Castello & Dunhill

[hauntedmyst]

I've had both Castellos and Dunhills and never had a bad smoke from either. Between the two, Castellos edge out Dunhill in terms of over all fit and finish and value. Still, I'm a Dunhill man. My favorite era of Dunhill pipe is the oval logo era.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

I have been very satisfied with my 2018 Dunhill ring grain Canadian , smokes on pair with all my Castellos(4) or may even exceed them such an effortless and smooth smoking experience,but my Castellos each and everyone are wonderful in this regard as well,fine pipes no doubt, though sometimes stem buttons on Castellos may leave something to be desired, decidedly I do love how Dunhill (White spot) is shaping their stems,yet I'm noticing NortherBriars UK do very similar type stems on their pipes as Dunhill.Now If one was asking me would I buy a brand new Dunhill or Castello Collection right now?Yes would If only I could afford it

 

[Jack T]

I have two Dunhills at the moment (and have had many others in the past). One is a 2008 Ruby Bark quaint bulldog (3) with a silver band. It is a beautiful pipe and smokes very well. It is very light, easy to clench, and a joy to smoke. I also have a 1964 Tanshell prince (2). This pipe also smokes wonderfully. Is it better than the 2008? I'm not sure I can say that. It's a little different, but I'm not sure it's better or worse. They are both great pipes. I have my first Castello on the way, so I will see how that compares, but I love the Dunhills. I don't think I have ever had a Dunhill that was anything other than a great smoke. I can't say that about other pipes, including an Ashton that I recently purchased. I have quite a few Ashtons and they are generally excellent, but I got one that has a rather bad taste.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Both are quality pipes. It boils down to personal preference. Cigarmaster gave me some excellent advice about buying Artisan pipes instead. I took his advice and happy I did. For similar money to Castello and Dunhill, many high quality Artisan pipes can be purchased. The reality is, there are tons of quality pipes out there. Buy what fits your personal preferences, not the name. You'll enjoy your smoking experience much more.

 

[BROBS]

No experience with Castello but newer production Dunhills are not worth the money IMO. Traded in a 2015 White Spot Cumberland group 4 Canadian to SPC so don’t buy it. Sure the button was nice. But inside the stem was a clusterfuck. Drilled from both sides with two different sizes drill bits that don’t meet? Can catch a pipe cleaner inside it? For a +$300 pipe??! Please.

 

[sablebrush52]

Barling and Btebbia. Nuff said.

 

[craig61a]

My favorites as far these categories (best to :

Brit pipes: Upshall, Charatan, Sasieni, GBD, BBB, in that order. Italian: Radice, Savinelli, Brebbia.

While I have a number of Dunhills, and they are good pipes, to me there’s nothing that really sets them in a category above their contemporaries. So now we’re just talking price.

So if somebody’s Jonesin to spend several hundred dollars more for a pipe that is basically equal to something another manufacturer makes, More power to them.

I'm of the opinion that the several hundred dollars can buy an artisan pipe that performs much better, and perhaps be custom made to your own preferences.

Downside: You can’t sit around at your local B&M and brag about your Dunhill’s and the white spot, recite all kinds of trivia like you're the resident Dunhill Guru...
?

 

[Jack T]

I will say that I own both Dunhill and Ashton pipes and I really don't find much of a difference in the way that they smoke. And they often look quite similar, which makes sense given the history. I actually like the aesthetics of both Dunhill and Ashton Pipes quite a bit, and that is part of their attraction to me. The overall best smoking pipe I have at the moment is an Ascorti Rhodesian.

 

[americaman]

I can’t speak for Castello, but the current era Dunhills are as good or better than the old ones from what I understand. If you really start reading what the Dunhill smokers say, they will basically say that the belief that the old ones smoke better is a myth. I only have a 1964 Tanshell and a 2014 Shell to compare, and I like the 2014 more.

