This article was the first
published for
Pipe Smoker Magazine
Fall 1983 issue
THE DUNHILL PIPE
A COMPARISON OF THEN AND NOW
As a pipe collector, a pipe hobbyist, and as a Dunhill principal pipe
dealer, 1 hear comments over and over again about the comparative merits of
the older pipes versus the newer models. Most discussion centers on the
quality of the briar and the sweetness of the smoke. 1 hear comments such as
"1 love my old Dunhill pipes, but these new ones ... 1 don't know."
People I consider to be very knowledgeable on the subject of 20th Century
briar swear that, by far, the sweetest smoke comes from those Dunhill pipes
bearing a patent number
(pre-1955); they will not even
smoke those made after
1968, believed to be of
substandard quality.
The used pipe trade has followed the same trend - patent number Dunhills are
commanding a higher price than those made from
1955-1968,
and a still higher price than those made
after 1968. Due to the mystique surrounding the older Dunhill
pipe, there is, indeed, a need to explore any factual basis behind the
"myth". This, reader, is the purpose of this article.
Let's look at a bit of history behind the Dunhill pipe - from its inception
to present day production. Alfred Dunhill was a rather inventive fellow,
having taken a harness making concern into the automobile age by turning it
to the manufacturer of auto accessories, and then operating as a "patent
consultant". When he opened a tobacconist shop
in 1907,
he knew nothing beyond the ordinary of
pipes, tobacco, and the art of blending. His curious mind prompted him to
listen to his customers' wants and then to try different methods to satisfy
those wants. By early
1910, Dunhill was ready to
offer his own make of pipe as an alternative to those coming from France
that were highly varnished and so clogged the pores of the briar. These
first pipes were of two distinct internal designs: one followed the French
design that is the standard non-filter design of today; the other, the "absorbal"
pipe, used a circular cellulose filter that was pushed into the hollowed-out
body of the pipe shank. It is interesting to note here that these first
Dunhill pipes and all Dunhill pipes made through
1919
had French-turned bowls that were then
finished in London by the Dunhill firm.
In 1912,
Dunhill invented and patented the "inner
tube", an aluminum insert designed to keep the pipe "innards" clean; in
1915,
the "white spot" appeared to help the
customer know which side of the hand-cut vulcanite stem should be uppermost;
1917
saw the introduction of the first Dunhill
sandblast - the "shell".
In producing the "shell", Dunhill used only Algerian briar, then in great
abundance, because it had a softer character than the Italian briar used in
the smooth "bruyere" finish. This soft character, in combination with the
heat derived from Dunhill's unique oil curing process, led to an unusually
deep and craggy sandblasted pipe. In the early years of production, Dunhill
would not even stamp shape numbers on his "shell" pipes, since the shape of
identically turned bowls varied so after curing and sandblasting.
Dunhill's "root briar" was introduced in
1930
(by this time, Alfred Dunhill was two
years into retirement and his brother Herbert had charge of the business)
and the light brown finish proved highly popular in America, less so in
Europe. Next, some twenty three years later, came the "tanshell" a
sandblasted Sardinian briar with a tan or brown finish. It took twenty-six
more years before another finish - the "cumberland" - appeared. The
cumberland is also sandblasted, has a dark brown finish, a smooth beveled
top, and a bi-color vulcanite stem (this same stem first appeared in
1930
on the root briar).
As I mentioned previously, no Dunhill pipe was completely fashioned in
England until 1920
when a bowl-turning section was opened in
the London factory. Before this time "turned" but unfinished pipe bowls were
imported from France and then finished, oil-cured and, in the case of
"shells", sandblasted in London.
The briar situation must be investigated in order to compare the new Dunhill
pipe with the old there have been changes. Originally, Italian briar had
been used for the "bruyere" and "root", Algerian for the "shell", and
Sardinian for the "tanshell". The age of the briar used, averaged between
60
and 100 years. In the
1960's,
the briar situation changed drastically.
The Algerian supply slowed to a trickle, and the Italian government declared
that its briar could only be used by pipe makers within its borders. To that
time, Dunhill had a virtual monopoly on briar supply; now it had to search
for new sources and could no longer reserve one type of briar for one pipe
finish.
This change was readily apparent in the "shell" finish. Deprived of Algerian
briar, Dunhill had to use Grecian briar, a harder variety, and so the
"shell" pipe now received a more shallow sandblast. As well, the wood was
less aged between 50
and
80 years. Additionally, the briar burls were smaller and had more flaws,
so there were less perfect bowls being turned, and - more waste! Conversely,
the new briar was harder, lighter, and had much better grain than the old.
Dunhill was never known for beautiful grain patterns in its smooth-finished
pipes, but those produced today are outstanding when compared with those of
twenty years ago.
