Tampers & Tools: Larry Blackett Sherlock Holmes Pewter Tamper

Larry Blackett of Buttons for Your Britches tampers has always had a strong mechanical aptitude. As a six-generation building contractor, he's excelled in numerous industries, from experience in metallurgy, casting, and jewelry making to establishing his own building company and crafting period-correct uniforms and tents for war reenactments. He was also a longtime pipe smoker, and his foray into crafting tampers grew from his hobby of fashioning pewter buttons for reenactors. With reenactments paused during the COVID-19 crisis, Larry leveraged his pewter expertise and transitioned into making unique pipe tampers of the highest quality.

Pewter is an ancient metal alloy comprising tin, copper, antimony, and sometimes silver, and the earliest known pewter artifact is from an Egyptian tomb and dates to the 17th century BCE. Compared to many other metals, pewter has a low boiling point, making it easy to work with, and Larry utilizes gravity-flow casts for all his tampers, pouring and finishing each by hand and crafting all of his own molds. He sources his pewter from a mill in New Hampshire, and the pewter he uses is 1.5 percent sterling silver, contributing to increased shine and greater durability. From pouring to finishing, each Larry Blackett tamper requires 30 hours to complete, and his own proprietary finishing process involves four special tumbling, polishing, and hand-buffing methods resulting in a glorious, long-lasting sheen.

Larry Blackett tampers are among the finest and most unique available, and offered here is an iconic Sherlock Holmes tamper crafted from Larry's signature pewter.