Blog by Steve Laug

When I first started working on pipes I literally picked up every pipe that I found whether I picked them up in flea markets, antique shops or thrift shops. I was incredibly indiscriminate and picked them all up. I bought Dr. Grabows, Yello Boles, any and every American or Canadian Made pipe, Danish, English, French, German or any other country where a pipe was made that caught my attention. I was always on the lookout for that illusive Dunhill or Preben Holm made pipe. I found a few of both over the years. In those early days, almost 20 years ago, I paid very little for the pipes I found. Most cost me between $10 and $12. I also bought a few on EBay as well in the same price range. These early days were filled with excitement regardless of the pipes that I had found.

One day, almost drowning in pipe that I had restored and did not want and could not even seem to give away any more I made a significant change to my purchasing and hunting habits. I decided to “go to school on pipe repairs”. I purchased pipe that needed very specific repairs. For example,. I would buy pipes that needed to be refinished and work on them until I was comfortable with the process from beginning to end. I would buy bowls for restemming and work on the process of fitting and shaping new stems until I had worked out my own system. Each purchase represented something that I wanted to learn and continued to work on until I became better at the process. This went on for several years until I was comfortable with most restoration projects or needs. Notice, I never used the terms perfected or became proficient because I am always in the process of learning and refining the work.

From there I went on to purchase pipes by country of origin. I focused primarily on English and Danish pipe with a few specialty or unique American pipes. These American pipes were ones that I called oddities or perhaps a better term would be unique or specialty pipes. I broadly focused on country rather than specific brands. I worked on virtually anything British or Danish. In terms of British pipes I purchased Barlings, Comoys, GBDs and all the various seconds or sub lines that each produced. These included Portland, Dr. Plumb, Irwins, the Everyman, the Guildhall to name a few. I also picked up Orliks, Millvilles, Upshalls, Ashtons, Charatans, Dunhill, Loewe and Co., Astleys, BBBs, Charles Fairmorn, Parker, Redman, Sasieni, Tilsheads and others.

In terms of Danish pipes I purchased all the various pipes carved by Preben Holdm- Danish Pride, Preben Holm, Golden Danish, Walnut Monte Verdi to name a few. I also bought Georg Jensen, Stanwell, Royal Danish, Stokkebye, Winslow, Johs, Nording, Bari and Bentleys. There were others that I picked up as well whose names escape me. There were many other brands that caught my eye and joined the collection that needed to be worked on.

The third change of focus is more recent, perhaps the past 4 years or so. That involved buying estates as well as buying specific brands noted above. This has been a very enjoyable aspect of the hobby for us. We buy estates from family members and executors and get to enjoy the story of their friend, husband, father, uncle or brother. We learn to understand and know them in their pipe smoking habits. That is a huge bonus that allows us to carry on the story of a specific pipe or group of pipes. These estates have been purchased from family members, executors and sellers moving pipes for the families. These estates have come from Europe, Australia, Asia, the US and Canada. It is a pleasant twist on the hobby for both Jeff and me.

It seems that we rarely buy pipes from EBay any longer as we no longer need to. We still enjoy the pipe hunt and still enjoying buying from individuals who contact us about pipes they would like to sell. We enjoy the thrill of the pipe hunt and the mystery of uncovering beautiful briar in the pipes that we restore. We love the restoration journey. Continue to follow us in our restoration journey as demonstrated in the blog. We are sure you will enjoy the musings and development as we work on these pipe finds. Thanks for your faithful support.