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ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,323
11,093
Maryland
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I think that would probably explain the lower relative asking price in comparison to other Bruyeres of the same vintage on SP, in the same (apparently) excellent condition. The rep said they had taken the condition fully into account when assessing the value, but there was no indication or acknowledgement that they knew the pipe had been significantly altered when making that assessment. In other words, having been made aware of that fact, they didn't offer to lower the price.
I think that's all you need to know to take a hard pass.
 

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,323
11,093
Maryland
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I think those had acrylic stems and were heavy as fuck, at least compared to the Dunhill in question. Pass.
Acrylic stem - yes
Heavy as F - no, they went 19 grams. I suspect that Group 2 Dunhill was around the same? (19 grams is VERY light)

A vintage Peterson Belgique are ever smaller, with vuclanite stems, but obviously a bit harder to find (but not impossible)
 
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Winnipeger

Lifer
Sep 9, 2022
1,288
9,667
Winnipeg
Acrylic stem - yes
Heavy as F - no, they went 19 grams. I suspect that Group 2 Dunhill was around the same? (19 grams is VERY light)

A vintage Peterson Belgique are ever smaller, with vuclanite stems, but obviously a bit harder to find (but not impossible)
Yeah I was a little confused in my earlier post. Hillcrest was absolutely correct. Those Petersons were very similar to the Dunhill in question. I liked the looks of them when they came out but the acrylic stems were a deal breaker for me. As I stated above (somewhere) I own a Peterson Belgique with a vulcanite stem. Probably my most used (and abused) pipe.

BTW, my Belgique is 17g and this Dunhill is 15.88g according to SP.
 
Last edited:
Dec 10, 2013
2,317
2,943
Nijmegen, the Netherlands
A round ball would result in a concave chamfer, and styrofoam would be too soft and flexible, resulting in a cut that lacked sharpness and precision. A round ball is also quite difficult to control and keep centered.

A designed-for-the-task, large diameter wooden (or plastic) rod with a 60 or 70-degree point whose cutting face is smoothly covered with sandpaper is the only thing that will give a professional result. Two are needed, also. A coarse one to remove material, and a fine one to remove all sanding scratches and bring the beveled surface to a "finishable" smoothness (trying to use the smooth one alone will just result in instant loading w/no cutting action.)
Obviously a wooden sphere neatly covered with sand paper will not do ?
 

dunnyboy

Lifer
Jul 6, 2018
2,413
29,269
New York
It kind of bothered me that there was no mention of the fact the briar had been trimmed, but I’m sure it was an honest oversight. (I’ll state for the record that SP has, in my experience, the best customer service in the universe. Their searchable archive of previous listings is a great resource. Obviously they weren't trying to hide any facts about this listing, because it took me about 2 seconds to find the original.)
I agree with you both that this was an honest oversight on the part of SP and that they should have offered to reduce the price when you brought the alteration to their attention. As I recall, SP Estates was looking for skilled technicians recently so perhaps the person evaluating the pipe lacked the expertise to recognize that the chamfering was inauthentic.