Are Dunhill pipes today as good as they used to be?

[cigrmaster]

I currently own one Dunhill. It is a 1966 LB in a group 5 size. I bought it strictly for the shape. The blast is nothing special but the shape to my eye is the perfect Billiard. Don't ask me why I think this as I have no clue.

The pipe smokes fine but not as good as my American artrisan made pipes. The stem work is good but not as good as my artisan pipes. I forget I have it sometimes and I should smoke it more. It was in pristine condition except for a nasty ghost which I have been getting rid of. i am going to do another coffee ground cleaning and then an Everclear cleaning in the shank and in the stem.
Here is a pic.

 

[Val]

Just like the former Dunhill now Peterson blends, but you no longer see the tobacco listed and sold under the Dunhill name like the pipes are.

Well said, I actually was just thinking of this analogy as I received an alert to your post haha.

 

[Cheesehammer]

Hey there folks, I hope everyone's doing well.

I read somewhere that Dunhill pipes made in the sixties and before are the absolute best (something about oil curing the briar), and that pipes made after can't hold a candle no matter what.

Is this true? If I'm looking to buy a Dunhill am I better off buying an estate from those years or is a new Dunhill pipe just as good if not better?

Thanks folks!

I own dunhills from the 1930’s to present. They all smoke well. And are all beautiful pipes. You can feel the same quality from 90 year old pipes and present. with that, as With all pipes, I think they get better over time. Part of that for me is that the wood performs better and also probably because I get more nostalgic for the pipes I smoke for a long time compared to shorter term pipes. The old placebo effect. the Fact is that Dunhill, or the white spot pipes are of very High if not the highest quality. both old and new dunhills also are very collectible and there is a large market for them which helps in the shelling out of large amounts of money for them. Many times I have bought an estate Dunhill, refurbished it and sold it for 50% more than I bought it for. Also, an unfurnished estate will hold value and a new white spot will lose about 20% on purchase…about the same as a car. I never have a worry about getting my moneys worth when buying a new or old Dunhill. I can’t say the same for many other carvers/brands.

 

[jpberg]

So if someone could break the bull shot down so morons like me could understand it:
What was the last year “Dunhill” produced pipes?
What was the last year “Dunhill” produced tobacco?

I think I already know the answers, but wouldn’t it be nice if it was just common knowledge?

 

[warren]

To my knowledge, Dunhill never produced tobacco. They did do some blending for customers which led to over the counter sales. All the dates appear on their history page. I don't want to deprive you of the joy of discovery so, just searh for "dunhill pipes."

 

[Chasing Embers]

What was the last year “Dunhill” produced pipes?

2011

 

[Chasing Embers]

the Fact is that Dunhill, or the white spot pipes are of very High if not the highest quality

More opinion and marketing than fact. Many of them don't have much appealing grain to speak of.

 

[Cheesehammer]

More opinion and marketing than fact. Many of them don't have much appealing grain to speak of.

Yes, I suppose if you define a pipe by the grain on it then you are correct. I don’t define a pipe by its grain. It wouldn’t be a fun hobby for me if I saw the world of pipes through a lens of purely grain. Luckily I have smokeability, quality of briar and stem finish, stem fit in mouth, value and resale value, feel in hand, company reputation, nostalgia for history and lastly collectibility as equally important factors in a pipe purchase as grain may be solely for you. To each his own!

 

[Chasing Embers]

I don’t define a pipe by its grain.

How about the drilling of an HT/XL Shell Briar Collector?



Out of five Dunhills, their drilling falls far beneath my standards for quality. Being a factory pipe, I just can't overlook their flaws.

 

[Cheesehammer]

How about the drilling of an HT/XL Shell Briar Collector?

View attachment 174018

Out of five Dunhills, their drilling falls far beneath my standards for quality.

I would say you shouldn’t have bought it! Ha. Sounds like you were hurt by a Dunhill or had a bad day . Maybe you should relax and smoke a pipe!

 

[Chasing Embers]

I would say you shouldn’t have bought it! Ha. Sounds like you were hurt by a Dunhill or had a bad day . Maybe you should relax and smoke a pipe!

I had four straights that wouldn't pass a pipe cleaner. All five were thrown out and put me mostly off of factory pieces. I've had a lit pipe in my jaw most of my waking hours for three decades.

 

[Cheesehammer]

I had four straights that wouldn't pass a pipe cleaner. All five were thrown out and put me mostly off of factory pieces. I've had a lit pipe in my jaw most of my waking hours for three decades.

