Dunhill pipes - Advice please

[domdaddy]

Hello all!
Total newbie here! I have just acquired two Dunhill pipes, one I was thinking of keeping and one that I thought I might sell on. I was hoping that I could get some advice on what to do with each of them, in regards to cleaning etc? The one that I would like to keep (A 1962 Dunhill Shell Briar) has a brown stem, which seems unusual to me, as most of them seem like they're black, would this be damage, or perhaps just the colour that it is supposed to be?
Any words of advice are much appreciated!

 

[papipeguy]

Pictures will be helpful to determine what needs to be done but it sounds like your 1962 Shell may have a Cumberland stem. post pics and we'll go from there.

 

[ericthered]

Welcome to the forum! The brown stem is due to oxidation, or it may be Cumberland, as previously mentioned. if it's oxidation, there's a shiny black stem under the brown just waiting to be let out. A quick search of this site, or rebornpipes.com or youtube will give you all you need to know about removing oxidation from pipe stems.
We'd love to see pics of your before/after progress, should you decide to do it yourself. A word of caution, however. If you're new to pipe restoration you may want to sell the pipe/s as-is. Many Dunhill collectors would rather buy a dirty, unmolested pipe than one that has been restored poorly.
Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide and let us know the outcome!

 

[sablebrush52]

Post pix. The stem is either cumberland, or oxidized. As far as restoration, unless you know what you're doing, you can damage or decrease the value of your pipes by doing it wrong. Best left to a pro.

 

[framitz]

If you got an indyracer would you use shade tree mechanic to check and tune.? Shel

 

[wilson]

As per others, a brown stem could be oxidized or it could be a cumberland. Dunhills are, usually, valuable pipes, so I will echo others in saying that it would be worth having these professionally refurbished. Prices are usually pretty reasonable if there is no damage and you only need the stem polished and a general clean-up. Post some pics and you'll get a lot better information.

 

[domdaddy]

Wow! Thanks for the response! Can I upload a couple of photos on this thread?

 

[framitz]

Absolutely that would help. Shel

 

[domdaddy]

Would you know if I can upload an image here from my phone? Sorry for my ignorance, I'm new here! :-/

 

[tarak]

Try this oft-used thread. There's several "sticky" threads on the forum home page that will help you with many of your questions. Welcome!
Posting Pictures

 

[mso489]

One of our most opinionated Dunhill owners is foggy', who owns over a hundred, and he is strongly dismissive of Shell Briar Dunhills as I recall. If you post some photos, he might give you his take on these. He recently bought six, count 'em six, smaller Dunhills for shorter smokes, beautiful smooth finish pipes, princes mostly as I recall.

 

[domdaddy]

Photos of both pipes are now uploaded into my album! Any advise or comments?
Sorry, I've mixed up the photo titles, but I'm

sure that you guys know which is which!

 

[gregprince]

I've seen too many valuable Dunhills destroyed by careless or uninformed "restoration". Whether you plan on selling or smoking you are better off doing nothing than butchering them. Once they're gone, they're gone forever.

 

[tobyducote]

There is a string that gives instructions on up.oafing pics...also, you can send those two pipes off to an experienced restoration expert to bring them back to "like new" condition...please please don't try it yourself...

 

[dmcmtk]

Photos of both pipes are now uploaded into my album! Any advise or comments?

You still need to put them here for us to see them.

 

[sablebrush52]

To post pictures from your album, do the following:
1. Go to your album and click on the thumbnail of the image that you want to share, so that you open the image's page.

2. If you are using a Mac, hold down the "control" key and click on the image to open a pop up menu and select "copy image location". If you are on a PC, I believe that you right click to access the same pop up menu. In either case you want to select "copy image location".

3. Go to the forum and click in your reply window.

4. Select "IMG" from the menu above and paste the image location that you copied, into the IMG window. Click OK. You will see the image location flanked by IMG.

5. Click "send post". Your image will appear in your post.