“The Rake” On YouTube: Recent Tour Of The Dunhill White Spot Factory in London

[Searock Fan]

A few thought about the Dunhill video.

First, let me say I am not anti-British. My last name (which is not Fan) can be traced back to 12th century Cornwall and my great grandfather was born in London. Unlike some pipe smokers I don't choose my pipes based on racial heritage.

"We do it this way, because we've always done it this way." This should be the motto of the British Empire and Dunhill is living up to the creed.

The manager said it can take 7 years to train someone to make a good pipe. Nonsense. Mike Butera figured out how to do it in year or two and he can do one as good or better than Dunhill. Even I learned how to make a pretty nice pipe in a short time. Dunhill must be hiring twits.

Looks to me like their 90 step process could be cut to half that if they would learn to streamline things some.

They make a ton of shapes and variations, but they all seem to be the same old standard English shapes that have been around forever. Come on, people, show some imagination.

Rubber stems. I know, it's a matter to taste, I'll take Lucite every time.

They boil their bowls and let them dry for 7 months. Castello dries their wood for 10 years and they cure it with a secret process to improve flavor.

I could go on and on but there's no need. Nothing will change at Dunhill and that's fine. I'll stick with my Italian pipes and others can stick with their Dunhills.

 

[Alejo R.]

A few thought about the Dunhill video.

First, let me say I am not anti-British. My last name (which is not Fan) can be traced back to 12th century Cornwall and my great grandfather was born in London. Unlike some pipe smokers I don't choose my pipes based on racial heritage.

"We do it this way, because we've always done it this way." This should be the motto of the British Empire and Dunhill is living up to the creed.

The manager said it can take 7 years to train someone to make a good pipe. Nonsense. Mike Butera figured out how to do it in year or two and he can do one as good or better than Dunhill. Even I learned how to make a pretty nice pipe in a short time. Dunhill must be hiring twits.

Looks to me like their 90 step process could be cut to half that if they would learn to streamline things some.

They make a ton of shapes and variations, but they all seem to be the same old standard English shapes that have been around forever. Come on, people, show some imagination.

Rubber stems. I know, it's a matter to taste, I'll take Lucite every time.

They boil their bowls and let them dry for 7 months. Castello dries their wood for 10 years and they cure it with a secret process to improve flavor.

I could go on and on but there's no need. Nothing will change at Dunhill and that's fine. I'll stick with my Italian pipes and others can stick with their Dunhills.

I don't have proof, but I also have no doubt that none of the briar is boiled and dried in London. Dunhill buys fully processed briar from Italian, Spanish, and French sawmills, ready to be used. As well as a good number of exceptional bowls from many factories in those same countries.

 

[Hillcrest]

Which member has the Eiffel Tower pipe ? How does it smoke ? Is it as heavy as it looks ?

Its only $3.5 mil.

A Conversation Piece: "The Most Expensive Pipe" - Pipedia

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[Searock Fan]

A few thought about the Dunhill video.

First, let me say I am not anti-British. My last name (which is not Fan) can be traced back to 12th century Cornwall and my great grandfather was born in London. Unlike some pipe smokers I don't choose my pipes based on racial heritage.

"We do it this way, because we've always done it this way." This should be the motto of the British Empire and Dunhill is living up to the creed.

The manager said it can take 7 years to train someone to make a good pipe. Nonsense. Mike Butera figured out how to do it in year or two and he can do one as good or better than Dunhill. Even I learned how to make a pretty nice pipe in a short time. Dunhill must be hiring twits.

Looks to me like their 90 step process could be cut to half that if they would learn to streamline things some.

They make a ton of shapes and variations, but they all seem to be the same old standard English shapes that have been around forever. Come on, people, show some imagination.

Rubber stems. I know, it's a matter to taste, I'll take Lucite every time.

They boil their bowls and let them dry for 7 months. Castello dries their wood for 10 years and they cure it with a secret process to improve flavor.

I could go on and on but there's no need. Nothing will change at Dunhill and that's fine. I'll stick with my Italian pipes and others can stick with their Dunhills.

I'm surprised. I guess there are not as many Dunhill fans out there as I thought. I expected at least some feedback and possibly even a little hostility. Maybe it's just that the Dunhill people consider me and my opinions of no matter... I know my wife does.

 

[georged]

The German shop manager might as well be reading from a company PR script. He's a production pusher and personnel manager first, and I doubt can actually use---never mind has mastered---the workstations.

Even disproved myth continues to be presented as fact.

Dunhill went over the "image is everything" mindset cliff years ago, and watching them trying to milk it in 2025 is like watching an EMT deliver CPR to a corpse on the side of the road after a car crash. They are obligated to keep pushing and blowing until waved off by an MD.

 

[Searock Fan]

The German shop manager might as well be reading from a company PR script. He's a production pusher and personnel manager first, and I doubt can actually use---never mind has mastered---the workstations.

