pipemakersforum.com

That's a neat little system there. With some minor modification it would be excellent for stamping stummels as well.

I've always wondered whether or not to get some brand stamps. What stopped me in the past was the expense and the potential ethical conundrum. Someone still owns the rights to the names of all these pipe brands. It was my understanding that repairmen in the past had to be licensed to officially add a new stamping and they would purchase stamps from the factory. Any thoughts, George?

Back when 20% of the adult male population of the Western world smoked a pipe and there were hundreds of pipe manufacturers fighting for market share, such "mainstream product" considerations were in effect. Today, pipes are like the antique electric power line insulator market, or hand-turned cast iron coffee grinder market. Not only small, but the vast majority of the makers no longer exist. There's no one to get authorization FROM, and even if there was, getting their 25 cents from each stem you make of their brand---all nine of them this year!---doesn't even register.

The last time I had this conversation with Dunhill's American distributor, Music City Marketing (which shut its doors several years ago), they only laughed in a kindly way and said they were delighted to know someone was keeping the old pipes alive, and wished me well.

Your concerns are honorable ones, in other words, but the world has changed in a way that has altered the context of the situation. There is no longer a concern that low-quality, low-cost repairmen will come in under the radar and "steal business" or harm their brand's perception. Indeed, there are hardly any repairmen left at all.