Dunhill

[kaiser83]

Ok, I see we have a bunch of "Estate Fans" here. Thats great I am glad you all like them. I am 100 percent uninterested, that leaves more for the rest of you. It is preference, just not mine. So for all of the thoughtful replies involving estate's and or new, I thank you for the input. I am going to buy a new pipe, just not a Dunhill.

I really was hoping this would not derail into this discussion of estates, I however, did not specify in the op that was not an option.

I asked the question what made them 200 bucks plus more than most everyone else. I have a particular pipe from their line in mind, but remain undecided. The cost is really irrelevant to me. If it's 50 bucks or five hundred bucks. I'll drop over five hunded on two boxes of cigars and be left with nothing more than a paper band and a cedar box when finished smoking them. In this case I will still have a pipe.

I am relatively certain that the elitist view of you came from the bolded portion of your comments. Personally you came off that way to me too, and apparently to others. Nobody here wants to steer you the wrong direction and being newer to the hobby folks here try to save each other money....which you have made it clear you don't need us to do. You have asked us to justify why you NEED to buy a Dunhill and there isn't a soul on this forum who can justify that need because pure and simple it is a WANT. Everyone here is more than willing to give advice and try their best to help you and enable your PAD and TAD, rest assured we would like to see the bouts with it because they make us feel better about the hundred we spend on a new Pete or the 150 on an estate Dunhill. You ask for justification and then come back with the fact that money is irrelevant which is basically telling us that you really don't need the justification and the thread is pointless when there are probably a dozen other thread on here about Dunhills, their history, their quality, etc. We are a brotherhood here and we stick by that, but the way your responses earlier came off more like we are all Cinderella and our cobs are our pumpkin coaches and you are one of the new step-sisters who have everything in the world yet nothing is good enough just the same. You may not have intended to come off that way but even after readin this thread three more times it still comes off that way.
As money is irrelevant there is one Dunhill that is just plain awesome and I would love to hear your review of it. Here is a link http://www.smoke.co.uk/acatalog/Dunhill_Titanic_Pipes.html

 

[Rob_In_MO]

It all goes back to what was said earlier - purchasing a Dunhill does not guarantee a good smoke, no better than Savinelli or Peterson. In part, you're buying a name.

If money is no object and a Dunhill is what you want, by all means go for it. If it is what you really want, you don't need justification or other people's opinions. If Dunhill wasn't doing something right, they wouldn't still be making pipes.

All that a few of us alluded to is the fact that as good a smoke can be had for less money.

I'm clear on your position regarding Estate pipes. Agree with it or not, I respect your views on this. Not a problem. Tho only valid point that I can make regarding Estate Pipes would be a particular model of Dunhill (for instance) that was made years ago and is no longer in production. If that particular shape/size/model is the one you absolutely have to have, then Estate is about your only option.

Perhaps I and others approached this incorrectly, as we are used to trying to help fellow Brothers save money - especially in this economy. If money is no object for you, then I apologize for using the wrong approach.


Smoke what you like and like what you smoke. In the end, the price doesn't matter - it's your happiness and enjoyment you get out of the pipe that matters.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Didn't you read the Village Charter?

Mods will ban you if you don't own at least three Dunhill pipes.

 

[Rob_In_MO]

Didn't you read the Village Charter?

Mods will ban you if you don't own at least three Dunhill pipes.

How about 3 Dunhill tobaccos?

I've got that covered - EMP, 965, and Nightcap. 8)

 

[puros_bran]

Umm.. An answer.. a real answer with bad grammar, mrs spellings and everything.

Dunhills are two hundred more than 'most' Petersons because you are paying for wood..

Dunhill does not use fills. Period. Peterson,Stanwell, etc do.
Dunhill carves a pipe out that needs fill? Chuck't into the fire pit.
Stanwell carves a pipe that needs a fill, putty putty, out the door.
Stanwell loses little briar, Dunhill must by their own guidelines lose more, the cost is passed onto the end customer.

Look at pipes like this.. Every good smoking pipe cost the exact same amount. A $500 pipe smokes like a $500 pipe. you gotta buy two $250 pipes (luck really comes into play) to find one that smokes like a $500 pipe.. 5 $100pipes for THAT one, 10 $50 pipes for THAT one. oversimplified but you get the idea.. it's a crap shoot when you buy a pipe, the more you pay the better load you get on the dice. If your really really lucky, and damn good with your system it is possible to walk into a B&M and loot the place of all the good pipes leaving the clunkers. Very few have that luck or system.

