That's some very good looking Britwood you've got there. I plan to eventually add some prewar English pipes to my little collection, mainly because I want to smoke some pipes from the days of the Empire, and I like the gentlemanly English aesthetic cultivated by Dunhill in particular. Like you, I've mainly been in TAD mode lately, but I keep eyeing pipes like these. Nice little collection you've started sher
I know exactly what you mean, Lawdawg, because I feel the same way. My fondness for pipes like Dunhill and Barling comes from the fact that they remind me of that great era in England’s history. Even though I wasn’t alive, I feel connected to that era due to larger than life figures like Tolkien, Lewis, Churchill, “James Bond,” and the Englishmen of that era, who came home from World War II and started a proper family.
The 1964 Tanshell is what I would describe as a magical smoker. I just put some Stonehaven in it and enjoyed my first day of Fall. The smoking qualities of this pipe is unlike any other in my collection. While my Barling and Savinelli Sterling Spigot each have excellent smoking qualities (including the amazing flavor I get from the Barling), the draw on the Dunhill is magical. It is smooth, clean, and light in a way that I almost can’t describe. Smoking the Dunhill was a seemingly effortless experience, and the tobacco stayed lit for a long period without puffing.
I then went “chimney” mode on it while clenching it lightly and enjoying the Autumn sunset. The briar barely even became warm. Because this was my first time smoking it I cannot say much more except that it truly is a different, special pipe that I feel drawn back to, and it draws me back to another era.