Even disproved myth continues to be presented as fact.

Dunhill went over the "image is everything" mindset cliff years ago, and watching them trying to milk it in 2025 is like watching an EMT deliver CPR to a corpse on the side of the road after a car crash. They are obligated to keep pushing and blowing until waved off by an MD.

Wow! Well said!

 

[Terry Lennox]

Thanks for posting this. There is a How It's Made from many years ago shot inside the Dunhill Factory I will link to below. Also, Tabac Benden (cigarworld.de) did a tour some year ago but I can't find it on their site now. It was in German but had a lot of good info.

I love the pipes and the fact that they stick to a traditional shape chart.

But I have two complaints about present Dunhill production:

1. The Bruyere stain is too dark now. It makes me think they can't get good briar and need to cover up uninteresting (or no) grain with a very dark stain.

2. Some of the shaping is not right, particularly on the bents. Too thick in the transition from shank to bowl. Dublin bowls where the taper is too wide at the top for the height etc. I believe they have lost some of the carving masters over the years.

But I still love me a Shell Briar and I still buy them.

 

[Mike N]

I'm surprised. I guess there are not as many Dunhill fans out there as I thought. I expected at least some feedback and possibly even a little hostility. Maybe it's just that the Dunhill people consider me and my opinions of no matter... I know my wife does.

OK, for the sake of debate, I’ll play, but only to an extent. I personally like Castello pipes. I collect them and own sets of the Ancoretta, Lake Como, Le Dune and opera series. (PM me for a photo of my pipe case if you like.) But except for one smooth apple and a few billiards, I seldom smoke Castellos anymore and have begun thinning the herd. I sold 4 unsmoked new in the box Castellos at Columbus last weekend. Why? Because I simply find their 6 mm, one size fits all, unforgiving acrylic buttons uncomfortable to smoke. Yes, Castello briar is by far the best in the world— they stay lit and you can put one down for 15 minutes and come back and it’s still smoldering. But those large buttons are seemingly made so you have to file the bit down when you buy one unless you have a set of wooden teeth, which is unacceptable for a <$750 pipe. Castello acrylic stems are no match for a similarly priced artisan pipe with a sub 4mm soft, hand cut artisan stem.

i only own 4 Dunhill pipes. Their briar, in my opinion, is inferior to Castello, but Dunhill’s soft ebonite stems are much more comfortable to smoke. Castello, Cavicchi and Ser Jacopo will continue to lose market share to the artisan American and Danish pipes (Instagram and the recent Smoking Pipes exhibition are a good snapshot of the current high-end market) as long as the Italians continue to insist on making those hard, bulky acrylic stems. American pipe makers like J Alan, Abe Herbaugh, Nate King, Trey Rice, Adam Davidson etc., make pipes far more smokable, in my view, than similarly priced Castello pipes and it’s not even a close call. The Italians regularly come out with new, innovative shapes, but remain stubborn about massive acrylic buttons and bite zones. I don’t see many younger, affluent pipe smokers clamoring for Castello pipes.

Hey, some oldsters still like to drive their new Cadillacs and there is nothing wrong with that. But when you can get a new sports car like a Jaguar or Porsche for the same money, I’ll take the latter.

 

[Searock Fan]

OK, for the sake of debate, I’ll play, but only to an extent. I personally like Castello pipes. I collect them and own sets of the Ancoretta, Lake Como, Le Dune and opera series. (PM me for a photo of my pipe case if you like.) But except for one smooth apple and a few billiards, I seldom smoke Castellos anymore and have begun thinning the herd. I sold 4 unsmoked new in the box Castellos at Columbus last weekend. Why? Because I simply find their 6 mm, one size fits all, unforgiving acrylic buttons uncomfortable to smoke. Yes, Castello briar is by far the best in the world— they stay lit and you can put one down for 15 minutes and come back and it’s still smoldering. But those large buttons are seemingly made so you have to file the bit down when you buy one unless you have a set of wooden teeth, which is unacceptable for a <$750 pipe. Castello acrylic stems are no match for a similarly priced artisan pipe with a sub 4mm soft, hand cut artisan stem.

i only own 4 Dunhill pipes. Their briar, in my opinion, is inferior to Castello, but Dunhill’s soft ebonite stems are much more comfortable to smoke. Castello, Cavicchi and Ser Jacopo will continue to lose market share to the artisan American and Danish pipes (Instagram and the recent Smoking Pipes exhibition are a good snapshot of the current high-end market) as long as the Italians continue to insist on making those hard, bulky acrylic stems. American pipe makers like J Alan, Abe Herbaugh, Nate King, Trey Rice, Adam Davidson etc., make pipes far more smokable, in my view, than similarly priced Castello pipes and it’s not even a close call. The Italians regularly come out with new, innovative shapes, but remain stubborn about massive acrylic buttons and bite zones. I don’t see many younger, affluent pipe smokers clamoring for Castello pipes.

