Having served in the Canadian Forces Reserve during my university days, I’m a big fan of all things Army, including military mount pipes, so when this Nino Rossi Sterling 167 hit my worktable, I was quite excited to see what lay under the layers of tar and tarnish.

This pipe was obviously a favourite of its previous owner, and it showed all the hallmarks of a reasonably well cared for constant companion – a fairly thick layer of what turned out to be very dense cake in the bowl, tars on the rim and a bit of road rash here and there on the outside of the bowl from handling over the years. The bowl had been reamed at some point with a knife, leaving a ragged and somewhat out of round chamber.

The sterling silver shank cap and tenon were heavily tarnished and greasy feeling, while the vulcanite stem…