1987 Dunhill Collector HT Smooth Estate Briar Pipe [SOLD OUT]

Description

To veteran pipe smokers, Dunhill needs no introduction. Beginning in 1907, Alfred Dunhill began selling Dunhill pipes at the tobacconist shop he owned on London’s Duke Street. Very quickly, these pipes gained the reputation of being the ‘Rolls-Royce’ of pipes due to how expertly crafted they were. Today, Dunhill is likely Britain’s most famous pipe manufacturer, and continues to produce some of the most treasured pipes a smoker can buy.

Dunhills are generally special pipes, but some Dunhills are even more special than others. Like this one – a Dunhill ‘Collector’ grade. Aptly named, the Collector was introduced in 1978 as less of a formal line, and more of a chance for Dunhill’s craftsmen to show off what they could do when using ‘freehand’ carving techniques. This is why the Collector features the ‘HT’ stamp in place of a shape code, because the pipes are ‘hand turned,’ as opposed to turning on a lathe in the traditional sense, and because freehand/hand turned pipes have the freedom to explore beyond the shapes that factory machinery is otherwise calibrated for. As the pictures of this pipe show, this allowed its carver to ‘chase the grain’ of the briar used, yielding excellent, tight flame and straight grain patterns on the sides of the bowl, and bird’s-eyes on the rim. This Collector, from 1987, has been given a Root finish in order to truly let these grain patterns sing.

The pipe is in near mint condition. It was supplied to us through our trade-in program, along with a box which we (and the owner, who inherited it after an unfortunate bereavement) presume came with it originally. Clearly the original owner took very good care of it.

Details:

Length: 5.8″ / 139.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.86 / 18.79mm

Bowl Depth: 1.79″ / 45.46mm

Weight: 1.6oz / 48g