Old pipe. Could it be a Namiki?

[SteC]

thanks all,
here's a detail of the stem with the reg. n. 654639 (i'm not sur about last three number as it's difficult to read it)

it seems to be from 1932

 

[Briarcutter]

thanks all,
here's a detail of the stem with the reg. n. 654639 (i'm not sur about last three number as it's difficult to read it)

it seems to be from 1932

Be careful with that, looks like the shank could have a hairline crack starting. Could be just a scratch, hard to tell without the pipe in hand.

 

[SteC]

I looked under the lens more closely, but I don't see any cracks. Where did you see them?

 

[Hillcrest]

I looked under the lens more closely, but I don't see any cracks. Where did you see them?

The surface scratch under the registration # in your photo --- looks like a lightening bolt. Could be surface could be deeper. Could be a stress fracture. Just be careful with it until addressed.

 

[daveinlax]

It’s been years ago but I saw other like it with the characters on the bowl and a couple with the characters on the shank. The patent makes them much older than the black lacquer art pieces with the goldfish and cranes that came in the humidor like presentation boxes. Look for a PM from me!

 

[orlandofurioso]

To me the characters on the bowl look "painted" on, not an inlay.
They look so fresh, could they be a later addition ?
So far it is all speculation, but George's learned opinion makes sense to me.
Or maybe it was just someones little joke ?

 

[daveinlax]

To me the characters on the bowl look "painted" on, not an inlay.

Yeah all the Namiki art was painted on.

 

[xrundog]

The surface scratch under the registration # in your photo --- looks like a lightening bolt. Could be surface could be deeper. Could be a stress fracture. Just be careful with it until addressed.

That and the stem offset makes me think the tenon is tight. Mortise probably needs a good cleaning.

 

[SteC]

Unfortunately, it looks like the crack is real. I had to zoom in 10x on my phone to try to get a good picture. It can't get any better than this...I might need a microscope. It's not visible with a normal lens. Is it serious damage?

 

[orlandofurioso]

Unfortunately, it looks like the crack is real. I had to zoom in 10x on my phone to try to get a good picture. It can't get any better than this...I might need a microscope. It's not visible with a normal lens. Is it serious damage?

Yes it is; a cracked shank needs to be banded.
Please do not try to force the stem back in.
Better leave both stem and stummel as it is .

 

[Briarcutter]

Unfortunately a crack is is never a good thing. I'm sorry to say, it drastically reduces the value. It could be banded and smoked for years but it will never have the same value if it we're not cracked. If it's a super rare,highly sought after piece it could have little effect. But it would have to be one in a million. An aftermarket repair band is necessary to prevent the crack from expanding but that also reduces the value for collectors. You will have to evaluate the collectable value of the piece. If it is very rare and valuable it may be wise to send it to Dunhill for the repair. A gold band would look very nice but it would be costly and again,depending on the value of the piece it may not be worth it. Even if Dunhill did the work and it had the "AD" on the band it would still be a repair with a cracked shank, but "to a certain degree" original. I've seen a $1000 pipe reduced to a couple hundred because of a cracked shank. It all depends on the rarity, you'll have to research it well.

 

[DevilDuck]

Here’s some background on the Dunhill-Namiki partnership:

Inkstable | Dunhill-Namiki Partnership | History, Craftsmanship & Some Impressive Editions Still Available Inkstable | Dunhill-Namiki Partnership | History, Craftsmanship & Some Impressive Editions Still Available - https://share.google/a4W8NZvJSP5rTWufD

What year make is the pipe? I wonder if this was some kind of presentation inscription for “Reviewer Namiki.” I wonder if there was some kind of book reviewer named Namiki, and he smoked a pipe and this was a gift. Some research could be done.

It doesn’t seem like there’s any way to know the back story on this pipe without some kind of provenance or paper trail, or even an anecdote from some family member of the previous owner. Everything will be speculation.

Think you on to something here. Looks like a collab between Dunhill/Namiki

"Namiki Kan" is probably better translated as "Produced by Namiki" per this article: Pilot Signing - https://estilofilos.blogspot.com/2020/08/pilot-signing.html

If Namiki produced pens for Dunhill then its possible that Dunhill also produced pipes for Namiki as well