Dunhill 1993 Shell Briar ODB 835 Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

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.

Thought to stand for “Own Design,” Dunhill’s “OD” was a series of pipes introduced early on in the history of the make, offering shapes that were not available in its standard shape catalog. In Dunhill’s own words, these were “pipes of unusual shapes” which, by the 1950s, had expanded into a roster of “fancies” and “semi-giants.” Production of these pipes continued, intermittently, until the mid-1970s, after which OD series shapes were retired. It wasn’t until 1999 that the OD series finally returned. Oddly enough, this Dunhill OD 835 billiard comes from that very same year. Like the 835s of the post-war period, it is a “semi-giant” billiard (especially compared to other Dunhill shapes), but it also holds the extra distinction of being an ODB, rather than the more common ODA. For OD shapes, the third letter in their alphanumeric designation indicates a grade, e.g., “A,” “B,” etc. While this grading system has, at times, been left by the wayside (see Loring’s article on the post-war ODA), the general rule is that the lower the letter is in the alphabet, the higher the grade of an OD shape. So, an ODB is a step above an ODA. In this instance, I expect this ODB earned its grade by way of its richly textured and tactile sandblasting.

The condition is great. Some inner rim darkening, but nothing major.

Details:

Length: 6.8″ / 172.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.85 / 21.59mm

Bowl Depth: 1.77″ / 44.95mm

Weight: 2.3oz / 68g