For about the last year, I've been looking for a birth year (1985) Dunhill to add to my collection. I understand that there's a certain novelty aspect to having one of these, and that it doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to be special in any way other than that aspect. But, that doesn't change the fact that I wanted one. However, based on the prices I'd seen for them, I wanted to hold off on buying one until I found one that really appealed to me. I had a saved search on eBay that would notify me of any new items that were listed that fit the bill. I purposefully left it somewhat unrestricted so that it'd show me any 1985 Dunhills that were posted, not just the ones I thought I'd be interested in.
I probably should have done some more research into what they produced in '85, but I figured one would come along that I couldn't live without, and that would be that. After almost a year of looking, I'd almost given up and settled on a style that wasn't 'the one,' in order to add one to the collection. On a random Tuesday afternoon back in February, I happened to be perusing the wares on eBay and noticed that there was a new listing for my birth year Dunhill search. I cracked it open and there it was. It's not typically a shape that I'd specifically seek out; however, to my eye, anyways, it was magnificent. Although I was kinda hoping to be able to bid on one, this listing was a "Buy it Now" listing, so I bit the bullet and paid the man. Only after having done so did I realize that he was currently on vacation in Spain at his late father's house, selling off the last of his dad's pipes. Not a big deal, it just meant that the transit time for the pipe to arrive would be about a month, so I'd have to wait a little longer.
The seller candidly told me that he'd done no preparation to any of the pipes he had listed prior to selling them, other than a quick clean. The pipe looked great in the ad, but I knew that didn't necessarily mean it'd be ready to rock when it got here. Back then, @lightmybriar had recently started a thread about a Dunhill restoration he was doing on a pipe he'd just purchased. I saw what he was able to do in only a matter of hours (literally - his before and after photos were only hours apart) and reached out to him to see if he'd be willing to give my new pipe a once-over. I'm not particularly opposed to going through a pipe and trying to get it back into great shape, I just didn't want to do it to my first Dunhill, especially being the birth year pipe I'd been looking for.
Feeling like a mother who'd just birthed a child destined for adoption, I opened the box when it arrived, treated it like Golllum treated the ring for so long, and then packaged it back up to send it on its way to @lightmybriar to go through his process. He was able to find a few small issues that wouldn't have been in the ad without the aid of a borescope, and sorted them out promptly. Back in the mail in only a day, or so, my new treasure was coming home! I've spent the last few days trying to figure out what I wanted to smoke in it as I'd like to dedicate a blend to this particular pipe. To my eye, it screams elegant, and I couldn't really think of anything better than a nice Vaper to pair with it in order to enjoy their inherent elegance. Being super deep on and particularly fond of the 2020 Cringle Flake, I tapped it for the job.
I wanted to really church it up, so I also purchased a pair of ST Dupont lighters for the experience and, as luck would have it, there was another listing on eBay that popped up in my saved search for an unused Dunhill pipe tool that matched the stem. Balking at the price of the pipe for so long, I'm honestly ashamed at what I spent on the damned tamper. But, we only live once and I smoke pipes because I find great enjoyment in the process and having a nice lighter and matching tamper will only improve that for me.
I'll again lean on @lightmybriar and ask that he posts the before/after photos of the work he did to this pipe because I can't seem to find them anywhere. Fortunately, he wasn't asked to perform a miracle, but the result was beyond words, if I'm honest.
Without further ado, and under the implied understanding that I have a bit of an addictive personality and I'm prone to impulse purchasing, please find the photos of my new birth year Dunhill, a Chestnut 4233, and associated accessories below!
I probably should have done some more research into what they produced in '85, but I figured one would come along that I couldn't live without, and that would be that. After almost a year of looking, I'd almost given up and settled on a style that wasn't 'the one,' in order to add one to the collection. On a random Tuesday afternoon back in February, I happened to be perusing the wares on eBay and noticed that there was a new listing for my birth year Dunhill search. I cracked it open and there it was. It's not typically a shape that I'd specifically seek out; however, to my eye, anyways, it was magnificent. Although I was kinda hoping to be able to bid on one, this listing was a "Buy it Now" listing, so I bit the bullet and paid the man. Only after having done so did I realize that he was currently on vacation in Spain at his late father's house, selling off the last of his dad's pipes. Not a big deal, it just meant that the transit time for the pipe to arrive would be about a month, so I'd have to wait a little longer.
The seller candidly told me that he'd done no preparation to any of the pipes he had listed prior to selling them, other than a quick clean. The pipe looked great in the ad, but I knew that didn't necessarily mean it'd be ready to rock when it got here. Back then, @lightmybriar had recently started a thread about a Dunhill restoration he was doing on a pipe he'd just purchased. I saw what he was able to do in only a matter of hours (literally - his before and after photos were only hours apart) and reached out to him to see if he'd be willing to give my new pipe a once-over. I'm not particularly opposed to going through a pipe and trying to get it back into great shape, I just didn't want to do it to my first Dunhill, especially being the birth year pipe I'd been looking for.
Feeling like a mother who'd just birthed a child destined for adoption, I opened the box when it arrived, treated it like Golllum treated the ring for so long, and then packaged it back up to send it on its way to @lightmybriar to go through his process. He was able to find a few small issues that wouldn't have been in the ad without the aid of a borescope, and sorted them out promptly. Back in the mail in only a day, or so, my new treasure was coming home! I've spent the last few days trying to figure out what I wanted to smoke in it as I'd like to dedicate a blend to this particular pipe. To my eye, it screams elegant, and I couldn't really think of anything better than a nice Vaper to pair with it in order to enjoy their inherent elegance. Being super deep on and particularly fond of the 2020 Cringle Flake, I tapped it for the job.
I wanted to really church it up, so I also purchased a pair of ST Dupont lighters for the experience and, as luck would have it, there was another listing on eBay that popped up in my saved search for an unused Dunhill pipe tool that matched the stem. Balking at the price of the pipe for so long, I'm honestly ashamed at what I spent on the damned tamper. But, we only live once and I smoke pipes because I find great enjoyment in the process and having a nice lighter and matching tamper will only improve that for me.
I'll again lean on @lightmybriar and ask that he posts the before/after photos of the work he did to this pipe because I can't seem to find them anywhere. Fortunately, he wasn't asked to perform a miracle, but the result was beyond words, if I'm honest.
Without further ado, and under the implied understanding that I have a bit of an addictive personality and I'm prone to impulse purchasing, please find the photos of my new birth year Dunhill, a Chestnut 4233, and associated accessories below!
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