Charatan or Dunhill?

[captainsousie]

This is a funny one for me. I wanted to love Charatan. I'm one of those who hates the mainstream option and that was Dunhill to me.

So, I sharked for cheap Dunhills while buying some well priced Charatans. I got the Charatan pipes restored and ready to go and...they smoked badly for me. All of them did. So, I sold them on and every person I sold one to loved them. Must have been me.

Later on, I had some money and luck and picked up some Dunhills. They really smoked well for me. In the end I preferred Dunhill of the two of them but honestly a good Comoy's, GBD, Barling's Make, Loewe or Orlik will do well for me too.

In the end, I have several of the ones I listed but only one Charatan and two Dunhills all of which have some kind of sentimental attachment. Here ends my pointless post in this thread.

 

[rmpeeps]

Both Charatan and Dunhill made great pipes. My late father-in-law was a serious Dunhill collector, with over 900 specimen from all eras, very rare pieces, all kept in fitted drawers. At the time I smoked primarily Dunhill pipes.

I got curious about Charatan and bought a few. My father-in-law got curious and borrowed them off me. I didn't get them back until after he passed, he loved them too much to give them back.

But both of these went away when I tried my first Barling. This was a pipe that delivered more flavor from the blends I was smoking, than any Dunhill I had and the bit was more comfortable that my Charatans.

A couple of top tier Dunhill dealers I knew, who smoked Barlings for their personal use, quite independently put it to me this way, Dunhill focused on passable wood with superb stemwork, Charatan focused on superb wood with passable stemwork, and Barling focused of superb everything. With more than a century of combined experience between them, who was I to argue?

So I'd have to go with the winning team, Team Barling.

So YOU backed away from an argument??!!

 

[ssjones]

In thinking about this,I don't really know anyone who is a singular Dunhill collector. For Charatan, Dennis Congas would be the guy.

 

[jpmcwjr]

In thinking about this,I don't really know anyone who is a singular Dunhill collector. For Charatan, Dennis Congas would be the guy.

Foggymountain is/was a Dunny collector.

 

[ssjones]

Foggymountain is/was a Dunny collector.

That's right,sadly was,I saw them in person.

 

[OzPiper]

Foggymountain is/was a Dunny collector.

I've only seen the pics, but it was an enviable collection. And not just of Dunhills.

He was fond of saying that "in his opinion the newer/younger Dunhills smoked as well as, or even better than, the older (pre-1970s) Dunhills".

It's an opinion I respect, coming from, not just ownership of an extensive collection but, decades of smoking experience.

 

[sleepy57]

I'll vote with the world and go with Dunhill.

I'm Shocked!

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

I have one Charatan, the wood is superb, smokes fine, but yeah, don't like the stem.
I have twelve Dunhill seconds. Not had them long enough to make a definitive statement, but so far I cannot fault them. Wonderful draw, classic shapes. I'm learning to love them.

 

[crashthegrey]

Prepare to be shocked. Neither. I'll take a Kaywoodie, thank you.

 

[telescopes]

Nothing wrong with a Dunhill or a Charatan. Unlike many people, the pipes are mostly exceptional, free of racism, and humble despite being in the hands of an asshole. The pipes themselves are free of arrogance.

 

[tschiraldi]

Family era Sasieni over all of them. Great wood, excellent stems, the best buttons, and incomparable shaping. I've never owned a Barling, but I dont really like their shaping. I've heard they smoke well, though.

 

[solideogloria86]

I'm team neither. But here's a meme

 

[telescopes]

My Charatan bulldog is with me now in Lisbon. I appreciate how much more substantial it is physically over my Dunhills. It may be an unfair statement, but my six Dunhill pipes all seem more dainty than my three Charatan pipes.

 

[Ahi Ka]

My favourite marque is Orlik. My best britwood smokers are Charles Maas

 

[OzPiper]

My Charatan bulldog is with me now in Lisbon. I appreciate how much more substantial it is physically over my Dunhills. It may be an unfair statement, but my six Dunhill pipes all seem more dainty than my three Charatan pipes.

I have a pair of Charatan and a pair of Dunhill Bulldogs. A straight and half-bent of each make.

The straight Charatan has a bigger chamber than the Dunhill, but the sizes are reversed with the bents.

I'm certain that Charatan and Dunhill make their Bulldogs in a variety of sizes.

 

[telescopes]

I have a pair of Charatan and a pair of Dunhill Bulldogs. A straight and half-bent of each make.

The straight Charatan has a bigger chamber than the Dunhill, but the sizes are reversed with the bents.

I'm certain that Charatan and Dunhill make their Bulldogs in a variety of sizes.

I am sure they do. For whatever reason my experience with Dunhill is just an impression of daintiness. Although my Dunhill pipes are from decades past

 

[ssjones]

I think value for money Charatan's win hands down you can pick up lane era pipes at much less than equivalent Dunhill's.
They smoke better as well

That is a good current assessment.

For me - Dunhill, because:
- Classic shapes vs primarily Freehand
- typically smaller (a small Chartan is unusual, the 109 Bulldog comes to mine)
- I can't unsee those DC stems
- Dunhill stems are of the right "clicky" feel, Charatan stems are pretty soft

 

[JimK]

Vote Charatan (upgrade Charatans). Because I'm an Upshall loyalist and, for me, it is all about the wood. Had and eventually sold 18 Dunhills, mostly 50's and early 60's - very, very nice but .... And the couple of much newer Dunhills were beautifully carved but out of what grade lumber? I don't want oil treated wood or mediocre grade ebauchon with great carving, but rather air cured, best grade lumber hand-carved that gives the best chance for a pipe that somehow makes tobacco "sing."

 

[mso489]

The late great foggymountain had sold pipes at Manhattan pipes shops in his teens in the 1950's. At the time he noted that Kaywoodie was the top premium pipe with Dunhill running second. Neither was as expensive relatively as White Spots today. Foggy had explicit ideas about which White Spots were good, and it wasn't all of them. He'd settled on mostly prince shapes, and if I recall, the ones he approved were smooth finishes. Many others he dismissed out of hand. So foggy got picky when he bought pipes.

Also later in life, he bought a top-of-the-line Mercedes convertible which he posted (a photo of) on Forums. He was enchanted with it for a while, but finally decided that the digital technology was not to his liking and I think he sold it off and went back to a workhorse SUV, maybe a Ford Expedition.

 

[OzPiper]

Also later in life, he bought a top-of-the-line Mercedes convertible which he posted (a photo of) on Forums. He was enchanted with it for a while, but finally decided that the digital technology was not to his liking and I think he sold it off and went back to a workhorse SUV, maybe a Ford Expedition.

I totally get it !