That’s great! I don’t. That sounds more like an addiction than a hobby to me. Addictions aren’t fun. I smoke 2 bowls a day. You must know a lot more than me then. Have a good night! So glad I joined this site today! Very happy people here!

 

[Chasing Embers]

That’s great! I don’t. That sounds more like an addiction than a hobby to me. Addictions aren’t fun. I smoke 2 bowls a day. You must know a lot more than me then. Have a good night! So glad I joined this site today! Very happy people here!

Yeah, great group here, smokers,, hobbyists,, and even collectors that have never smoked. Nearly any smoking question you can imagine can be answered here. Welcome aboard!

 

[georged]

I would say you shouldn’t have bought it! Ha. Sounds like you were hurt by a Dunhill or had a bad day . Maybe you should relax and smoke a pipe!

Cheesehammer ---

This, um, immovable object you are encountering has fallen from the sky and landed in the middle of the Dunhill Discussion Highway here for many years. It happens without fail.

Entire threads have been devoted to rolling the object to the shoulder of the road, in fact.

Without success, however.

Here's a recent one:

Before Using Your Pipes as Flower Pots or Throwing Them in a Landfill, do this... :: Pipe Talk

Because geometry tolerates no argument, sometimes the bottom-dead-center of a pipe's tobacco chamber and the bullseye-dead-center of its mortise floor cannot be connected with a straight line. It isn't a brand-dependent thing, or even (necessarily) a "quality thing". It's simply three...

pipesmagazine.com

Mentioning it because you're new here, so likely trying to decide whether or not you'll stick around, and first impressions always matter.

So: Your best bet for a happy Dunhill Discussion Visit is to pull your conversational four wheel drive lever when it appears and go around it. Follow the red line. It's much easier than trying to push it away with your bumper.

 

[Cheesehammer]

Cheesehammer ---

This, um, immovable object you are encountering has fallen from the sky and landed in the middle of the Dunhill Discussion Highway here for many years. It happens without fail.

Entire threads have been devoted to rolling the object to the shoulder of the road, in fact.

Without success, however.

Here's a recent one:

Before Using Your Pipes as Flower Pots or Throwing Them in a Landfill, do this... :: Pipe Talk

Because geometry tolerates no argument, sometimes the bottom-dead-center of a pipe's tobacco chamber and the bullseye-dead-center of its mortise floor cannot be connected with a straight line. It isn't a brand-dependent thing, or even (necessarily) a "quality thing". It's simply three...

pipesmagazine.com

Mentioning it because you're new here, so likely trying to decide whether or not you'll stick around, and first impressions always matter.

So: Your best bet for a happy Dunhill Discussion Visit is to pull your conversational four wheel drive lever when it appears and go around it. Follow the red line. It's much easier than trying to push it away with your bumper.

View attachment 174035

haha. Thank you George’s. I appreciate the explanation. It seemed a bit of an overreaction. I’ll keep my head on a swivel!

 

[Puff nstuff]

I have resigned myself to the likelihood of never owning a Dunhill.
And I'm OK with that.

 

[georged]

I'm not mad at anyone, Mr. Embers, least of all you.

Hell, I got along with that BROBS guy in Iowa.

It just feels like I am---to you---because I can't let BS stand. Yours or anyone else's. And the repetitive nature of your insistence upon declaring things to be so which aren't gets a response from me every time.

 

[sablebrush52]

So if someone could break the bull shot down so morons like me could understand it:
What was the last year “Dunhill” produced pipes?
What was the last year “Dunhill” produced tobacco?

I think I already know the answers, but wouldn’t it be nice if it was just common knowledge?

To my knowledge, Dunhill never produced tobacco. They did do some blending for customers which led to over the counter sales. All the dates appear on their history page. I don't want to deprive you of the joy of discovery so, just searh for "dunhill pipes."

Here's some info:

DUNHILL PIPE TOBACCO: 1907 – 1990 - Pipedia

pipedia.org

 

[pipesandscotch]

New anything sucks. Kids these days know nothing. Everything is made to fall apart nowadays. Bah!

Get off my lawn!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I really enjoy my Dunhill bulldogs, but I don't have any that are newer than the 80's. For me, I just have a problem spending that much for a pipe selected from a table full of identical factory pipes. They aren't outrageously priced (but more so than other factory-mades) but for the money there are so many artisan-mades pipes that come with the luxury of limited or exclusive shapes. But, that is just me, and does not reflect the design or quality of the pipe.

Now, if we were discussing opinions on the "brand," I would just say that I don't have much respect for the Dunhill name these days. But, the actual pipes... I wouldn't say that they are bad by any means.