79° and cloudy. Dunhill Shell billiard w/ C&D Byzantine + some jar remnants of Luxury Navy Flake. This tobacco needed something else, and this continues to work for me. A very nice, deep blast on this pipe and a smoothed out feel, as is common with old Shells that have been handled and smoked a lot. 8/10.
This Dunhill was a gift a very long time ago. Part of the bowl had been cracked off (still had the piece though), and the shank was split. I never got the story on what happened to this pipe, because I thought it was going to go out of their box of junk and into my box of junk. I didn't think I was going to smoke it, and by the time I realized its virtues, I'd lost touch with the gifter. The bowl was repaired with Elmer's Wood Glue, and the shank was given a silver band. After hasty repair, it was going to be my backpacking pipe, and it basically remained such for many years. As with 95% of the Dunhill Shells I've owned, this thing has always been a great smoker. I wouldn't have any problems, except that they're out of my price range, with having a collection of Shells to smoke. They're second only to my favorite Italian maker in consistency of performance. You can count on a Shell. I don't backpack much anymore, so this pipe doesn't receive the attention it deserves. That's going to change.