I think that in an state pipe the shell finish survived better over time. That finish always looks new. But I don't know nothing, I'm the JonSnow of pipes
That's not the only reason for sandblasting.
Possibly even still then. Noticing that a standout in the crowd sells would have been in Alfred Dunhill's marketing prowess.
From what I read is if there was a flaw in the briar and sandblast could remove the flaw they’d keep it. If sandblast couldn’t remove the flaw they’d toss or very early on mark it as a second. But this is only what I read. I know nothing more. So I guess I misspoke. It wasn’t flawed after the fact.
Blasts still show the grain, just of the hardwood. A lot of artisans are getting higher and higher demands for the blasts. Given the choice between smooth or a ring blast, ring blast will win with me. Smooth pipes just have no tactile appeal.
Frankly, mucch of the Dunhill smooths are pretty average for grain, not really all that striking. But their sandblasts, especially the earlier craggy ones, have always been much in demand because they're much more visually interesting.
Are you looking for a sandblasted Dunhill, or just a nicely blasted pipe?
Look for misspellings. Here's two I used to have that bad spelling cost the seller a bit of money.
Im Always looking for dunhills. Just recently I’ve noticed this trend and have been wanting to ask someone and finally thought I’d ask. No big deal. Just was curious.
Oh Man. You are lucky. My cheapest was $90. But boy did I have a job getting it in good shape. The most expensive I’ve paid is $200. I only have 7. My first was my birth year one. i used to be really into Peterson’s but came to the thinking that for what I was paying for new Peterson’s and savinellis I could get some really nice estates. So my new collection are pre 80’s Comoy’s, upshalls and dunhill
Well I must admit with my smoothed pipes I tend to focus on the shine. Like I have a few Sherlock Peterson’s and they don’t hold a shine for nothing and it really gets me. But a sandblasted I don’t focus on any but the smoke. So I tend to agree with you. Second as I am getting older I tend to buy more sandblasted as well. I just bought two Vauen as the sandblast really looked great.This thread has drifted from Dunhills to the the subject of blasted and that's ok.
I my case I only own 2 smooth briars I can think of. The rest are blasted or textured like the Searock finish. Unlike many pipe guys I like the textured finish better than smooth for a few reasons. They are cooler on the hand when smoking, they grip better in your hand so you don't drop them as easily and finally I'm not paying for something (fine grain) that doesn't make the pipe smoke any better. Finally, and this is just a personal thing, as they age smooth pipes simply look older whereas textured pipes just get more character. I love my old, dull, black Searocks and wouldn't dream of polishing them up. They're great just the way they are.