Here are some quotes from one thread I found here on the forum:

“I've purchased more than a few dozen Dunhill pipes ranging from 1918 to 2000's and I see absolutely no difference and actually prefer the later ones, my new Diplomat being my favorite. There isn't the slightest chance of anyone convincing me of pre-x Dunhill superiority as I've just not seen it.”

“New Dunhil pipes are (generally) very high quality, high grade, factory pipes.”

“I'm the opposite of most Dunhill fanciers in that I think the new generation Dunhills actually smoke better than the old ones.”

 

[Jack T]

I agree with americaman's point here. I've had both old and new Dunhills and I don't detect any real difference in how they smoke that is significant or that just wouldn't be the case for any old vs. new pipe.

 

[jpmcwjr]

The main difference in how a pipe smokes is the briar, its innate quality; how it's harvested and where; how and how long it's cured before and after carving. Of course, these have to be within a reasonable range of decent mechanics. (drilling and airway passage).

Everything else is aesthetics, personal druthers, and marketing schlamola. Perhaps some group think is thrown in there, too. Or the guys who think they are so renegade that they bash certain marques at every opportunity.

 

[Jack T]

I've been involved with several different groups that are focused on objects that are collected and used. I'm a jazz drummer and there are several forums that focus on drums. Basically, the same exact conversations happen with drums that happen with pipes: old is better than new, this brand is better than that brand, these drums are better made than those drums, etc. None of it really matters. I just like what I like. Period. It really is quite interesting, however, comparing the pipe forum with various drum forums--replace the word pipe for drum and largely the same conversations seem to happen.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

I've been involved with several different groups that are focused on objects that are collected and used. I'm a jazz drummer and there are several forums that focus on drums. Basically, the same exact conversations happen with drums that happen with pipes: old is better than new, this brand is better than that brand, these drums are better made than those drums, etc. None of it really matters. I just like what I like. Period. It really is quite interesting, however, comparing the pipe forum with various drum forums--replace the word pipe for drum and largely the same conversations seem to happen.

I'm a drummer too, and yeah you're right. Similar arguments unfold in the knife collecting community too.

As far as drums go though, I've always maintained that MOST drums can be made to sound ok with the right heads and tuning. Cymbals on the other hand.. woof. Talk about opinions and arguments!

 

[Jack T]

I agree, most drums can be made to sound at least ok. Cymbals are a different story completely, although what is "good" remains entirely subjective. But this is best left to a different forum... Glad there is another drummer here.

 

[Jack T]

One more thought. DW is sort of the Dunhill of the drum world and there are always people bashing DW as overpriced, don't sound good, etc. In any case, that's a different topic for a different forum.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Ford rocks! Chevy sucks!
Macs rule; Winblows eats it. And on and on and on.....

 

[sisyphus]

I find the buttons consistently better on 1980s-2012 Dunhill than on the earlier pipes. I have more of these than anything else in my collection. I own one Castello which I love but am also not inclined to get any more because their styling just isn't for me. Take all that for what it's worth.

Regardless of your personal preference, Dunhill, Castello and Savinelli Punto Oro are all excellently finished and engineered pipes. I think you'd be hard pressed to be unhappy with any one of them. Personally I'm an English pipe guy, and have recently been indulging a slight fixation on Savinelli Punto Oros. I think it's an easy Italian for a Dunhill smoker to appreciate. You can find them with vulcanite stems and no filter, the shapes are mostly pretty traditional with only moderate flashes of Italian flair. They're just good pipes all around. TMI and not your question, just what I had to offer.

 

[BROBS]

I don't know I've had a 1968 and a 2015 and the quality difference between the two was notable IMO.

 

[Jack T]

Ok, so let's turn this around a bit. Is that a product of older being better than newer in general? Or is it simply the characteristics of these two particular pipes. I think part of the problem here is that most of us tend to generalize from rather small samples--those samples being our own collections.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I don't know I've had a 1968 and a 2015 and the quality difference between the two was notable IMO.

But as to the quality of the actual smoke, once broken in, there'd be virtually no difference. That's not to say there are or could be dozens of qualitative differences between any two pipes.