Odd thought about Canadian pipe repairers that occurred to me

[bnichols23]

In the US we've got a pretty good batch of pipe repair pros. A thought occurred to me in thinking about how tough things are for our Canadian brethren/sistern. [sic, very] Serious question:
Are there any reputable/reliable Canadian pipe repair providers?
Bill

 

[davet]

Great question :puffpipe:

 

[sasquatch]

Steve Laug does resto, but not as a full time gig. https://rebornpipes.com/
I don't know of any who do it full time. There was a guy in Calgary who did it for some of the shops in town, but I have no idea who or what his skill level was.
Thing is, as a Canadian, there just isn't enough trade in pipes to make any kind of living at it - not enough people, not enough smokers, most especially, not enough pipe smokers.
I do the occassional repair when someone twists my arm hard enough, but it's rare and unpleasant.
And... it's just not that big a deal to ship a pipe to one of the qualified and competent American pipe fixer dudes.

 

[ashdigger]

And... it's just not that big a deal to ship a pipe to one of the qualified and competent American pipe fixer dudes

I live in the US, but have shipped pipes to Canada and have had pipes shipped to me. On average I think it costs about $10 more. I could be wrong, but that's not a big deal.

 

[mikethompson]

Agreed shipping internationally isn't much more than shipping domestically, but there is the added component of customs.

 

[mau1]

There's Charles Lemon in Ontario. He has a website called Dad's Pipes where he blogs about the pipes he repairs, step by step. It's quite good. Rebornpipes does the same. I'm not sure if Charles does this full-time or not.

 

[mau1]

Good question Bill.

 

[canadianpuffer]

There’s a pipe shop in Oshawa “Victory Cigars/Victory Pipes” that take repairs. I believe they have a guy named Jack or something they contract it out too. I’ve had a replacement stem done and the work was fantastic and only like $25 CAD. I’ve had a few other friend get some restoration work that turned out well. Turn around tine was good too.

 

[mau1]

What pipe did you have the replacement stem done for? I have a couple of Peterson bowls that need a stem. I've been hoping to find original stems but that might be a needle in a haystack situation.

 

[mau1]

Pruss told me about Victory Cigars in Oshawa as well. Good to know we have a few options. I have a 1911 GBD Speciale, however, that I will be sending to Cook's Fine Pipe Works in the future. For some pipes, you just want to make sure they get the royal treatment.

 

[bnichols23]

Many Thanks, guys! Like I said, it just occurred to me while thinking about everything *else* our northern compadres have to suffer through. I figured it'd be pretty much like sas said:

just isn't enough trade in pipes to make any kind of living at it

Bill

 

[canadianpuffer]

Funny enough I had a stem cut for the pipe Pat/Pruss gave me before he left for NZ. It’s a comoy and looks and smokes great