Dunhill DR - Should I? Shouldn''t I?

[flakyjakey]

I have been watching a Dunhill DR ** put up on eBay by a reputable European retailer and wondering whether I should bid hard for it. I have 8 Dunhills in my collection and value them all, especially the 'patent era' shells. I have a 1980's HT Collector and a beautiful pre-1970 shell 'quaint' with a solid gold ferrule. BUT I don't have a 'DR'! From what I've read on 'pipedia' and elsewhere the DRs are the 'true' Dunhill straightgrains. They also cost 'an arm and leg' - the ones I've seen recently have cost > 1000, UK pounds that is!
I have seen some wonderful Dunhill collections from members of this site, and I am hoping someone can help me.
How special are they? are they worth the premium so I can 'have' one? Are they better than a Peterson straightgrain (of which I have two, and love) which are 25% of the price? Or my Barling pre-transition straightgrain at 30% of the price or my prized 1914 Barling at 70%? Or should I just keep my £££ in my pocket???

 

[peckinpahhombre]

You will be buying primarily grain. You can't smoke grain, but you can basque in the grain's glow. lol. Post pics if you go for it.

 

[guhrillastile]

If you saw ten of the same pipe..would THIS one be the one that stood out in the group?
If not, then pass. Another will come just as quick. Is it the stunning example of its kind? If so swoop that sucker. And don't forget the pics.

 

[fishnbanjo]

Here is my DR R C-EE from 1948, don't know how this stacks up against the current * system but it's a beauty, a group 2 size and a pot shape. I bought it because it spoke to me, it could have been another maker's pipe and I would have purchased it, it smokes great.

 

[flakyjakey]

@Roth, I don't want you to think I'm a filthy-rich doc like some of the stateside ones lol. Fact is my University gave me a financial 'bung' for my 60th birthday and 25 years' service! It would just about pay for a pipe like this.
@Peck, you are right. I do like a nice grain/look, but smoking quality is more important. In some of my very old Barlings the grain is almost obscured by the deep maroon/plum stain typical of the turn of the century, but they are champion smokers. If I went for this and it didn't smoke as well as my patent-era shells and roots I would be seriously upset! Very seriously upset!!. It is a 1970's pipe and I'm not sure they are built as well as they were in the past.
@guhrillastille, yours is a crucial point! I have followed about five Root DRs in the last couple of months, all 60s-80s, and this one does not shine out particularly. The grain, while very impressive, does not look as 'tight' as "fishnbanjo's" superlative example. However for a group 3 bent billiard it weighs just one ounce, so the briar quality must be very high.
@fishnbanjo, I am envious LOL. If the pipe in question looked like yours I would be on my way to Germany with a wad of £££!!!
I'm having an obammah moment of indecision, but all your comments have helped.

 

[mrenglish]

If you can afford it and want it, I say go for it.

 

[allan]

Flakey
As has been mentioned before, 'you can't smoke grain'. My wife purchased last Christmas a Dunhill double flame (was it double or triple?-can't remember) that cost a fortune. I returned it because I just couldn't justify the cost/putting a match to it. My feeling was that if I kept it, I would just look at it once in a while.
Instead, I was able to purchase Rad Davis, Scott Thile, Upshall and stay within the same budget.
Don't get me wrong-I love Dunhills and own several. But for me, I'd rather go with blasted pipes that cost a fraction of the one you mentioned.
Just my take on it.
On the other hand, hey, you can't take it with you...
Welcome to the forum.

 

[tbradsim1]

I went on EBay and I think the pipe I saw was the one you are looking at, very nice. I say if you want it, you worked for it Get it. I just bought a very high end Danish pipe, smokes like a dream, it's my Sunday pipe. You"re not getting any younger treat yourself I"m not sorry I treated myself.

 

[flakyjakey]

@allan I am absolutely with you. I am totally against 'trophy' pipes lol and smoke every pipe in my collection. Quality is crucial, but my eye is still turned by beauty! LOL
@tbradsim your "I'm not getting any younger" point is exactly the one I use on 'my other half' every time I buy an expensive pipe!!!!

 

[allan]

Flakey
I'm thinking about my earlier post and 'alot of money' is really relative. Just look at J.Alan's website or Scott Klein, just to name two. Several members of the NY Pipe club have bunches of these price range pipes and smoke them all of the time.
If you love it, go for it. You do deserve it.

 

[flakyjakey]

Thanks all. I see things more clearly now, but a question to fishnbanjo, if I may:
If you were me, would you go for this or commission two bespoke hand made Chris Askwith Mortas plus a dozen clay pipes so I can test my theory that his 10,000 year old Morta is not neutral, but adds a lovely, subtle nutty/smoky taste to the tobacco? LOL

 

[flakyjakey]

Sorry roth, I don't follow your last post?

 

[guhrillastile]

I am cheap by nature but can appreciate that quality costs. That being the case it won't break you but its in budget for one. I would be patients and continue looking for THE one. Then snatch it with authority and not look back.
Hardest part is the hovering and choosing. We all work hard for our money. So have the conversation with yourself about if you really want it. Trying to justify or rationalize yourself into doing it or not doing it is unfair. You need to stop and say to yourself you DO deserve it. Then proceed with the selection. Pricetag shouldn't factor once/if the choice has been made.
I also don't think it will live up to your mental expectations of crushing other smokes. I'm confident it will be good. Great even! But you are buying a name, a grain, and a good dose of hype. Still a wonderful pipe by all definitions...just have eyes open with what your expecting from it.
Just my .02 cents. Don't mean to cross any lines.

