Is a Dunhill Worth the Cost?

[pipesmokingtom]

If owning a Dunhill makes you feel prestigious, I guess there is plenty of value in that. We live in a world that takes pleasure in beating you down so if an item you saved for and proudly purchased can make you hold your head a little higher or add a bounce to your step - have at it!
I payed a few thousand dollars for a handmade guitar. Is it functionally better than a Taylor or Martin or other established and universally revered brand? Probaby not, but I love it much more than I would an off-the-shelfer.
So personally, if I were to spend several hundred on a pipe (I won't, but I get it), I'd commission a piece to my spec so there were none else like it, to the degree that's possible.

 

[iamn8]

Personally I don't think it's prestige. I'm on disability and have no social life nor do I go anywhere. I just like and appreciate well made pieces of.... stuff. It makes me happy and these days I'll jump on anything that'll bring any as it's been hard to come by lately. :D
Ps. Have a great 4th of July Independence Day everyone!!!! Caio

 

[pipesmokingtom]

There is a prestige aspect to a degree. There has to be. To my knowledge that's largely why Dunhill created Dunhill. He set really high standards and demanded prices that would make it so anyone smoking a Dunhill would feel like he should be looked up to to some degree.
I feel it when I'm playing my guitar. Knowing someone might look at me playing it and think "That looks expensive" makes me feel something... Maybe prestigious isn't the right word?

 

[iamn8]

Nah you're right. There's obviously prestige. People who appear to be able to afford expensive things are taken more seriously, for right or wrong. I think you're correct. I stand corrected. I just have never smoked around another human being... Well once at the local B&M, so the only people who've ever seen my pipes are here in a virtual room. Obviously I couldn't care less what all you bastards think ::

 

[pipesmokingtom]

I care what everyone thinks! At least to the degree that I can argue with it

 

[Chasing Embers]

I would probably buy another if they were a couple of hundred dollars cheaper, but not being a fan of classic shapes and knowing that I can get artisan pipes around or under $500, Dunhills just aren't that attractive to me. Love their tobacco though.

 

[phil67]

phil: I must ask (gently applying the needle, hopefully in a humorous manner): "Do you consider Missouri Meerschaum to be the superior marque in the field of cobs? Or, will you happily purchase one of Chinese manufacture at a lower price?"

Neither as I only smoke artisan cobs.
Seriously though, I've only smoked MM's. Considering their extremely low price and quality it wouldn't make any sense whatsoever to purchase something that's cheaper and of unknown origin.

 

[misterlowercase]

There is a prestige aspect to a degree. There has to be. To my knowledge that's largely why Dunhill created Dunhill. He set really high standards and demanded prices that would make it so anyone smoking a Dunhill would feel like he should be looked up to to some degree.

Yep, that's been a major aspect right from the beginning,

so much so that A.A. Milne wrote an essay about the "snobbish airs" associated with Dunhill as early as 1920!!!!
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/lets-make-fun-of-dunhill
:

IMO "engineering" is crap. Now I'm certain cheap pipes might've been drilled out poorly by a drunkard, but we're talking about drilling a hole. "Engineering"?!? Seriously?

I recently bought a made in 2015 3903 nosewarmer.
This is what I got:

High cut on slot and off-center airway are an indicator of what is to be seen within the shank...

...which is a very bad misdrill:

I had restrained myself, out of respect, to not publicize this poor example.

I did make a thread about it due to warranty confusions but it was decided by both myself and a Mod that since the issue got resolved it'd be best to delete the thread --- I had bought the pipe from site sponsor Novelli in Italy, but wanted to return it under the White Spot Guarantee to SmokingPipes, and SP went above and beyond to accommodate me, their customer service is the THE BEST and I thank them for making my life easy concerning the problem.
I decided to post the pix now, because, it's relevant to the conversation, and they did after all make the pipe and release it into the market - they gotta live with it then I reckon.
That it carries Alfred Dunhill's name is a tragedy and he's rolling over in the grave I'm sure.
Sure,

this is just one pipe,

the only "brand new" Dunhill I've ever bought,

but,

it only takes one such bad experience to taint my perceptions of the modern Dunhill,

and I highly doubt that I'd ever venture to buy a newly made example again.
The modern White Spot is just too spotty.
The old days however,

will live on forever!

 

[pitchfork]

I've never bought a new Dunhill at US retail prices (over $500 for a small pipe is too much for my needs), but for what they cost from Al Pascia or Novelli, I'd say absolutely they're "worth the cost." A group 3 Shell costs about $250 or so. Bruyere costs about $350.
Anyhow, if you like the look of Dunhill's pipes, there's really no substitute. And the quality is absolutely top-notch. It's very rare (see above) for any kind of flaw in workmanship to appear in a Dunhill pipe. Now, the airway won't be quite as perfect, nor the stem quite as thin, as you'd get from a similarly priced hand-made pipe, but the pipe smoker himself is the main factor, in my opinion, determining whether a pipe smokes properly or not. I bought a pot earlier this year and it never gurgles, the stem is comfortable and the overall performance is superb.
Bottom line, you can get slightly better performing pipes for less, but if you like the way certain Dunhills look, you'll probably be very happy with a Dunhill.

