Barbers B Line

[pufferfish]

Over here in the UK, I have used James Barber as a source of pipes for quite a few years. They have a nice selection. Going through my pipes I came across a Barbers B Line, this is a second. What an excellent pipe it is. Anyone else tried the B Line seconds. If you google James Barber they have them on their site, what do you all think? Who could this famous London pipe maker be that they are on about?
P.S. I have nothing to do with Barbers, just a customer!

 

[donjgiles]

I have one bulldog in the smooth finish, it is an outstanding pipe!

I have 2 more that I ordered several weeks ago, patiently awaiting their arrival.

Great pipes, great prices.
Don

 

[pufferfish]

I agree Don, they are outstanding, Lots of Briar, well carved and excellent smokers. Wonder what the second could be? What maker?

 

[donjgiles]

Well... it is hinted that they are Dunhill seconds.

All I know is, the last two I ordered were a black sandblasted bulldog and a red stained sandblasted bent.

Not too many folks making reddish stained sandblasted pipes in England.
Don

 

[daniel7]

The straight sandblasted billiard is lovely. I will consider it as my next English pipe.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

@PufferFish, Good as a reminder You brought up, I'm to check those offerings, I had my one and only Dunhill from this renowned British vendor,I've read somewhere they are one of the oldest existing tobacconists in the UK,

 

[mso489]

The Dunhill second story has been used for decades by pipe shops to sell Hardcastle, Britannia, Parker, and other brands of pipes despite no resemblance between the shapes. My theory is that Dunhill, now White Spot, assiduously avoids any real seconds to maintain their (ridiculously?) elevated prices, so they would rather throw a sightly imperfect briar in the crusher than have any creditable seconds nibbling at their price point in the market. The pipe maker owns a few other lesser brands, but I would joke, permits no cross-contamination. I own a Parker and a Britannia, and they are both fine pipes, especially the Britannia, which I proudly consider no Dunhill second, despite the pipe shop (Tinderbox) man dropping hints. If you want to observe a true relationship between a main brand and a secondary brand with seconds, review the Savinelli brand and its shared shapes and jiggered numbers with the sub-brand Rossi. It's obvious and above board, and the Rossi share good traits with the Sav's.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

Back in the day (the late 1990’s) I was in frequent email contact with the pipe manager of James Barber as he helped me put together a great 7 day set of Group 5 Ring Grains, a process that took about two years. He personally visited Dunhill in London and would email me pictures if he found anything that met my requirements (not every trip was successful). He often mentioned that he now had a good selection of B lines, and while he knew I was not interested, several friends were and I would let them know. I don’t recall him ever mentioning visiting any other “famous London Manufacturer”, so draw your own conclusion. As with most seconds, the stem work shouldn’t be expected to be on par with a first. Looking at today’s selection, they strike me as good pipes for the price particularly for US customers with the VAT removed and the relatively favorable $ to £ currency conversion now. I haven’t done business with Barber for over 15 years, but have very pleasant memories of when I did.
@mso489, they do in fact crush their ties that don’t sell.

 

[donjgiles]

pufferfish, you must be good luck. My order from James Barber showed up today after waiting for it for over 3 weeks.
Don

 

[pufferfish]

Thats great Don, you enjoy !!!

 

[pufferfish]

@Paul Yes that correct Paul they have been around for a long time. I only have one Dunhill as well and that was also from Barbers. They seem to have good bargains on offer and are really helpful. Take care Paul.

 

[jasonmazzy]

Let me ask this: what "famous" London pipe maker other than Dunhill, does a red sandblast? I am not huge on London pipes, so this is an earnest question.

 

[mso489]

I don't know Dunhill/White Spot or B-Line pipes. But to do amateur detective work, one could try to match up shapes of the two brands with each other, to see if B-Lines have substantial resemblance to Dunhills of their vintage. If they were re-shaped, they aren't exactly seconds, though it's splitting hairs. I still think Dunhill was jealous of its price point and did not do seconds.

 

[jasonmazzy]

I have compared and they look like the big D generally, and given their relationship with the the owner I am quite curious. My research has pointed to me that they are quite close and spend a fair amount of time together often. I do know they are the first and possibly only shop to get a Dunhill made just for them... makes me wonder how close they are.

 

[mso489]

oldgeezer, yes, they have to crush those boutique items like ties and cologne that don't meet standards. Though I've heard some clerks smuggle home the scent and freshen up their Corgi's.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

I don't know Dunhill/White Spot or B-Line pipes. But to do amateur detective work, one could try to match up shapes of the two brands with each other, to see if B-Lines have substantial resemblance to Dunhills of their vintage. If they were re-shaped, they aren't exactly seconds, though it's splitting hairs. I still think Dunhill was jealous of its price point and did not do seconds.

The stems on the B lines aren’t even close to being hand made, as I said earlier. So are they true seconds? The stummels could be ones that don’t meet standards for Dunhill firsts, or just shapes and finishes Dunhill has accumulated that they have too many of, so you can’t really say they are “failings”, an industry term.
As noted by me and others in this thread, the relationship between Barber and Dunhill is long-standing and close, and I would be stunned beyond measure if Dunhill has not approved every single word in the description of the source that Barber uses in their internet offerings, not a syllable of which has changed since they started offering pipes on the web.
I have never owned one. I have seen a few. People I knew who have them were pleased. You used to be able to get tobacco from them if you lived in the US, and the folks I knew who bought them then usually added one or two to an order for pipe tobacco that you couldn’t get in the US. In fact, my first dealings with Barber were for a selection of various plugs you couldn’t get here, pre internet. I haven’t tried to see what shipping costs would be for a one pipe order, so they may or may not be competitive with what else is available to us.