I ask this question because I recently purchased a 1965 Dunhill from Mike at Briar Blues and it smokes like you would not believe. This pipe is so much better than every pipe I have ever owned over the past 20 years (my pipes are not drugstore pipes but Petersons, Savinellis, Barlings, and artisan pipes) that I cannot even put into words just how good it is. It has no discernible wear in the bowl, the stem is like new after Mike's polishing, and yet I know after conversing with Mike that it was smoked a great deal in the 50 years before I bought it. I don't know if it is the briar, the construction, or what but this one is amazing. How can a pipe still perform like this at a half century in age?
What Is The Lifespan Of A Briar Pipe?
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I own an old (60's something) grabow and it smokes better than pipes ive paid 100 dollars for. I think it's just an aging thing honestly. Plus it was broken in when i bought it. It really depends on the amount of care a pipe recieves over it's lifetime.
"What Is The Lifespan Of A Briar Pipe?"
With diligent care a good-quality briar pipe should survive beyond well beyond your years.
With diligent care a good-quality briar pipe should survive beyond well beyond your years.
I have seen discussions in which folks claim briar pipes' lives are limited by the amount of smoking byproduct they can absorb into the wood. I am not sure if that is true. If it is, I suppose we should all buy extremely thick walled pipes. If it is not true, then I suspect that the lifespan of a briar pipe comes down to care. Of course, as with humans, some hidden defect could produce a premature death.
By the way, boilermakerandy, the 1965 Dunhill was the birth year pipe some others steered you towards in another thread, right?
You are correct, I have the forum and member ssjones to thank for this. I was actually a bit mad at myself for buying it because I really couldn't afford it after paying for Christmas for the kids but I figured I may never find another I could afford so I took the plunge. After smoking it, boy am I glad I bought it. The best $175 I've ever spent. This pipe has taken me into an entirely new realm of smoking. The is the pipe all others will now be judged against.
boilermakerandy, Glad to hear you were steered true. A 1965 Duhnill should be good briar. I suspect you will be bequeathing this pipe to one of your lucky progeny.
This is the best pipe I have ever owned. It's 50 years old and I'll bet one of my grandkids will be smoking it years from now if smoking is still legal. :lol:
Start squirreling away tins and a Red Barchetta at some country place so your grandkids can enjoy them.
I have made the study of Briar my lifelong endeavor. My theories on the aging process of Briar has been documented and most pipe makers now use it when selecting Briar block. I would gladly apply my skills and knowledge to your pipe and determine for you the exact date it will implode. All I need is for you to send me the pipe. The one drawback is that my process takes about a year to finish. You can pm me for further details and a shipping address.
An excellent ploy, peteguy, but I believe boilermakerandy will cling to this pipe with a whiteknuckled grip.
I started buying new pipes rather recently. The ones I started with back in the 1980s are now approaching 35 years old. They smoke just fine. Most of the estate pipes I have are from the 1930s to 1960s and they smoke even better. I have one pipe that is just about 100 years old and it still performs admirably. Just take care of them and they will last lifetimes.
I still don't have a Dunhill. Maybe I'll get lucky on my next trip to the antique store.
I still don't have a Dunhill. Maybe I'll get lucky on my next trip to the antique store.
Rick Newcombe wrote about this question in In Search Of Pipe Dreams. Newcombe feels that all pipes have a finite useful existence. Hi cites both Lars Ivarsson and Jess Chronowitsch's belief that the pores of the wood eventually become clogged. One authority Newcombe cites believes that a pipe's character changes for the worse at somewhere between 1200 and 2000 bowls. And he also cites another authority who has enjoyed an estimated 10,000 bowls in both an 8 dot Sasieni and a Barling since buying both pipes in 1941, and who still gets superlative smokes from both of them.
Bottom line, there is no set limit for the longevity of a pipe. There are too many factors, between materials, usage, and environment for that to ever be defined. One thing that will affect a pipe's lifespan is how it is treated. Keep it clean, smoke it cool, let it rest, and you will be maximizing that lifespan, which, as many have said, will last more than a lifetime.
Bottom line, there is no set limit for the longevity of a pipe. There are too many factors, between materials, usage, and environment for that to ever be defined. One thing that will affect a pipe's lifespan is how it is treated. Keep it clean, smoke it cool, let it rest, and you will be maximizing that lifespan, which, as many have said, will last more than a lifetime.
A good briar pipe will live longer than the life expectancy of a tortoise. It is more storage problems than
use or any aging in the pipe itself that takes pipes down. That's why the estate market remains vast, and
that is why you want to select your pipes carefully because unless you turn them over (sell and trade them)
they'll be with you for much or all of the rest of your life.
use or any aging in the pipe itself that takes pipes down. That's why the estate market remains vast, and
that is why you want to select your pipes carefully because unless you turn them over (sell and trade them)
they'll be with you for much or all of the rest of your life.
Bought this on the Bay some years ago,came with an oxidized round lip button. I knew it was old. Got it dirt cheap too. Had never heard of the markings,Gladstone" on the pipe and "Manhattan" on the silver. I cleaned it up,that was minimal, and put an Red Tortoise stem on it,reminds me of the old Redmanol used back then. I also have a friend who's good with dating assays, date the pipe for me. This pipe hails from 1903,the oldest briar in my collect and is a "magic pipe" superb smoker. I suppose with the TLC i put into my kids both created and collected this pipe will be around smoking well long after me:
Dan
Gabrieli Pipes :
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Dan
Gabrieli Pipes :
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I've decided that there is no real answer, sometimes a pipe is just "magic" for whatever reason and once you've smoked a pipe like that it becomes a personal gold standard by which to judge all other pipes.
We can try to figure it out,
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/the-breathability-of-briar-wood-what-do-you-think
...but a final hard conclusion is difficult to find.
There are a lot of variables too - some pipes may start off as "normal" or even "sour" and somehow develop into a "magic smoker", some may be great right from the start.
I have a couple of hard-smoked estate pipes that by looking at them you'd think they've had all the life smoked out of them, but they smoke beautifully.
Congrats on the Dunhill!
Glad to hear that it has rocked your world and may it continue to faithfully serve you well,
enjoy!
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It depends on how much it has been smoked. The only pipe I have had that became oversmoked was my 1958 Wilke, which I got new. It was smoked every few days for almost 50 years. I can still smoke it, but a one month rest period is best.
Hi ae1pt,
I don't disagree. My oldest working pipe is nearly 140 years old and it smokes quite well. Nevertheless, the citation is germane to this topic.
I recall seeing a picture where a couple of bowls that had seen considerable usage over a number of years were sliced in half to reveal how far tars, etc had permeated the briar and it was not much at all. Frankly, I think that most of the action, positive and negative, happens at the surfaces. It's the care of those surfaces that's most important.
BTW, can you tell me the blend that has the rainbow dew and fairy knickers? I'd like to try out that one.
I don't disagree. My oldest working pipe is nearly 140 years old and it smokes quite well. Nevertheless, the citation is germane to this topic.
I recall seeing a picture where a couple of bowls that had seen considerable usage over a number of years were sliced in half to reveal how far tars, etc had permeated the briar and it was not much at all. Frankly, I think that most of the action, positive and negative, happens at the surfaces. It's the care of those surfaces that's most important.
BTW, can you tell me the blend that has the rainbow dew and fairy knickers? I'd like to try out that one.
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