The Fourth Dunhill, When Was It Made, What To Do With It?

[agnosticpipe]

Well you asked for it, so here it is. The fourth Dunhill from The Dunhill Project, that I said was not restorable. I can't seem to figure out what year the pipe is, as there is no number after the "d". Anyone care to hazard a guess? I also have no idea what I'd like to do with the pipe. I toyed with the idea of cutting the bowl even on top, and grinding the bowl out where it needs it so I could perhaps get a meerschaum bowl for Falcon and fit it in. Kind of a mini calabash. I've also considered just cutting the bowl off altogether and making a tamper out of the shank, saving the stem for some future day. Again, any suggestions?
I'll have to admit that these pipes were a challenge to fix up, but it was also fun trying to figure the best way to do the repairs. They look pretty decent now, but are certainly not prime examples of old Dunhill pipes. So far they seem to be usable, but I have no way of knowing if the repairs will last. I have other pipes that I've repaired some bad damage on before, and so far they are holding up fine.
Lastly, I wonder about the previous smoker of these. How did they come to be in such bad repair? It wasn't just heavy use and not cleaning cake out, but they had things done to them that really damaged them. Could the person have been mentally ill in some way, or did they decide what they were doing made the pipes better? I'm sure there's story behind them, and it would be interesting to know what it was. (I think)
When I first got it:

After basic clean up:

 

[dmcmtk]

Dating, I'm going to say 1951. From R.D. Field,

1951: ...in addition a group number e.g. 4 R or 3 A is introduced for the first time.
1952: As above but with the suffix2 after the word ENGLAND. Also, instead of DUNHILL/LONDON the finish of the pipe is stamped under the word Dunhill e.g. DUNHILL/ROOT BRIAR

1954 last year of Patent markings on Dunhill's. I would just finish cleaning it up and smoke that old soldier as is!

 

[agnosticpipe]

Thanks Dave, but that's the site I used to date these pipes, and in every case there is supposed to be a suffix number after the D in England. According to them this pipe would have to be made in 1951 or after because of the group number, but it still should have a number after the D starting with 1. The 1950 pipe had a 0 after the D, but no group size. So, it appears to be a mystery! Maybe, dare I say it? this is a rare "transition era" Dunhill... ha, ha, ha :mrgreen:
Yeah, I thought about smoking it as is, but because the bowl is so low and thin walled, I'm afraid I'd burn my fingers. Might have to wear oven mitts to smoke it.

 

[iamn8]

The best/only way to smoke that is to grind into dust, pour it into one of your other Dunhills, and light it up you'd be one of the few to ever truly smoke a Dunhill.

 

[mso489]

I know nothing, but just to make a narrative thread out of this, maybe the owner bought the pipes when they were more moderately priced (which they were for quite a while) and liking them a lot, when back to buy others and found that they now cost as much as an Italian suit or something, so just kept on smoking the ones he had down to the burnt-out wrecks we see today. Likely not true; maybe the prices had gone up before these were made, etc. But it makes a story.

 

[voorhees]

While I was quite surprised by the ot g er three, this one is really a junker. You did the best most of us could imagine. I do think a tamper would serve a good purpose from this old soldier.

 

[huntertrw]

Perchance did the dog pictured in your avatar chew the bowl of this pipe?

 

[danielplainview]

Send it to George D. lol
Did you see this thread? Marvic had a great solution for broken bowls. Scroll down towards the bottom of the thread.
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/1913-comoys-4-pipe-set#post-957696

 

[stvalentine]

Dave said it! I would go for a bowl implant just for the heck of it. :D

 

[shaintiques]

Ed James can make some amazing tampers out of a pipe shank and stem. Send it to him.

 

[iamn8]

The tamp is a brilliant idea! Especially if the Dunhill monicker could be maintained!

 

[samcoffeeman]

I actually have two Dunhill pipes, the stampings are rubbed off but you can see a D on the shank. The bowls are in decent condition. If you like I can send them, and you can transplant a Dunhill bowl onto the shank. PM if you like.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I saw the first photos, and wept, and not because it's a Dunhill.

 

[ophiuchus]

Maybe the previous owner's kid(s) got his/her/their hands on it. I destroyed one of my Dad's pipes similarly many years ago, totally not knowing what I was doing.
As for course of action ... maybe just leave it as is. There's a story in that pipe without saying anything. You can show that off when you show off the other Dunhills on which you've worked your magic. ::