Hey, some oldsters still like to drive their new Cadillacs and there is nothing wrong with that. But when you can get a new sports car like a Jaguar or Porsche for the same money, I’ll take the latter.

Interesting post. I picked up a new Castello a few months ago and I just compared the size of the buttons and thickness etc. with some of my 60 year old Castellos. They're the same. How big a stem's button should be is kind of a matter of taste. As for me, I would not let that stop me from buying them, especially when it would be so easy for me to fix them, or to take a bunch to a good pipe maker and have him polish them down. It seems you're letting a small problem stop you from big enjoyment.

 

[georged]

The Italians regularly come out with new, innovative shapes, but remain stubborn about massive acrylic buttons and bite zones.

Stem shaping accuracy is measured in thousandths, while stummel shaping accuracy is measured in hundredths.

Meaning if you want to save money, chunky stems good, sleek & comfy stems bad...

Castello shapes stems to 80% with a cam grinder type of machine to save labor, in fact. Clamp material, pull handle, reverse 180 degrees, repeat.

One of the side effects of using such a machine is "comfortably thin" is too fussy to achieve reliably when acrylic plastic is the material being ground. So they leave 'em chunky.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Which member has the Eiffel Tower pipe ? How does it smoke ? Is it as heavy as it looks ?

Its only $3.5 mil.

A Conversation Piece: "The Most Expensive Pipe" - Pipedia

pipedia.org

You didn’t see my post in a 2024 WAYS thread?

Post in thread '***What Are You Smoking, April 2024?***' ***What Are You Smoking, April 2024?*** :: Pipe Tobacco Discussion - https://pipesmagazine.com/forums/threads/what-are-you-smoking-april-2024.104101/post-37007480

 

[Mike N]

Meaning if you want to save money, chunky stems good, sleek & comfy stems bad...

Yep. In Castello’s case, it’s like putting off road tires on your new Cadillac to save a few bucks. The ride is just not the same.

 

[craiginthecorn]

No mention of oil curing nor any images of pipes sitting on the warming device that were used to remove the excess oil.

 

[Old Hiker Piper]

The whole video was great but I agree,the eiffel tower piece was over the top. I would've been more impressed with a close up of a high grade white spot.

Lots of fun. Enjoyed seeing Saint Claude on one of the machines. So, there remain but two questions: 1) how does one get a tour of the factory and 2) who also thought the Eiffel tower pipe entirely gauche?

 

[Old Hiker Piper]

The whole video was great but I agree,the eiffel tower piece was over the top. I would've been more impressed with a close up of a high grade white spot.

Lots of fun. Enjoyed seeing Saint Claude on one of the machines. So, there remain but two questions: 1) how does one get a tour of the factory and 2) who also thought the Eiffel tower pipe entirely gauche?

 

[Terry Lennox]

Luckily I don't clench so prefer acrylic. I actually once had an acryilic stem made for a Dunhill as a second stem.

 

[Searock Fan]

Luckily I don't clench so prefer acrylic. I actually once had an acryilic stem made for a Dunhill as a second stem.

I think i posted it elsewhere but... I also made a Lucite stem for a Dunhill once. Even was able to do the white dot by using a white plastic toothpick. Hate to admit it, but as I remember it my white dot was a smidgen smaller than the original. Who cares?

 

[The_Non_Compliant_One]

I have never had a dunhil pipe. never could afford one. and im not interested in one.

This video reinforces my issues with that company.

Are we supposed to be dumb enough to think they "boil" the briar blocks in house and then dry them for 7 months to "kill germs" on them?

They come fully cured... but the video gives me the feeling dunhil does that because... thats what they did in 1907 during the great briar pipe anthrax scare.

I dont believe at all, that the employee drilling a chamber on a group six block, is going to toss it away instead of trying to make a group 3 size pipe out of it first.

 

[Alejo R.]

... thats what they did in 1907 during the great briar pipe anthrax scare.

Well, that's something I'm hearing for the first time.

 

[Alejo R.]

I have never had a dunhil pipe. never could afford one. and im not interested in one.

This video reinforces my issues with that company.

Are we supposed to be dumb enough to think they "boil" the briar blocks in house and then dry them for 7 months to "kill germs" on them?

They come fully cured... but the video gives me the feeling dunhil does that because... thats what they did in 1907 during the great briar pipe anthrax scare.

I dont believe at all, that the employee drilling a chamber on a group six block, is going to toss it away instead of trying to make a group 3 size pipe out of it first.

Boiling briar has nothing to do with killing germs. It's a wood-curing process, and one of its functions is to remove tannins and other substances from the wood's capillaries. It also homogenizes moisture so the roots can be dried en masse.