Can you post the source of your statement regarding the “1907 anthrax great briar scare” and boiling? Very interesting, if true. Thanks. I could not find any info in an AI dig on that topic.
“The Rake” On YouTube: Recent Tour Of The Dunhill White Spot Factory in London
- Thread starter Mike N
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No, in the video that i watched, the dunhil guy is holding the entire briar root and saying they boil it in water to KILL germs. then put it aside to dry for 7 months.
tongue in cheek on the british system of doing something because it was done that way for 300 years.
for a tid on anthrax scares
A WWI Anthrax Outbreak Was Caused by Shaving Brushes
Lathering up could be painful.
www.atlasobscura.com
It is true that he says that and for that reason and other reasons, in a previous post I said that I doubt that any of the drying and curing of brezo is done in England.
the way he says it,,, hes trying to make the statement that the entire briar root ball gets boiled, and then gets left in the corner to dry over 7 months.
SO much of this... video... seems completely wrong. Its like a monty python skit.
Amazing! It looks to me like this thread started as a tribute to Dunhill, but has now evolved into Dunhill trashing. Makes me wonder if I could make money with an anti-Dunhill web site. I need to check if: dunhillbitesthebigone.com is taken... 
In my opinion, it makes no sense and is part of the narrative that all processes are done in London. The briar harvesting, curing, and drying process involves significant losses, directly proportional to the quality of the pipe. It makes no sense to ship a bunch of briar to London, which will result in a lot of waste, when you can buy selected briar and season it at a sawmill. There will also be waste, but less.
Yes! Not my scene, man! Very beautiful and craftsmanship galore, but I cannot imagine the appeal. Tastes are subjective. Someone out there will like it and be very happy with it. Not for me, though.
I don't know if trying to understand the actual processes carried out in the factory and the origin of the raw materials is trashing Dunhill. It's a topic that's been discussed since I entered the pipe world, and it's always controversial. There are certainly things the company says that are hard to believe, and it's undeniable that Dunhill pipes generate a much higher level of attention than any other.Amazing! It looks to me like this thread started as a tribute to Dunhill, but has now evolved into Dunhill trashing. Makes me wonder if I could make money with an anti-Dunhill web site. I need to check if: dunhillbitesthebigone.com is taken...
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Of course there is a quality sort done when the blocks are sorted be the harvester. That's how it's determined what the buyer will pay. But you have to understand that the situation can change every time you make a mark on the block. What looks like it's going to be a prefect straight grain can change to garbage in an instant as you suddenly uncover a hidden flaw. I do wonder however at the percentage of rejects Dunhill claims.
p.s. Here's a thought. Does making sure there is not one sand pit or tiny inclusion on the pipe make it smoke any better?
p.s. Here's a thought. Does making sure there is not one sand pit or tiny inclusion on the pipe make it smoke any better?
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I have watched all of these tours and looked closely at photos. You never see a room of raw briar drying the way you do at Savinelli. My guess is they are buying blocks, not root. I still believe the reason the Bruyere stain is so dark is so they can produce a number of smooths where the grain is not so special. They also are producing the smallest number of Root Briar finishes I've ever seen--just a trickle--compared to ten or fifteen years ago. Something has clearly changed.
Its not our fault that some people prefer to swallow the hook, the line, and the fishing pole.
NO respectable company is going to be surviving if they can only manage to get 3% of all briar blocks into a pipe.
But i bet the hostiles in this thread, are also people who hate how Peterson reuses system pipe blanks that fail to meet system standard, for the non system lines using that specific shape.
NO respectable company is going to be surviving if they can only manage to get 3% of all briar blocks into a pipe.
But i bet the hostiles in this thread, are also people who hate how Peterson reuses system pipe blanks that fail to meet system standard, for the non system lines using that specific shape.
I don't hate Peterson pipes but I do feel the "system" is nothing more than a marketing scam to make them "different" and sell them to gullible pipe buyers (boos and hisses are welcome). No pipe should need a well to catch moisture. If a pipe is smoking that wet there is either a problem with the basic design or most probably the tobacco is simply too wet.
When I owned a pipe shop years ago we sold a line of pipes called "Irish Seconds". They were just Petersons that had flaws and cost a lot less. Amazing how many guys bought them just because they had the word "Irish" in the name. I remember one guy who smoked one, only listened to Irish rock music and had an I.R.A. bumper sticker on his car.
When I owned a pipe shop years ago we sold a line of pipes called "Irish Seconds". They were just Petersons that had flaws and cost a lot less. Amazing how many guys bought them just because they had the word "Irish" in the name. I remember one guy who smoked one, only listened to Irish rock music and had an I.R.A. bumper sticker on his car.
I enjoyed the video. Yes, there was a bit of exaggeration, but what do you expect from the manager, "We're just making fools of everyone?"
The bit about such a low yield doesn't take into account that pipes which have a small flaw that prevents it being made into a perfect smooth will get sandblasted. The actual yield is a good deal higher.
My late father-in-law was a hardcore Dunhill collector, with close to a thousand Dunhill pipes from every era, several prototypes, and cases of Dunhill made 18k gold lighters, jewelry, leather goods, etc. His bedroom was a Dunhill museum. He got me back into pipes after several years of not smoking anything. At one point I lent him my Charatans, at his request, and he refused to return them. I didn't get them back until after he passed away.
