Swan Neck Indulgence

[georged]

 

[georged]

... those 30-ish style stems -- nothing compares today.

100% agree.

For a while, every pipe model (premium brand ones, anyway) that could "handle" the style was swan-neck-ified.

Even the leetle ones.

Here's a CK. It'll fit in a shirt pocket:







Many of the shapes/models still exist that were once swannies, but the elegance is gone.

Here's the same brand, finish, and model eighty years later:






Why did the elegant look disappear?

As a stem maker myself, I have zero doubt it was the usual reason humans (in the final analysis) do anything --- Money

Not because a swanny stem takes more material, but because it takes more labor. They are a right royal pain in the ass to make, and there's no way to get around it. The stem has to be made twice. Shaped, then bent, then shaped some more AFTER bending.

Meaning pipe company owners and cost accountants were glad to see the fashion disappear in the rearview mirror.

Pipe collectors, not so much...

 

[runscott]

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Haha. Well, if you remember, you and I discussed this pipe on a Zoom and you gave me suggestions on how to get that dent out. But you also said the pipe was not-so-great because of the thin chamber. I took your comments to heart and sold the pipe.

 

[pappymac]

Pappymac's 151 is one of the coolest Dunhills I've ever seen.

Weirdly, the shape didn't survive long, reason unknown. You'd'a thunk people would have lined up around the block to buy 'em.

Check out the stamping on his specimen. Perfectly executed at the factory---level, straight, even depth, not too shallow, not too deep---and then perfectly preserved (for almost a century!):


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And it is has a place in my weekly rotation because it an enjoyable smoke.
I will admit that I haven't smoked it using a "inner tube" because it didn't come with one.

 

[craiginthecorn]

The logo came about because I always thought pipes---Britshapes, at least---looked naked without something there, and every reasonable combination of colors, dots, and rings had already been taken. Also, stamps like Barling, Charatan, etc. weren't durable. (The world's Great Buffer Army has seen to that.)

An inlaid, semi-stylized half (third?) moon fit the bill.



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Before I read your description of the backstory of the logo, I was reminded of Clarence Mickles who was said to have claimed that he used two white spots because his pipes were twice as good as a Dunhill. By that line of thinking that would make your pipe....

Great job. Beautiful pipe. Why am I completely unsurprised?