Do Dunhill Shells Really Impart A Bad Taste?

[mothernaturewilleatusallforbreakfast]

I've only owned one Dunhill shell and it was a more recent production (White Spot), but I'm considering an older estate shell. I have read that the stain used on older estate Dunhill shells imparted a bad flavor. Is there any consistent truth to this? If so, was there a year that the issue was addressed or corrected by? Thanks in advance.

 

[ashdigger]

All of my Dunhills are pre 1965, I'm not a great help, but..... none of them smoke poorly or impart a funky taste.

 

[sasquatch]

Nonsense. Outright. Shells are great pipes. Oxyidized stem could impart a bad flavor. People say weird stuff when they don't know how to isolate variables, is all I can hypothesize.

 

[sablebrush52]

That was said about the tanshells beause some of them had the finish slopped into the chamber, not the dark shell finish. I've never smoked a tanshell, but none of my shells have displayed any nasty flavor that wasn't cause by the ghost of a previous owner's grievous taste in tobaccos.

 

[josephcross]

I have a tanshell from the 70s and it smokes great.

 

[woodsroad]

Yes.

I mean No.

 

[wyfbane]

I have several shells from the 60's-the '00's. None of them taste bad or impart an icky flavor. I love my Dunny's.

 

[mikethompson]

Would getting stain inside the bowl be something akin to the taste you get from dipstained pipes? If so that is not the bowls fault, its the stain. However I would think and estate pipe would have that all burned away.

 

[Civil War]

I suppose that might affect a new pipe, but after the pipe is broken in, it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[mikethompson]

Also, I've read lots of negative things about the white spots.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I have two Shell Briars from '74. I'll never buy another one.

 

[mothernaturewilleatusallforbreakfast]

"The black shell sandblast finish uses a stain the was developed for the color, not the taste. They hvve a more bitter taste, even when well smoked."

[excerpt taken from Pipedia, last two sentences of Dunhill Shell description]
This is why I asked. Thanks for all your responses. You've made me feel better about possibly acquiring one.

Also, I've read lots of negative things about the white spots.

They're not bad pipes, but they're nothing special either. I've owned a couple. There were no weird/bad flavors, but one did develop a soft spot in the chamber fairly quickly (could have been my fault, who knows), and none of the tenons fit flush against the mortise walls (which is annoying when your spending top dollar for a pipe).

 

[lightmybriar]

I can’t imagine an exterior stain affecting the taste of a pipe in any way. If it gets in the bowl, sure. That will resolve after a few smokes, though. I think this is just a silly anecdotal legend.

 

[mothernaturewilleatusallforbreakfast]

I have two Shell Briars from '74. I'll never buy another one.

If you don't mind me asking, do you just not care for them or have you had issues?

I think this is just a silly anecdotal legend.

I think you're probably right from the general sounds of things.

 

[ssjones]

Member foggymountain always asserted that certain Dunhill finishes (Shells & Cumberland) left a bad taste with him.

Comments culled from his posts:
" Personally I like smoking the root briars best, but they are rare and expensive. The amber root briars have a taste which does not taste quite as good and requires more breaking in."
"I have them because they are the best smoke per dollar, black shells and Cumberlands excluded. "
"I avoid black Shells and Cumberlands because they are the worst tasting Dunhills I have tried. With the shells the problem is that when they picked a stain the blackness was of greatest importance, not the taste. The taste is just a little bitter on these pipes. It does not get much better with a lot of smoking. I had quite a few of these which I have all parted with. The Cumberlands use the same stain as the Chestnuts. The chestnuts get pretty good tasting with some smoking. The Cumberlands do not. Because of the greater surface area of blasted pipes and because they use multiple coats, the bad taste of the stain remains. I have kept only one Cumberland because of it's beauty, but it does not smoke well. Remember, we all have slightly different tastes. I know that many smokers do not taste the stains. To me they are almost as important as the briar in determining the taste of a pipe. "
He also found the stains that Rad Davis used to also be an issue for him.
Personally, I have a '61 Dunhill shell, estate, and have no issue with the way it smokes/tastes.

 

[Chasing Embers]

If you don't mind me asking, do you just not care for them or have you had issues?

Bad drilling. Had the same issue with a Ruby Bark as well.

 

[sasquatch]

This is why I mentioned isolating variables in my first post. A guy buys a pipe, it's red, it tastes like crap, therefore red pipes are bad. Nevermind the stem it oxydized so it tastes like sulphur.
The idea that yellow stain on the outside of a pipe changes the flavor of the smoke is pretty rich, honestly. There is outward vapor pressure through the bowl when a pipe is heated, it's not sucking anything in from the outside at all. Anyway, as always, there's lot of variables, briar, drilling, stem care, whether the smoker had a head cold....
But avoiding shells because they are black is just silly. I have a half dozen black pipes, one of them a shell. They taste like whatever tobacco I am smoking in them. Just like my brown pipes.

 

[mothernaturewilleatusallforbreakfast]

Well... all comments considered, it's seems to be a crap shoot on whether the Dunhill shell stain does or doesn't impart a bitter taste. I appreciate all the comments and will most likely still give one a go.
It seems that there may be some truth to the notion, but at that same time it also seems as though it may be a myth?
I guess I'll have to decide if I want to roll the dice on one or not? Thanks again. ::
Lastly, I suppose a bitter taste in an estate Dunhill shell can't be as bad as the grandma's powder stand that's in almost all my Dunhill bruyeres.

 

[usrkain47]

+1 to Sasquatch. I own several Dunnie shells is black, tan and Cumberland no odd or bad tastes here.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Also, I've read lots of negative things about the white spots.

Mostly posts from chasing embers!