Possible first year Tanshell W60.

[doctorbob]

Picked up this listed as a 1962 W60 whangee Tanshell from smokingpipes.

Very nice little pipe, but I'm going to disagree with the dating. I think it's actually a 1952 pipe. The date code is a superscript sized, underlined 2 alongside W60, group 4, and T stamps. No COM on the stummel.



No markings on the bamboo stem but there are the remains (very faint) of Dunhill over London transversely on the bottom of the stem.

The blast is also very textured, similar to my 1952 Tanshell Friendly



Compared to a known 1952



The date code corresponds to 1952 more closely than 1962, and I've seen photos of a W60 whangee with a full sized, non underlined 2 as a date code. That pipe also had Dunhill on the bottom of the stummel, not the bit.

Taken together, I think this adds up to a possible 1952 pipe, the first year that the Tanshell finish was in full production, but maybe I'm seeing what I want to see...

On the minus side, the stem has had a tenon replacement (undisclosed) and I needed to fix a little chamber charring using the wonderful Mr. Dibos' water glass and charcoal method. The problems weren't enough to return the pipe, but I wish I knew about the tenon beforehand.

 

[georged]

Looks like a '52 to me also.

The main tell is because the first run of Tanshells were just Shells stained brown. Meaning the wood was Algerian so blasted the same AS a Shell---deep(ish), with lots of growth ring action and some shape irregularity---and wasn't the smoother, better line-holding, finer-grained "pebbly" blast of '53 and later Tanshells which were made with Sardinian briar.

I've always figured the most likely explanation for the wood switch was the first Tanshell batch amounted to a market test to see if the buying public liked a tan-brown pipe. When they did, the green light was given to the line, which meant making it from its own wood type. (Back then Dunhill's policy was a wood's distinctiveness was PART OF of a named finish. The others were Calabrian for Bruyere, and Corsican for Root.)

Sucks about the tenon repair. I hope it's not too gruesome. (When properly done it takes a magnifier and knowing what you're looking for to spot a replacement.)

 

[doctorbob]

Thanks for your input George, I do concur. The tenon isn't a great job, but it certainly is functional, and the stem itself is in great condition for a pipe of the age.

I think they went with a harder briar to have more consistent stain results. It's possible that the deeper colors on the early Tanshell pipes can be partially attributed to the depth of blast on the softer wood.