Powered by Pipes Alfred Dunhill began to manufacture briar smoking pipes in ; the famous white spot dunhill appeared on top of the hand-cut vulcanite mouthpiece in in order that the customer should know which part faced dating. At about this same time a one year guarantee against defects was offered on the bowl of each pipe, and to insure against far older Dunhill pipes being dunhill under this guarantee a simple dating code, showing the year of manufacture, was devised and stamped onto each pipe bowl.

This code is still in use today. Over the ensuing years great interest has arisen over the "mystique" of the Dunhill dating in general and the dating code in particular. Pipe collectors, especially in America, pride themselves on having acquired Dunhill pipes in prime condition which were made in the 's, 's and 'x. Some collectors strive to acquire only those Dunhill pipes made between when Dunhill stopped buying bowls turned in France in favor of those turned in London at the newly opened Dunhill bowl-turning facility and the year of Alfred Dunhill's retirement.

Consequently, much confusion has arisen over the dating code because it has pipes been standardized over the years, and seemingly minor differences in the code can mean a difference of years, even decades, in the manufacture of the pipe. Adding to this is the fact that the firm has used a great many special stampings depending on what part of the world to which their pipes were destined, and that sometimes these stampings or codes were used for only three or dating months duration.

Leading to even greater confusion is that many pipes were simply stamped incorrectly; at times one part or another of the dunhill is not to be found on a given pipe. Taking all this into account it should not be surprising that the original and complete dating code list, in possession of the firm's archivist at 30 Duke Street, is some twenty eight pages long. And even if this list was made available it would be of little use to any but the most expert because it can only be used in conjunction with the most precise knowledge of the Dunhill pipe as it has changed in appearance over the years.

But enough of the complications in dating Dunhill pipes. Types of finish: 1 Bruyere -introduced in ; signified by an "A" meaning' best quality on the side of the shank through Special series: H. A hand-carved as opposed to machine-carved pipe of classic design.

Not made after 's. Denotes Dunhill straight grain pipes. The bruyere finish was read more on these pipes through ; root finish was used thereafter.

Denotes a pipe designed by the customer and carved to order. Not made after late 's or early 's. In a special series of "ODA" pipes was begun and continued through These were not carved to order. Collector - denotes hand-turned bowls as opposed to machine-turned made from plateau pipes. Introduced in The Redbark is introduced in Shape numbers during this period had either 3, 4, or 5 digits.

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The Cumberland finish is introduced in However, the underlining and size of the digits varies. 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 pipes 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 dunhill identically turned bowls varied so after curing and sandblasting. Dunhill's "root briar" was introduced in 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 Dunhill, less so in Continue reading. 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 on the root briar. As I mentioned pipes, no Dunhill pipe was completely fashioned in England until when dating 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 years. In the 's, the briar situation changed drastically. The Algerian supply dating to a trickle, and the Italian government declared that its briar dating only be used by pipe makers dunhill 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 pipes. 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!

Dunhill Dating

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 onlyfan gracie bon outstanding when compared with those of twenty years ago.

In the manufacture of dating area quality pipe, much attention is paid to making and fitting the stem, or mouthpiece. A Dunhill Pipe Dating Guide