recommend George Dibos. He is truly a master pipe repairman.
Pictures:
damaged stem:
