You should just study for a higher paying job so you could afford to stop caring about quality control issues on high-end pipes.
Dunhill
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You should just study for a higher paying job so you could afford to stop caring about quality control issues on high-end pipes.
I've got a couple of dozen of them, and have never encountered this nor even heard this before. A straight pipe Dunhill not easily passing a pipe cleaner...yikes...not saying or implying that you're lying at all...guess I'm just chalking that up to very bad luck...and to your credit, unlike all of the detractors commenting here, you're not parroting the so-called truth you read elsewhere on the internet. TBH, you're probably the only negative commenter here that I haven't thought was 100% full of it and speaking based on any actual experience.
Are you kidding? A modern Ferrari or MacClaren is the pinnacle of automotive technology. As a purpose built race car, you can drive on the street, they are great choices. (they = loosely, depends on the model). IF you are seeking that level of performance. If you are looking for a grocery getter. Probably not.
As far as the OP's question - what era Dunhill? You need to ID that to get an answer. There really isn't a modern "Dunhill", so its a bit moot. Every pipe smoker deserves a vintage Dunhill at some point in their life.
Not really. I first joined this forum a little over three years ago and was shortly thereafter exposed to multi page threads like this one that seemed to recur with the same predictable fans and detractors posting the same opinions every month or so. With a very few exceptions, no ones opinion has changed, so whatever is special about Dunhills to some will be forever unappreciated by others.
For the record, the Dunhills that I used to own that were made after WWII and up through the late 1950’s or so were, in my opinion, the best made pipes in my collection, and that is coming from a long time, and still, fan of Italian pipes, Castello in particular. They were carefully selected, and for the most part they were acquired from collectors who knew their Dunhills, but I acquired Barlings, Sasienis, GBD’s, Comoys and Charatans with the same care and from similar specialized collectors. The Dunhill LB’s, 835’s, 120’s, 840’s, 841’s, etc. stood out from the rest. IMO.
I agree with most of what you said, but would add to this that the detractors' opinions won't change by choice. By their own admission most of them have never seen or held one in person, let alone owned one. It's totally based on envy and class bias. Change my mind.
Good thing is that price wise,at least here in EU Dunhills/Castellos seem to be a little bit more accessible to ordinary man (Joe blow)than in the U.S where price tags on these pipes usually show higher figures, are these brands overpriced?maybe or maybe not,but why nobody would say my monthly housing rent is overpriced? I wlll ,$550 per month for a modest two room flat is something I would consider being a real overprice
No no no no. Two words: BAC Mono A road legal car race car that eats Ferrari's and McLarens for lunch at the club level AND...and this is important, so purpose built that if your wife asked you to bring home a gallon of milk you'd have to say no because there is no wear to put it. It's the dream car of the introvert.
Three things
- You can buy groceries in most Ferrari You cannot in a BAC Mono
- Relatively speaking - BAC Mono is harder to drive than most Ferrari
- You cannot show off a BAC Mono to general public. They don’t know
I always get a laugh when this topic comes up here. I like quality in things. Life is short enjoy what you can. I appreciate all quality pipes no matter the brand. I appreciate and enjoy them for a number of reason, some you can quantify, some you can't. I especially like older quality pipe with a history or from a company that has a history. I guess I'm rare but artisan pipes hold little interest for me. Give me a '50s or '60s Charatan any day. This is true in pipes, cane fly rods, guns, etc. I will not dispute current quality vs old classics but I just know where my interest are. As we say out west..."there is a saddle for every butt and a butt for every saddle. You just need to find yours".
My BAC Mono wouldn't pass a cleaner.
But my Maserati does 185.
But my Maserati does 185.
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Dunhills and Castellos in the US are subjected to a distributor markup. We can buy Castellos from Italian shops who purchase directly from Castello in Cantu, or buy from vendors such as Smoking Pipes who purchase from the distributor for the US, Marco Parenscenzo of Novelli in Rome. As of this summer, he is also the US distributor for Dunhill. Not everyone uses this model. Dealers worldwide can purchase inventory directly from Radice, for example, at essentially the same Euro price.
Ditto on your feeling about artisan pipes. Charatan’s are sui generis, though. First brand I seriously collected, in fact I won a couple of ribbons for mine at shows back in the 1980’s, but I recognized even as I couldn’t help myself in acquiring more of them that the stems ranged from barely acceptable to awful. But the wood.....
Merry Christmas one and all! I'm off for the week, have finished off one of the three shows Warners has me on, and thus have a moment to say, "Hi!".
And what better moment to say "Hi" in this Season of Good Cheer, than on a particularly and hilariously vituperative thread revolving around a piece of wood with two holes in it and a bit of shaped rubber attached, that bears a particular stamp.
Jonathan Swift would be delighted.
So many accusations and characterizations of others motives. So much passion! All over piece of wood with two holes in it and a bit of shaped rubber attached that bears a particular stamp.
Maybe. Maybe not owning a Dunhill (mind you I used to smoke them exclusively and still have a drawer full of them) incites class hatred and foment revolution and rebellion. "Man the barricades! Let's storm the Dunhill factory and burn it to the ground! Leave no carver alive!!"
Could be a different set of priorities. "Hey mister! You spent $11,000 on a piece of wood with two holes in it and a bit of rubber attached? Seriously? I know it's your money and all, and that you have the right to spend it any way that you choose, but that's the best you could come up with? Maybe psychotherapy for whatever internal issues you're not facing that make spending that kind of money on a piece of wood with two holes in it and a bit of rubber attached seem like a good idea, would be money better spent."
Or it could be interpreted as the cry of one who has realized his folly and seeks to shed it by foisting the blame on others.
Artisans asking to get paid for their work is baffling? Where's your plantation? Can I visit?
The differences between artisan carvers and the British factory system of pipe production seem pretty clear to me. Factory production primarily revolved around pattern designs that where turned out in multiples. Different parts of the manufacturing process were handled by different specialized departments. In 1921, or was it 1922, Dunhill produced and sold around a quarter of a million pipes. That doesn't read like a small shop. And production grew enormously from there. Granted, it's not Boeing, but it's a pretty good size for the industry.
An artisan fashions the entire pipe and can make any design he or she wants to make. Production is more like a couple of hundred pipes a year on average. I own both British factory and Artisan pipes and have no problem recognizing the difference. I like artisan pipes that show a unique design perspective, like the pipes that Scottie Piersel makes, that are instantly recognizable as the work of that particular carver.
That will occasionally instill in me the desire to spend significant $$ on a piece of wood with two holes drilled in it and a bit of shaped rubber attached. See? I'm just as looney as the rest of you.
Anyway, my time is short, this had been fun, again, a Happy Holiday Season and a healthy, joyous, and abundant coming New Year.
And a thanks to aquadoc for the really great tobaccos! I've been wanting to try the McConnell's Scottish Flake for a while.
And what better moment to say "Hi" in this Season of Good Cheer, than on a particularly and hilariously vituperative thread revolving around a piece of wood with two holes in it and a bit of shaped rubber attached, that bears a particular stamp.
Jonathan Swift would be delighted.
So many accusations and characterizations of others motives. So much passion! All over piece of wood with two holes in it and a bit of shaped rubber attached that bears a particular stamp.
Maybe. Maybe not owning a Dunhill (mind you I used to smoke them exclusively and still have a drawer full of them) incites class hatred and foment revolution and rebellion. "Man the barricades! Let's storm the Dunhill factory and burn it to the ground! Leave no carver alive!!"
Could be a different set of priorities. "Hey mister! You spent $11,000 on a piece of wood with two holes in it and a bit of rubber attached? Seriously? I know it's your money and all, and that you have the right to spend it any way that you choose, but that's the best you could come up with? Maybe psychotherapy for whatever internal issues you're not facing that make spending that kind of money on a piece of wood with two holes in it and a bit of rubber attached seem like a good idea, would be money better spent."
Or it could be interpreted as the cry of one who has realized his folly and seeks to shed it by foisting the blame on others.
Artisans asking to get paid for their work is baffling? Where's your plantation? Can I visit?
The differences between artisan carvers and the British factory system of pipe production seem pretty clear to me. Factory production primarily revolved around pattern designs that where turned out in multiples. Different parts of the manufacturing process were handled by different specialized departments. In 1921, or was it 1922, Dunhill produced and sold around a quarter of a million pipes. That doesn't read like a small shop. And production grew enormously from there. Granted, it's not Boeing, but it's a pretty good size for the industry.
An artisan fashions the entire pipe and can make any design he or she wants to make. Production is more like a couple of hundred pipes a year on average. I own both British factory and Artisan pipes and have no problem recognizing the difference. I like artisan pipes that show a unique design perspective, like the pipes that Scottie Piersel makes, that are instantly recognizable as the work of that particular carver.
That will occasionally instill in me the desire to spend significant $$ on a piece of wood with two holes drilled in it and a bit of shaped rubber attached. See? I'm just as looney as the rest of you.
Anyway, my time is short, this had been fun, again, a Happy Holiday Season and a healthy, joyous, and abundant coming New Year.
And a thanks to aquadoc for the really great tobaccos! I've been wanting to try the McConnell's Scottish Flake for a while.
Well said.
In other words (my interpretation) you may have an artisan pipe and a factory pipe that are of equal quality and performance, but the artisan pipe (potentially) carries an artistic value that the factory pipe does not...which is precisely what would attract me to a "high-end" pipe...has nothing to do with "envy or class bias"...I'm just disinterested in a factory pipe if I'm going to spend big bucks on one. (I'm guessing this point has already been put forth somewhere in the previous 6 pages)
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Sounds like a bunch of guys arguing over who is bigger.. next week this thread will be replaced with the usual Peterson pissing contest!
End of discussion I guess. The oracle has spoken. Enjoy your Barlings knowing that tobacco would burn just the same in a cob.
"Potentially" is the operative word here. That $11,000 pipe could be worth $11 in the not too distant future.
I buy a pipe because it interests me enough to buy it. That interest may be aesthetic, or because I have others by this same maker that I like, or because I've been interested in trying out a pipe made by "X", or "X" type of pipes, or because it has an historical context that I appreciate, or any combination of these. It just has to interest me enough to spend money on it.
I am trying very hard to be offended, but fail to reach that level of interest.
Thanks Jesse and Brian for reasoned replies.
Thanks Jesse and Brian for reasoned replies.
I do enjoy my Barlings! I also enjoy my Sasienis, Comoys, Kaywoodies, MM Importing, various artisan makes, meers, and a few of my Dunhills. I also smoke cobs. Some blends work very well in cobs.
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