A Star in a Tanshell?

[forciori]

Guys, please...

This pipe has a star next to the reference. So far, I've only seen stars in the Dead Root series.

So, any idea what it is?

Thanks!

 

[jpmcwjr]

Looks more like a Greek letter or some such than a star.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I saw the same situation on another forum a few years back. No conclusive answers were arrived at but the common though was that it was a grading mark like the Dead Roots.

 

[forciori]

If it has a nice grain, why was it blasted? If it had a nice one star grain, why would it turn into a Tanshell and not in a D.R.? It doesn't makes sense for me. Curious, is not it? Thanks, Embers!

 

[forciori]

I am talking to a friend, and he told me this: "because there were 'pits' in the grain... meaning it was not of 'the Root guality' for Dunhill." Interesting.

 

[sablebrush52]

I am talking to a friend, and he told me this: "because there were 'pits' in the grain... meaning it was not of 'the Root guality' for Dunhill." Interesting.

Exactly. Stamps are sometimes added after staining and before the final polish. And once in a while, that final polish reveals a flaw just below the surface. If the flaw is big enough, the stummel gets sandblasted.

 

[forciori]

Now it starts to make sense... Great information, Jesse. You always have a good answer. Thanks!

 

[Chasing Embers]

If it has a nice grain, why was it blasted?

Sandblasts don't always mean defects. The best grains produce the best blasts and some, including myself prefer the blasts.

 

[Chasing Embers]

And once in a while, that final polish reveals a flaw just below the surface.

I've witnessed that myself. Even just a soft buff with a cotton wheel can reveal a pit just a fraction of a millimeter below the surface.

 

[bnichols23]

Interesting on all of that -- not a Dunhill maven at all, so that was very enlightening!
Embers of course is dead-on on good blasted grains too. I've got a couple of absolutely beautiful blasted Danish ring grains that I can't see ANY flaws in. As Nording put it, let the grain determine the carve. Sometimes the grain is just too pretty *not* to blast the sucker!
Bill

 

[forciori]

This context of bringing to light the grain is relatively new, right? The Shell is "black" and it is not possible to see the grain. I read in somewhere that it was made with irregular grain... But, of course, I understand your point. Thanks.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Sometimes the grain is just too pretty *not* to blast the sucker!

That is true. If Bruce had gone through with the sandblast I requested on that blowfish it would have been terrible, but.....a perfect straight grain makes a stunning ring blast.

 

[Chasing Embers]

This context of bringing to light the grain is relatively new, right?

Not sure exactly how long, but Preben Holm was doing it as early as the late '60s.

 

[bnichols23]

perfect straight grain makes a stunning ring

Amen to that, my brother. My beloved old Nording icepick from the 70s is the perfect example. Being a Nording, of course it follows Erik's dictum that the briar knows best. It's almost a precise cone, with a nice straight flame grain bottom up. Add the blast & it's just definitive. My 3rd oldest one & one of the ones I'll never unload.
B

 

[forciori]

Thanks!

 

[Chasing Embers]

So, there was D.R. with Sardinian Briar?

Sounds like it. Wouldn't be the first Dunhill mystery I've heard. Some older collectors I've talked to even claim some WWII era pieces were made from strawberry wood.