 

[Ocelot55]

it's a crap shoot when you buy a pipe

BINGO!!!!! :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

Trouble is, you have to know a lot about your smoking habits before you know what type of pipe will smoke well for you. Unfortunately that changes over time. Any machine made pipe, Dunhills included, do suffer from a lack of attention when compared to artisan pipes from reputable makers. The new Dunhill I bought last month has tooling marks on the stem. That is a lack of attention to detail. Fortunately they got some other details right, like the draw, and exceptional blast, and well shaped and proportioned bowl.

I am of the opinion that every serious pipe smoker needs a new Dunhill. Once they experience them first hand then they can make whatever judgment they want regardless if they throw it in the trash or smoke the hell out of it.

 

[SpeedyPete]

Isn't that the bottom line? Smoke the tobacco you like in what you like.

I look forward to your picture or a new Dunnie, Ashton, Castello, or Peterson.

And a couple of corn cobs

 

[Anonymous]

Any machine made pipe, Dunhills included, do suffer from a lack of attention

Not all of them, to be sure. And you can add Castello and other big name pipes. But enough of them are out there to keep guys like George Dibos busy turning them from frustrations into smokers.

As for "Dunhill" pipes being analogous to shotguns made specifically for competitive shooting, ********. Neither the dimensions nor the engineering are one whit different from "ordinary," "plebean" pipes. Details like polished tenon faces add nothing but additional cost.

The whole "Dunhill" pipe trip began as a marketing ploy before they ever turned their first stummel, and continues as one. There are people who want to believe that paying three times more for a pipe equates to having a pipe that's three times better, and Dunhill was/is more than happy to accomodate them.

Fact is, the older Dunhills stand about on a par with equally old & similarly high-graded Charatans, Comoys, Sasienis and even BBBs, as far as materials and workmanship go. And below the original (Leeds) Ben Wades.

IMHO, the "I only ____________ (eat, drink, smoke, wear, drive, copulate with) "the good stuff" ego prop was long overdue for a decent burial, years ago.

:face:

 

[Jers]

As we see here, Dunnies are polarizing among pipe smokers who know..

I think I see what you mean.......... :lol!:

Peace, love and harmony brothers

Jers

 

[puros_bran]

Yak one thing you forget is the names you mention USED to be THE GOOD STUFF. Corp buyouts, cut a corner here cut a.corner there, change this source change that source and on and on is what changed those pipes. Look in the old pipe catalogs, Kaywoodie used to cost more than Dunhill.

 

[SpeedyPete]

@Briarbrad, I'm not a snob but I love to have stuff which no one else has. My wedding ring, pinky ring, medallion and chain for wearing it around my neck, was designed by myself. I then had it made by a decent manufacturing jeweler. Although it's nothing spectacular, I know that I'm the only one in the whole, wide world who's got stuff like that.

I have a snuff box made out of springbuck horn with a walrus tooth inner and silver adornings. The tooth is engraved with a picture of an old sailing boat. No one esle has got something like this because it was made for me!

Now, Dunhill, like all mass produced pipes, are machine made, hand finished. They turn out 1000's of similar looking pipes. And all of them with white dots on the stem in exactly the same position! That dot makes up half of the price of the pipe.

If I would ever spend R4,000+ on a pipe, it must be something very special AND one of a kind. I would therefore commission a pipe, made to my specifications.

You are in the fortunate posision to do exactly that. Why don't you contact a reputable pipe craftsman and get yourself a pipe (or pipes) to your liking and own design? :cheers:

 

[Ocelot55]

You are in the fortunate posision to do exactly that. Why don't you contact a reputable pipe craftsman and get yourself a pipe (or pipes) to your liking and own design? :cheers:

If the man wants a Dunhill, then there is nothing else that can fit the bill, better or worse. A Teipen or a Growley pipe may be superior in every way, but they aren't Dunhills. I went through the same phase. Now that I have several I can say "Oh, that is what a Dunhill is like." No more mystery. Now I can move on to other pipe brands I would like to try.

For me, one of Dunhills main selling points is aesthetics. Not too many companies make well proportioned classic English shapes (especially if estates aren't an option). I love those standard looks and not many current other companies are turning out such products. Not Peterson, not Savinelli, not Stanwell, not even other English companies. Ashton comes close, but since Bill passed Jimmy has really developed his own aesthetic.

BriarBrad, can you explain what the driving force behind your desire for a Dunhill is? It might help the other forum members understand your position. Then we'll stop arguing with each other over whether or not a Dunhill is a good pipe and start helping you find the right pipe for you. That is what this is all about anyways.

 

[SpeedyPete]

I would LIKE to own a Dunhill but I can't afford it

 

[Ocelot55]

I would LIKE to own a Dunhill but I can't afford it

(pssst.....I've got to whisper on this thread. Answer: estates!)

