Advice On Ashton and Dunhill Estate Pipes

americaman · Aug 15, 2019

I recently came across these estate pipes in my local B&M. I would love to hear some info on them, and whether you think I should buy them or hold off. Any advice would be appreciated.
This is an Ashton, I believe from the year 2000 (if I am wrong you can correct me). I am guessing it was made by Bill Taylor, which is what got me interested. There is thick carbon cake on the inside which I would have to clean out, and the stem has some bite marks. $165

This is a Dunhill. Possibly year 1967, but I have no idea, I'm new to the Dunhill game. The bowl is absolutely clean. It has a replacement stem with a white spot, which makes it look 100% real. I would not be buying this to collect, but to smoke. $185

alaskanpiper · Aug 15, 2019

In my experience you can find dunhill pipes on ebay fairly regularly that are in good condition with original stems for quite a bit less than that. I have multiple 1960s bruyere group 4s and paid less than $150 for all of them. As low as $105, all in good condition when they arrived with no major flaws. I am not a shell briar fan, for purely aesthetic reasons, (only have one from 1928) but I see them sell on ebay all the time.
Even if they aren't in ideal condition, don't be afraid of a little stem oxidation or rim cake, most of the time it will come right off with the right methods.
Just have to hunt hard and hunt often, and have your final price in mind for that last second bid.
No idea on the Ashton. I only own one that I bought new a few months back. It's a great smoker, but in hindsight I should have been looking on the estate market.

burleyboy · Aug 15, 2019

Concerning the Dunhill, I only can second alaskanpiper. I would not want to pay that much for it, especially, because of the replacement stem. On the other hand, there is nothing wrong about supporting a local store and pay a bit of extra money for the service, such a shop provides.
But as a non-expert, i would like to know, how you were able to identify that stem as a replacement?
Regarding the bite marks, I had good results repairing such with the help of the tutorials, that our member Georged uploaded on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z0YMZulu5E

newportpipe · Aug 15, 2019

I have a few Ashton pipes carved by Mr. Taylor. They are among my faves. Superb smokers and craftsmanship 8)

brooklynpiper · Aug 15, 2019

The stem is the pipe, right? Dunhill was a great stemmaker, right? Forget the Dunhill. Plenty of better deals with better conditions available.
As for the Ashton, go back and play with the stem. What the hell are they doing with that tag in the tenon? Not sure it would cause damage, but I wouldn't jack with tenons if I were selling pipes. Remove the twiney tag and then check the fitment. Then, follow your heart - just a precaution before you drop money.

americaman · Aug 15, 2019

Thank you so far. Good suggestions. My heart is on the Ashton. Do I have the year correct, and do you think it's an actual Bill Taylor? I would love to support my local B&M as long as it's a fair price.
As far as the stem on the Dunhill: I only know it's a replacement stem because the store put a tag on it that says so. But hey, maybe it's not.

burleyboy · Aug 15, 2019

According to what I have read on pipephil and pipedia, you're correct about the year. Unfortunately I don't know how to tell if it's made by Bill Taylor.
The "F / T" on the Dunhill means that it has a fish tail bit. I can't tell from the photos, but if it does not have such a bit, you can be sure, that it is a replacement.

georged · Aug 15, 2019

That's an original stem on the Ashton.
As for the Dunhill, I need to see the button & slot to be sure, but the fit to the shank (leveling), and the straight-line taper both say original.

pitchfork · Aug 15, 2019

If it says "20" (i.e. year 2000), then it's a Taylor-era Ashton.

mso489 · Aug 16, 2019

Some places you can barter, and other places you can't, but you could try a lower offer on the Dunhill. The advantage is that you can examine this one, whereas online, you don't know what you have until it arrives. But the replacement stem should get a healthy discount. I'm not a Dunhill guy, but my Forums authority on them is foggymountain, who is not partial to shell or cumberland series Dunhills. He hasn't been on here for a while, but it is my understanding he had some to sell, last we heard, so you could ask on prices and availability.

ssjones · Aug 16, 2019

That's a tad high on the Ashton, given the condition, in the current market.

WAY overpriced on the replacement stem Dunhill.

hoosierpipeguy · Aug 16, 2019

If you're buying them solely for your own smoking pleasure, then you have to decide if they're worth it to you. If you're trying to measure actual value based upon market resale, they're probably both a bit high. I'm not a fan of Dunhill, I personally wouldn't give $20 for that pipe if in doing so I had to keep it. I'm guessing you could send that Ashton to a restorer and for a very reasonable fee, have it looking nearly brand new.

hauntedmyst · Aug 17, 2019

As to the replacement stem, if you are buying it to smoke it then it isn't a factor. If the replacement is a good one, you might never know the difference. I value the condition of the stem over the originality.

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Advice On Ashton and Dunhill Estate Pipes

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