In the manufacture of a quality pipe, much attention is paid to making and
fitting the stem, or mouthpiece. Injection-molding methods are not used
here; instead, each mouthpiece is hand-cut from sheet or rod vulcanite; the
tenon is hand-cut and hand shaped to the correct circumference; and the
mouthpiece is then hand-fitted to the pipe. The original Dunhill mouthpiece
had quite a thick lip that I personally find quite uncomfortable. The
"comfy" mouthpiece, with a thinner and wider lip, was developed in the
1920's,
and the "F/T" (fishtail) mouthpiece was
designed in the 1930's.
In
1976,
faced with rising labor costs, the firm
used a mouthpiece-cutting machine. The machined mouthpieces had a very thick
lip (much like the pre "comfy" lip); complaints poured in and the machine
was scrapped. Present-day mouthpieces have a lip thickness somewhere between
the "comfy" and the "F/T".
I have visited the Dunhill pipe factory three times in the past two years
and on each visit, I have had the opportunity not only to view every facet
of pipe production, but also to converse with those in charge of production.
During my visit in December
1980, I had a long conversation
with David Webb, factory manager. Mr. Webb has been with Dunhill for the
past five years, has been factory manager since late
1979,
and is very knowledgeable. I had brought
my personal collection of thirteen unsmoked Dunhills dating from
19201927
- nine bruyeres and four shells and three
1920 vintage "shells" that I smoke. As Mr. Webb looked them over, he
laughed: "If these shell briars came out of production today, half of them
would land in the reject bin."
Stunned, I asked: "Why?"
"In the case of the billiard, that's a very deep sandblast in spots, taking
away about half the wall thickness; and the shank is out of line. The
mouthpiece on the smaller billiard is much too thick where it meets the
shank and would have to be cut down. The Prince is totally off-shape on one
side of the bowl." I protested, stating that these were the very
reasons for their great character.
"Yes, they do add character. And, to my mind, they are beautiful pipes. We
can make them like this but ..." and he went on to explain that because
Dunhill sells to a worldwide market, the firm tends to get pushed and pulled
in different directions at the same time. On the Continent and in the Far
East, there is no demand for deeply-shelled pipes; furthermore, these will
often be returned to the factory as "not of Dunhill quality".
An associate of David Webb, Bill Taylor, told me of the time he was working
in quality control at the factory. Richard Dunhill came by and picked up one
of the "shells" Bill rejected.
"Why is this in the reject bin?"
"Because the sandblast is too deep and uneven."
"This pipe has character. Send it to America. Americans know good pipes!"
The Dunhill pipe has always been synonymous with the word quality in pipe
making. Much of this value judgment, I feel, has to do with the firm's
unique "oil curing" process invented by Alfred Dunhill. This process, in my
estimation, does three things - it makes the tobacco taste unusually
"nutty"; it has a very low rate of bowl "burn-out" compared with other
makes; and, it helps the pipe to smoke well even after many years. This
process is still very closely guarded by the firm and is not normally shown
to visitors. I was shown the process because I brought a copy of the
original patent with me and specifically raised the issue.
In order to discern quality in a pipe, one has to look at only a few things
(of course much of the real judgment is in the smoking): the turned and
bored bowl; the shank bore; the tenon/ferrule connection; the lip of the
mouthpiece; the look and feel of the finish. Dunhill, I submit, has as high
a standard of quality as it has ever had. This does not mean that every
Dunhill released for sale, today, is a perfect pipe, for some are not! What
it does mean is that the percentage of imperfect Dunhills is no greater
today than, say, 1924. I have discovered two imperfect pipes in my 1920-1927
collection.
According to David Webb, the Dunhill pipe did have a problem in the
mid-1970's, not so much with quality as with the outward signs of quality.
Those in charge of policy at the
time decided
that the "shell" must be totally black and shiny - a blue-black stain was
used, eliminating any reddish highlights. At the same time, the "bruyere"
finish was lightened from its original plum color. These two changes have
dampened the pipe's reputation and may be the cause for some criticism I
have heard; but, even with these pipes, the underlying quality is still
there. Since that time, of course, there has been a return to the original "bruyere"
finish, and the new "deep shell" has reached our shores in limited quantity.
In comparing the Dunhill pipe of yesterday with that of today, what stands
out is the continual evolvement of the pipe:
The original mouthpiece has changed to "comfy" to "FAT", to machine-made,
and then to present-day standard - gaining and losing lip thickness with
each change.
The briar has changed - age and the custom of reserving one type of briar
for one finish have given way to gains in hardness, lightness, and better
grain pattern.
The sandblasted "shell" has changed - losing a very deep blast and gaining
uniformity; then, regaining its deep, if more uniform blast.
With these changes, the Dunhill standard of excellence has not diminished,
at least in my practiced eye. Today's Dunhill pipe is not worse than
yesterday's; it is not better than yesterday's; it is . . . different than
yesterday's!