 

[iamn8]

I've purchased more than a few dozen Dunhill pipes ranging from 1918 to 2000's and I see absolutely no difference and actually prefer the later ones, my new Diplomat being my favorite. There isn't the slightest chance of anyone convincing me of pre-x Dunhill superiority as I've just not seen it.... A bowl with a nicely drilled hole is all these are... "Engineering"... I'm going to pour some scotch in my finely and highly engineered highball glass which contains the liquor in a way no other container can and eat a burger off my exquisitely engineered plate which allows the meat to sit on it as no other can. Then I'm going to smoke... Tobacco out of a hole in a wood bowl with a stem and a mouthpiece.

 

[mso489]

As Humphrey Bogart says of the little six pound sculpture of the Maltese Falcon, in a movie by the same name, and as might be said of Dunhills, "It's the stuff that dreams are made of." The magic emanates from the buyers of Dunhill pipes as much as from the pipes themselves, handsome and well-made as they are.

 

[sparrowhawk]

I would speculate that most here would agree that it's the name and very excellently executed classic look that is behind the pricetage. For me, that's just not enough. Thanks for your input gentlemen. You've probably saved me a pretty penny.

 

[hierophant]

I only own one Dunhill, an estate Shell Briar, which I purchased from SPC. It is absolutely worth what I paid for it. I also have an Ashton billiard that I bought new, smokes just as good but cost less new than the used Dunhill. For me the thing is, if having it is going to make you happy and you can afford it then it's worth it.

 

[misterlowercase]

Sandblasting quality declined over the years,

at least in my book,

the modern ones look "standard issue" and are lacking character.
Too bad they don't make 'em like this anymore...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Wonderful-DUNHILL-LC-Shell-Vintage-Estate-Pipe-1920s-1930s-Briar-/181790285259?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a538b9dcb

 

[sablebrush52]

Sandblasting quality declined over the years,

at least in my book,

the modern ones look "standard issue" and are lacking character.

IIRC, the deal there was that the Algerian briar, which resulted in craggy blasts, became unavailable after the War for Independence started in 1954. So Dunhill turned to Grecian briar, which didn't develop the same craggy blasts.
You Can Read About It Here
With regard to the pipe on eBay, do you think she used lemon or almond scented Old English on it?

 

[pipesmokingtom]

do you think she used lemon or almond scented Old English on it?

Sprayed it down with lemon and wiped it with a coffee-stained dish cloth.

 

[misterlowercase]

With regard to the pipe on eBay, do you think she used lemon or almond scented Old English on it?

:lol:

Probably lemon,

needed a strong scent to counteract the intense stankiness!

 

[misterlowercase]

Algerian briar is available once again,

they should use it for the Shells!
Do they even do the oil-curing anymore?
One of the few times I've seen an official comment on the blast process:

"In order to produce this finish, two grades of microscopic sized glass

balls are blasted, at around 40 pounds per square inch pressure, at the

pipe. During this process the softer parts of the pipe bowl disappear

revealing a wonderfully unique grain pattern. The whole process is

undertaken by hand and it is the skill and judgement of the craftsman that

produces these pipes. If the sandblasting on one particular spot of the

pipe is done for too long this will cause the bowl to become concave, which

natuarlly will mean it is rejected."
http://www.pipes.org/BURST/FORMATTED/192.031.html

According to Balfour in his great Dunhill book,

the early blasts were carried out by the London Sandblast Co.,

but nary a trace of them seems to survive except church windows,

and an odd knick-knack...

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-schweppes-ashtray-matchbox-520302369
:!:

 

[phil67]

Holy crap, she rubbed it down with Old English oil? I use the lemon oil for some of my furniture, but to use that on a pipe! I just hope the seller doesn’t come across any valuable coins and decide to rub them down with Brasso Metal Polish before placing them up for sale!

 

[mso489]

I'd guess from the voluminous posts that Forums members mostly love Dunhills whether they own them or not, but equally dislike the lofty pricing. I think that's fair. Dunhill lives by its luxury appeal, but it generates some resentment too. I suspect Dunhill's high prices have some side effects, such as generating sales for artisanal pipes that are beautifully made but sell for hundreds less; generating contentment with sturdily smokeable but moderate priced pipes in the Savenelli, Chocum, Neerup, Johs etc. neighborhood; and drives a brisk market in Dunhill estates. I think Dunhill also generates traffic in British pipe brands in general, some Dunhill affiliated and others not, including Parker, Hardcastle, Ashton, Britannia, Ferndown, and others.