I had about 16 Dunhills, mostly from the 1970's which was not their best era. Stems would lose their fit at the drop of a hat. I still have a couple from the 1920's and 1940's and those are great pipes.
But I always found my tobacco somehow lacking in flavor and when I bought my first Barling, well, the Dunhills went in the drawer and I switched to Barlings. Of course, I smoke many other makes of pipes, but Barling continues to hold my affection when it comes to Britwood, with Comoy right up there next to them.
Dunhills are not the greatest pipes ever made, but they are the best known brand of pipe ever made. And their styling, which I think contains more of the French influence, is often beautiful.
@jguss , reading the transcript of the 1928 court proceedings concerning the fight over the Merchandise Marks Act, found that of Dunhill's 300 or so employees, only 2--or was it 3?-- were turners, and only for special orders, which means that Dunhill was importing its bowls from St Claude, all statements to the contrary. And poor Montague Barling was forced to admit, under oath, that they too were obliged to import a percentage of their bowls to meet demand.
This leaves me wondering if Dunhill is outsourcing some of its production, given the manager's comments on being unable to meet demand.
The bit about such a low yield doesn't take into account that pipes which have a small flaw that prevents it being made into a perfect smooth will get sandblasted. The actual yield is a good deal higher.
My late father-in-law was a hardcore Dunhill collector, with close to a thousand Dunhill pipes from every era, several prototypes, and cases of Dunhill made 18k gold lighters, jewelry, leather goods, etc. His bedroom was a Dunhill museum. He got me back into pipes after several years of not smoking anything. At one point I lent him my Charatans, at his request, and he refused to return them. I didn't get them back until after he passed away.
I had about 16 Dunhills, mostly from the 1970's which was not their best era. Stems would lose their fit at the drop of a hat. I still have a couple from the 1920's and 1940's and those are great pipes.
But I always found my tobacco somehow lacking in flavor and when I bought my first Barling, well, the Dunhills went in the drawer and I switched to Barlings. Of course, I smoke many other makes of pipes, but Barling continues to hold my affection when it comes to Britwood, with Comoy right up there next to them.
Dunhills are not the greatest pipes ever made, but they are the best known brand of pipe ever made. And their styling, which I think contains more of the French influence, is often beautiful.
@jguss , reading the transcript of the 1928 court proceedings concerning the fight over the Merchandise Marks Act, found that of Dunhill's 300 or so employees, only 2--or was it 3?-- were turners, and only for special orders, which means that Dunhill was importing its bowls from St Claude, all statements to the contrary. And poor Montague Barling was forced to admit, under oath, that they too were obliged to import a percentage of their bowls to meet demand.
This leaves me wondering if Dunhill is outsourcing some of its production, given the manager's comments on being unable to meet demand.
Amen. The 1%‘ ers are always about to point out, as Teddy Roosevelt said in his Man in the Arena speech, “how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better…”Amazing! It looks to me like this thread started as a tribute to Dunhill, but has now evolved into Dunhill trashing. Makes me wonder if I could make money with an anti-Dunhill web site. I need to check if: dunhillbitesthebigone.com is taken...
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It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
I do loves me some TR, but this is a long winded way of saying,
Judge not lest ye be judged.
LOL I have yet to purchase a factory made bent pipe that did not have a moisture trap well present.I don't hate Peterson pipes but I do feel the "system" is nothing more than a marketing scam to make them "different" and sell them to gullible pipe buyers (boos and hisses are welcome). No pipe should need a well to catch moisture. If a pipe is smoking that wet there is either a problem with the basic design or most probably the tobacco is simply too wet.
When I owned a pipe shop years ago we sold a line of pipes called "Irish Seconds". They were just Petersons that had flaws and cost a lot less. Amazing how many guys bought them just because they had the word "Irish" in the name. I remember one guy who smoked one, only listened to Irish rock music and had an I.R.A. bumper sticker on his car.
And I am talking non Peterson pipes.
I keep seeing how its impossible for the factory to make a bent pipe and to have the draught hole and tenon mortis hole be drilled spot on.
I don't think this has been overly negative. One day we will all wake up to the news that Richemont, the Swiss luxury goods conglomerate that own Dunhill, is getting out of the pipe business. And many of us will rush to buy the last of the available stock. I hope that day is still many years off.
I’m not to bothered about the nay sayers with their conspiracy theories. I love my Dunhill pipes and have not had a bad one yet. They all smoke perfectly and are beautiful to hold and look at. Of course I have other pipes which I love just as much, such as my Tom Eltangs, higher grade Petersons and Castellos. We can argue about the merits of these makes until the cows come home and there will always be an element of subjectivity. But Dunhill have never disappointed me and remain my favourite.
Good read from Shane Ireland of SP:
www.smokingpipes.com
Visiting The White Spot - Dunhill Pipes | Smokingpipes.com
Shane recounts his recent, awe-inspiring trip to the Dunhill factory in London, where all your favorite The White Spot pipes are made.
www.smokingpipes.com