The New Pipes with the P&C Esoterica release from Tuesday. Very Nice in person...Will be busy
this weekend and opening up a tin of Margate.
Is Dunhill Pipe Brand Worth It?
- Thread starter cohibajoe
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The New Pipes with the P&C Esoterica release from Tuesday. Very Nice in person...Will be busy
this weekend and opening up a tin of Margate.
I do agree with Mr,SaltedPlug for all 100% IMHO,No would make better looking classical pipes than Dunhill,and no,I ain't got plans on having one.
It's a matter of personal taste. I prefer the older Comoys for overall elegance of shaping, and there are several Barling models that are classics, like the 71A. Even Dunnhill's signature swans neck 120, beautiful as it can be, isn't the equivalent to the Genod original. But they did make some beautiful pipes. So did others.
This thread really had legs. I think the question fascinates people, even though there is no absolute answer. Students of business, marketing, and retail should go back to this brand, the Dunhill pipe, and study the graduation in image and price achieved in approximately the 1950's. Many mature members of Forums remember when Dunhill was a bit less in price than a Kaywoodie, which was the the premium brand. Though two of the better known pipe brands, both were something that the average middle class salaryman could comfortably afford, at least once a year or so. Somewhere in the late 1950's, Dunhill ratcheted itself out of its comfortable mid-price niche and started its climb until today an average Group 4 commands around $700 at many retailers. These prices have been achieved with upper-middle salary and upwards, people who are thought of as being hard-nosed, analytical, and careful with their money. But also status conscious, vulnerable to pitches about luxury products, and often spoiled. Dunhill invited this market carefully, wisely, effectively, and still sells pipes at something like two-to-three or more times the price of comparable high quality pipes. As a marketing strategy, this was done exceptionally well, and in such a way as to sustain the high prices for more than a half century. That's a performance worth studying.
Interesting tale & history, Tom, thanks. Like Cadillac's creation of the luxury SUV market niche by means of the Escalade, & then convincing people they can't live without it.
I like Dunhill. I think they have very good smoking qualities,and have thought so since purchasing my firs one in the late 90’s.Their workmanship is alway up there,always consistent stem work,and a good draw.Maybe they are turned elsewhere,and only finished in England,but it is the finished product that is important.I don’t think the name is even owned by the family anymore.It is all a matter of opinion,and you have just read mine.
I have’t seen many Dunhill pipes in person, but the ones I have seen were exceptionally light for their size. Comparable to a meerschaum, let’s say. Now, my 1934 Shell is not as light as that, and the drilling of the chamber is off center, but I have read that the old Dunnies were like that. Many would not have passed quality control in the 1980’s. I enjoy smoking mine, but it is at least as good as my Kaywoodie and my Ryan Alden Morta. Now if any of you want to travel to Romania, I found some new Dunhill smooth pipes for $525.00 in a shop in Constanta. Unfortunately, that was still above my pay grade.
Dunhill's are beautiful pipes of a certain kind. But if I were going to spend the money one new medium size Dunhill costs, I believe I'd instead buy a top of the line Nording such as was recently posted by a member, one of the somewhat more traditional but still highly stylish Ser Jacopo, a pipe by one of the rising artisan carvers ... and I'd still have funds left over for a few tins of premium tobacco.
The Dunhill family owns "Alfred Dunhill's White Spot" as a marque/brand and yes, still sells pipes. The dollar v. the pound makes the pipes fairly attractive at this time. I suppose one could, very reasonably, refer to their "white Spot" as a Dunhill but, a buyer should be sure as to what exactly they are buying, especially on-line. A "Dunhill" may in fact be an "Alfred Dunhill's White Spot." A distinction with a difference!
The USA prices are a bit high. They have minimum sales prices in the US market. They can be bought for less from Europe, for insatnce Al Pascia. I prefer certain Dunhills to any other pipes, artisan or not. Forget the Shell Briars and Cumberlands. These are both poor smokers compared to the others. All the other current finishes smoke very well, though some such as the amber root take more breaking in. The Dunhills are absolutely consistent. By that I mean get two of the same shape and finish, and unless old and oversmoked, they will smoke the same. I have had over 150 21st century Dunhills, currently have about 80.
Wow, I must have missed some good Dunhills. At one point I had 16 but they were all Shells and Ring Grains as I prefer sandblasts pipes over smooth. They were all excellent smokers but now I am thinking I should try a non sandblasted one. I currently do not have any Dunhill's but am thinking about getting one or two.
I was having trouble finding a post about identifying pipes by markings, and since this pipe has a Dunhill stem, I thought this might be a good place to see if anyone had time to respond.
Like I mentioned, this has a Dunhill stem, but the markings seem wrong. Anyone have any ideas? It's much appreciated.
Like I mentioned, this has a Dunhill stem, but the markings seem wrong. Anyone have any ideas? It's much appreciated.
Need photos of the markings. (nomenclature)
Once your photos are on a photo hosting site (such as Imgur.com; Postimage; Dropbox, etc.Photobucket), or on virtually any site, including this site's album such as eBay, Amazon, you-name-it, select the full sized image, then Control-click (Mac) or Right-click (Windows) on the image itself, then choose copy image location. Now paste that URL (the full web address, which should end in .jpg) into the IMG box in the reply window of the thread you're posting to.
The site's album is also a good choice for displaying photos. (you omitted the colon in the URL)
Once your photos are on a photo hosting site (such as Imgur.com; Postimage; Dropbox, etc.
The site's album is also a good choice for displaying photos. (you omitted the colon in the URL)
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