Dunhill Pipes Are Overrated

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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
I hate to say it because it always sounds sour grapes, and I don't mean it that way. But in looking at high end pipes, you do have to contend with the fact that some inexpensive pipes smoke exceedingly well. If the stem happens to be your cut, it is not crucial that it isn't hand cut. If the chamber and airway are just the right draw for you, you probably aren't going to do much better. I have some higher end pipes that I treasure, but I have some ordinary pipes, in terms of price, that I also find excellent.

 

workman

Lifer
Jan 5, 2018
2,793
4,219
The Faroe Islands
I don't know if older Dunhills are overrated. I do know that new Dunhills are overpriced. The older Dunhills' appeal to collecters and nostalgic pipe smokers is well described above, and that is probably what drives prices of new Dunhills as well.

 

alialansari

Starting to Get Obsessed
Mar 2, 2015
120
57
Hidd, Bahrain.
I can honestly say that as far as English made pipes are concerned, Dunhill is the most consistent throughout the years. I'm not saying they're the absolute best but very steady in their production. Some other cheaper or less known brands like Sasieni or Hardcastle produced pipes that were on par if not better than Dunhill ones. This opinion is based on my personal experience and doesn't of course conclude anything. My advice would be to invest in an estate Dunhill as it will be cheaper than a new one and perhaps better (pre 1968 pipes were oil cured).

 

pappymac

Lifer
Feb 26, 2015
3,272
4,267
My one Dunhill is a 1926 one that is a great smoker. It was a gift from a friend. I am just as impressed with a Salmon & Gluckstein billiard dated around 1896 that is also a great smoker and far more rare.

 

mahew

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 30, 2017
116
40
Kentucky Hills and Hollers
To say that any pipe maker as a whole is overrated seems unfair. I have seen some brand new unsold Dunhill’s with horrible and uneven finishes from the 80’s-90’s era in a local shop that I would refuse to spend a dime on. I have a tan shell from my birth year that I am rather fond of. To say they have lacked consistency over the span of their existence seems more in line than saying they are overrated. Just my two pennies.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Dunhill pricing is entirely separate from its quality, which is high. But the pricing started out high, but then the company found it could crank it up beyond normal pricing and pushed that to the limit. The pipes are comparable to pipes at half the price or a third, and still expensive. One of several gimmicks was to supply stamping that allowed the pipes to be dated, and hence made it an expensive pipe that was amenable to birth year purchases, and bingo, a rationale for paying double the price. Other pipes, like artisan pipes etched with the date, or Luciano pipes stamped with the year, have this feature but not the vast name recognition. The resale of birth years pipes didn't accrue to the company itself but contributed to the brand price structure. The marketing strategy was even better than the pipes, somewhat brilliant, and the English have a good feel for class-based snobbery so know how to play that emotional keyboard with customers.

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,623
44,833
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
One of several gimmicks was to supply stamping that allowed the pipes to be dated, and hence made it an expensive pipe that was amenable to birth year purchases, and bingo, a rationale for paying double the price.
That's not why the year date code was stamped onto the pipes. It was simply a way to verify the age of the pipe if it needed repair or replacement since Dunhill only offered a 1 year guarantee, unlike some others whose guarantees were longer. That the stampings have become an obsession for some wasn't in their thinking when Dunhill first instituted them.

 

georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
5,491
13,920
Sable is correct.
(Do your Barlings know your brain cheats on them by thinking about Dunhills occasionally?) :lol:

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,699
16,207
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
I believe Jesse is absolutely correct on the "why" of dating. I doubt anyone at Dunhill gave a care to resale. No reason for them to, they make/made zilch on the sale of used pipes. There are many logical reasons, Jesse cited one, for dating manufactured products. It's the "after market" and "resale market" that has a vested interest in dating with regard to value.

 
Mar 1, 2014
3,646
4,916
I have lots of Dunhills: https://www.smoke.co.uk/acatalog/Barber_B-Line-p1.html

Great value for money there.

The stems aren't amazing but the sandblasting is about as good as you'll get on any factory made pipe.
At one point I was skeptical of the claim but by now it doesn't even matter whether or not the stummels actually come from any "famous" factory, I just see them as a good source of decent sandblasting.

 
Aug 14, 2012
2,872
123
They are better than they used to be. As far as price goes, buy directly from Europe and save some real money

 

brian64

Lifer
Jan 31, 2011
9,602
14,666
They are better than they used to be.
If I'm interpreting that comment correctly, it's something you don't normally hear. And coming from Foggy makes it interesting. The conventional wisdom always seems to be that older Dunhills are better...even significantly better.

 

rodo

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 1, 2014
157
259
Central Arkansas
Years ago my younger bro was also a pipe smoker, and rich, and he sent me an estate Dunny for my birthday. I think it is a seventies vintage. The straight poker was not terribly appealing to me but I was impressed with the name. Okay, fine, fancy pipe. Then I smoked it. I recall actually being a bit annoyed as it smoked hands down better than any of my other pipes. (Granted, I had only a couple back then.) It was strange: I'd smoke in my Peterson, or my meerschaum, but the Dunny always somehow was cooler, stayed lit, just better.

 

ricebiscuit

Lurker
Aug 28, 2018
39
5
Fort Worth, Texas
I was able to find a patent era dunhill (1953 shape 137 to be exact) earlier this year on ebay for about $120. Took a shot on it to see what all the fuss was about. It is now one of my favorite pipes. Amazing smoker. I would vouch for older dunhills being worth their price. Plus they are fun to collect with the history.
Now would I pay current prices for a new dunhill? no chance.

 
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