The Obligatory Newbie Thread: Dunhill

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jdb67

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 18, 2020
145
847
Albuquerque, NM
The caption of this forum section: There’s no such thing as a dumb question. This is the friendliest and most pleasant pipe forum in the world. Ask away!

So true except DO NOT ask about the quality or value of Dunhill (and probably p-lip Pete's for that matter). Where is the OP of this thread? They left a flaming bag of dog doo on the doorstep, rang the doorbell, and ran!
 

bullet08

Lifer
Nov 26, 2018
10,340
41,836
RTP, NC. USA
I'm sure Dunhill is a fine brand. Just little too refined for my taste. Sort of like the difference between Englishman and.. American or Irish or Scottish or any others. Prefer the look of Peterson.
 
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burleybreath

Lifer
Aug 29, 2019
1,093
3,873
Finger Lakes area, New York, USA
What are you saying that of the most ubiquitous shape ever made in the history of the pipe, only one company has done it perfectly?
It is a difficult argument to maintain beyond personal opinion, which of course is very valid.
You should check out Butz Choquim's Shape 1601.
Greetings.
Why, necessarily, would one's personal opinion be valid? Not only valid, but very valid? LOL. I was being somewhat facetious, since 99% of everything on this forum is subjective bullshit. Amusing, and often entertaining, which is why I'm here, but still b.s.

But I'll play, re your comment: You must be joking. The aforementioned pipe above is a perfect example of why the billiard is considered a dorkish, painfully plain-jane lump of wood by many aficionados of the burl. The 1601 (in the image I pulled up) is just a stupid friggin' right angle, a tube with a bowl carved on it. No graceful lines or balance at all. The stem is a mass-produced obscenity, esthetically speaking. You're pulling my chain, right?

Rather have a billiard done right, and for consistency, Dunhill generally comes through. Other marques sometimes cough one up, but it seems rare by comparison.
 

ron123

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 28, 2015
545
993
Park Ridge, IL
I do like the history of the brand, but also IMO they hit the "proper" proportions of classic shapes perfectly and every time. Others may as well, but none better. Lovats, billiards, various bulldog renditions, the Oom Paul (Hungarian), etc. Prove me wrong ;-)
 
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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,211
60,638
The late great foggy mountain, a member here, sold Dunhills in Manhattan pipe shops as a teenager in the 1950's and remembered them when they were second fiddle to Kaywoodie, and both pipes, though expensive, were nothing like the White Spot prices of today (corrected for inflation and all that). However, foggy' still bought and enjoyed them, but only certain series. He was sourly critical of a number of their lines which he knew from a lifetime of experience. Later in life, he tended toward smooth prince shapes, if I recall.

I don't own a Dunhill or a White Spot, and never have.. I have a few other higher end pipes -- a Ferndown by Les Wood, a Ser Jacopo, a Nording Zebra Hunting pipe, among them. I also have a number of medium and lower priced pipes, carefully selected, that I feel give me excellent smokes.

I won't rain on Dunhill pipe smokers' parade. If they are worth it to you (and some estate pipes can be had at less exalted prices) I say, enjoy.
 

RudyH

Might Stick Around
Sep 1, 2022
79
102
Wisconsin
Let's see what the author of Winnie The Pooh had to say about this 102 years ago....

"For whereas men of an older school, like myself, smoke for the pleasure of smoking, men of this school smoke for the pleasure of pipe-owning—of selecting which of their many white-spotted pipes they will fill with their specially-blended tobacco, of filling the one so chosen, of lighting it, of taking it from the mouth to gaze lovingly at the white spot and thus letting it go out, of lighting it again and letting it go out again, of polishing it up with their own special polisher and putting it to bed, and then the pleasure of beginning all over again with another white- spotted one. They are not so much pipe-smokers as pipe-keepers; and to have spoken as I did just now of their owning pipes was wrong, for it is they who are in bondage to the white spot."

The entire essay:
 
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Alejo R.

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 13, 2020
996
2,140
49
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Let's see what the author of Winnie The Pooh had to say about this 102 years ago....

"For whereas men of an older school, like myself, smoke for the pleasure of smoking, men of this school smoke for the pleasure of pipe-owning—of selecting which of their many white-spotted pipes they will fill with their specially-blended tobacco, of filling the one so chosen, of lighting it, of taking it from the mouth to gaze lovingly at the white spot and thus letting it go out, of lighting it again and letting it go out again, of polishing it up with their own special polisher and putting it to bed, and then the pleasure of beginning all over again with another white- spotted one. They are not so much pipe-smokers as pipe-keepers; and to have spoken as I did just now of their owning pipes was wrong, for it is they who are in bondage to the white spot."

The entire essay:
It turns out that everyone is a Bolshevik who only consumes the products for their usefulness. That's not true, not with pipes or toilet paper, or anything in between.
 
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kcghost

Lifer
May 6, 2011
15,138
25,715
77
Olathe, Kansas
For quite a while I wanted a birth year Dunhill but as I was born in 1947 that's a tough year to get a hold of. And the prices were sky high for them. So I got over it. Value of a object is in the eye of the beholder not those that complain about the other guys possessions.
 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,248
57,309
67
Sarasota Florida
Look harder. Those statements exist.

This is total bullshit, mostly created by marketing types. The sweet spot for age varies according to region, I have been told by carvers, cutters, and briar merchants. Mostly it's between 35 and 65 years, with Algerian going later. Barling was the "Ye Olde Wood" pipe maker, celebrated for their use of 100 to 150 year old burls. But in their own literature they stated that they looked for burls of about 65 years of age, and unlike all other makers except for Comoy, did their own harvesting, curing, and milling. Everyone else bought off the market.

It's a popular myth that only green crappy wood is being used today.

I used to smoke Dunhills. I still have a couple of them. They made an excellent pipe. I just found other makers whose pipes I liked better, such as Barling. Are Dunhills worth the money? They are if you're willing to spend it and if you want to own a Dunhill.

Absolutely spot on, though when it comes to the history of British pipes, Dunhill is strictly a johnnie come lately. Barling had been around nearly a century before Dunhill, Comoy's about the same, and Charatan, Loewe and BBB were around a good 50/60 years before Dunhill, turning out superb smoking pipes.
I know a guy who swears his thousand year old burls smoke like the tobacco was rolled on Virgin thighs.
 
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