 

[s.ireland]

I would LIKE to own a Dunhill but I can't afford it

(pssst.....I've got to whisper on this thread. Answer: estates!)

We forgot mention to BriarBrad that UNSMOKED estates are an option! :lol!:

No dead guy germs if it's never been smoked!

 

[Anonymous]

For me, one of Dunhills main selling points is aesthetics. Not too many companies make well proportioned classic English shapes (especially if estates aren't an option).

Yep. In fairness though, Claudio Cavicchi does them REAL well. As do other individual makers . . . (probably).

Yak one thing you forget is the names you mention USED to be THE GOOD STUFF. Corp buyouts, cut a corner here cut a.corner there, change this source change that source and on and on is what changed those pipes.

I thought I said that (?)

the older Dunhills stand about on a par with equally old & similarly high-graded Charatans, Comoys, Sasienis and even BBBs, as far as materials and workmanship go. And below the original (Leeds) Ben Wades.

:face:

 

[Fishfuzz]

I would LIKE to own a Dunhill but I can't afford it

(pssst.....I've got to whisper on this thread. Answer: estates!)

We forgot mention to BriarBrad that UNSMOKED estates are an option! :lol!:

No dead guy germs if it's never been smoked!

Which leaves the germy ones for us!

 

[Zeno Marx]

I don't think liking finer things or wanting quality things should be confused with elitism*. Some people prioritize and do without so they can have such type things. They don't do it for anyone but themselves. And there is a context of it, isn't there? One person who buys a Dunhill and keeps talking about Dunhill this and Dunhill that to everyone within earshot is probably a pretentious knid. Another person might walk around in Burberry wools, $1000 handmade oxfords, $500 silk ties, smoking a Dunhill, and never talking about any of it while they managed to obtain all of it on a high teacher's salary. Are they elitist because they won't shop at Walmart, drink Miller Lite, and get excited about a Big Mac? Who is really the shallow, judgmental ******* in this scenario?

*I'm not even sure what elitism truly means other than a handy, shortcut to thinking barb that people throw around to stifle conversations and/or to cheaply hurt people. Throw it in with "politically correct". We all know it was meant to be derogatory, but it's a uselessly ambiguous term. Says more about the person using it than the person, or comment, its supposed to be labeling.

 

[Anonymous]

Quality that IS quality is one thing. Nobody has a problem with that. On the contrary, Quality stuff lasts and lasts while cheapshit wears out and breaks.

As for the rest of it, the assumption that a Dunhill billiard is somehow, magically better than a comparable pipe -- say, an older (fill-free) Stanwell billiard with the inner coating soaked out strikes me (on the basis of both experience and common sense) as gullible. And when it's advanced as a positive fact (it's better because it costs more) (and I'm way cool because I'm smoking one) it's an example of the ability of imagination to re-arrange reality.

"Pipes" in general have been plagued with this kind of pseudo-"fact" for too long. Latakia's smoked over camel dung fires. "Dead Root" briar. "The very heart of the burl" and the rest of it. It's not cool to see folklore like that surfacing here to influence new guys without calling it out.

IMHO

:face:

 

[kaiser83]

BriarBrad,
Dunhill makes a darn good pipe. To have a good smoke you need a good piece of briar with a good cut and drill. You also need tobacco you like with a good pack. Dunhill tends to use good briar and have proven themselves as being able to shape and drill an ebauchon. There are however multiple manufacturers that make a pipe that will smoke just as well as any Dunhill out there. There are pipes that take a while to break into a great smoke and there are a few that will smoke great straight out of the box. If you have one particular Dunhill in mind please let us know the model as we have a lot of brothers here who have Dunhills and can vouch as to whether or not that particular model tends to perform as well as others.
Also, as stated before there are multiple members of BoB who can make you a darn fine pipe and have proven themselves as phenomenal crafters (men and women alike). There is a section dedicated to those folks on the forums here and you can look through their pictures and find someone who suits your tastes.
There are also manufacturers who have proven themselves to make darn fine pipes and the list is endless but most notably in the Dunhill style are Barber B-Line, Peterson, Savinelli, Brebbia, Stanwell, and Ben Wade. There are the Italian style also and Danish style....not really distingushable in the classic shapes but more so in the freehands. If it is a good classic design you are looking at than the list of good manufacturers is a mile long. ALL manufacturers will have a few pipes floating around that are just plain duds, including Dunhill.
Everyone here wants to help you to have a great smoke and get a decent pipe which is why you have so much input beyond the estates and negative bit. With the pipe shape you are looking for we could do a lot more to help you along in your journey.