 

[guhrillastile]

I would go commission. Tell them flat out. Your looking to have your doors blown off with its smoking. And you have an image in your head of what it already looks like. You want to pull the trigger once. It won't be the last pipe you ever purchase, but its a big one for ya. In celebration and in the wallet. Many a builder will shy from going toe to toe with a double star. But plenty are capable. It's the ones that know what you really expect that are going to be showing any apprehension. The over confident will just make generalized claims. Ask directly, and see what shakes. You might find your well within spec.
Ok. So that's .04 cents now in the pot.
-Marc

 

[pipeherman]

Too expensive for my blood; If you want it, go take it.

 

[misterlowercase]

Nice!

8 patent Shells?

They got gnarly blasts?

Love those early birds!
As for the DR,

it's a matter of deep personal introspection, LOL! -- really, I know the collector's mentality and drive - how one can get caught up in acquiring that one elusive piece, in some aspects it approaches neurosis where the desired object takes on an almost mythical aura (I'm that way about pretrans Fossils!) and such pursuits may cause distortion in ones judgement --- when I've found myself in a similar situation, I force myself to come to a grinding halt, deep breath, count to ten, and then try to let my rational brain process the pro/con argument with as little input from my romantic heart as possible --- sometimes it's very difficult, but often things work a weird way where somehow the desired object will find a way into your life...in the end, don't settle for any example that is less than your ideal image of it, try to consider the pipe for the pipe, if you can, and disregard nomenclature or brand and try to evaluate it on its own merit...
...the Askwith idea sounds good to me!
I know an obsessive jazz collector, he's mad as a hatter and has millions of records and he tends to be a completist, for example, he'll buy every single release from Okka Disk regardless of who it is, it doesn't matter, he simply must have every one of 'em, and they've put out alotta stuff!!!

http://www.okkadisk.com/

...at some point it all boils down to if one is a serious collector or not, only a serious collector would pay extra for nomenclature or rare shapes, in order to complete or add to the collection --- and there's nothing wrong with that either, I'm envious of such folks who have the ability to curate such grand collections and often those folks end up being experts on the subject and share that hard-won info with everybody else, so it's a great thing...
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.
Perhaps this would help?

...a Dunhill decision-maker coin token!

::

Y/N

 

[ssjones]

Your 60th birthday and 25th anniversary combined? A DR purchase? I say = Yes!

Those DR's while pricey, seem to hold their value quite well if cared for properly. I don't think you have much to lose. I'm watching a 2 Star DR now it is a beauty for sure. They do tend to run very small, but it that is your preference, go for it! That one appears to be hotly contested already, good luck.

 

[foggymountain]

I have several of them which I enjoy very much, but they are a bit overpriced.

 

[flakyjakey]

Slept on it last night - didn't help. Again understandably mixed advice lol which makes me feel better about my own indecision!!
@Roth, it seems that we think alike on this subject, but express ourselves differently LOL I am a smoker primarily, but with a hint of the collector! However I have no interest in their investment potential, except perhaps as something special to pass on to my son.
@misterlowercase, Your point about nomenclature over quality is a good one. In this very expensive example of a recent-era Dunhill what proportion of the price would be attributable to the Dunhill label and the apparent DR rarity? If it was the stunning example shown by fishnbanjo I would already have made up my mind.

When you and your stateside brethren were slumbering (or otherwiae? lol) I took out some of my other NAMED AS straightgrains and gave them a good looking over. The least expensive was my Peterson's - with stunning, dense grain but the pipe itself not particularly light (perhaps because of the silver ferrule). Then a Loewe L&Co "Haymarket" era circa 50's - 60's straight billiard (bought restored from rebornbriar for $220!!). Then James Upsall's G-grade pot and a large cherry wood-shaped sitter (80's?) Finally a pre-transition Barling "straightgrain" (20's-40's) won on eBay for $500 and restored to perfection by rebornbriar. All These pipes are very light for their size, especially the JUs and Barling. Their grains IMO are as impressive as those of the DRs now up for sale. When I look at straightgrains I always inspect the 'birdseye' grain on the rims and bases of the bowl, as this should IMO be very small-grained and dense. This is true in all my examples.

On this analysis, as a 'smoker who collects' I don't like the idea that I might be paying such a high premium simply for the name, simply to 'tick the DR box' LOL

But I'm still swithering! To make matters worse I've found another DR** in the same seller's shop - almost identical grain; a 1982 with a larger size 4 bowl (Al - Bruyere Pipes Ebay shop, Germany). It looks virtually unsmoked at $1390 "buy now/best offer" (cheap if you say it quickly LOL). So, like the Russian's 'knight's move' on Syria, this has complicated the decision, but it does mean that the pipe under auction is likely to go for less than $1400, unless other bidders are unaware of the other DR.

I may end up tossing those coins lol unless fishnbanjo comes back in and helps me with my Chris Askwith Mortas alternative, please???
I know exactly where I am now - deep in obamaah land!! LOL One more fretful sleep, and one way or another I'll do the deed tomorrow!

 

[numbersix]

I've been reading the responses and everyone's opinion is reasonable. Value-wise, there may be better options but a pipe purchase like this is not based purely on reason alone.
I would say to go for it. It's a pipe you've been wanting for a while, and if the funds are suddenly available, this may be your only opportunity to own one. No doubt in my mind that you will cherish this pipe and enjoy it quite a lot, and that (usually) trumps reason alone in my book.
Good luck and let us know what you decide!