Ferndown Antique Bark 3 Star Rusticated Bulldog w/ Cumberland Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Description

Ferndown pipes were made by the legendary British pipe maker Leslie “Les” John Wood, along with his wife Dolly. Both Les and Dolly previously worked for Dunhill, where Les developed his skills and reputation as Britain’s premier pipe silversmith. After leaving Dunhill, Les and Dolly began making their own pipes, with their combined knowledge and experience, yielding pipes of a quality that, arguably, exceeded even that of their former employer. Ferndown pipes are highly coveted by pipe smokers due to their superlative craftsman(and woman!)ship, being constructed from high-grade, oil-cured briar, hand cut ebonite, and, in many cases, sterling silver or solid gold ornamentation turned by Les himself. Les and Dolly retired from pipe-making in 2016, making Ferndown pipes rather scarce – especially given how difficult it is to get their owners to part with them.

Ferndown’s iconic rusticated finishes came in two flavors: the “Bark” and the “Antique Bark.” The difference is quite simple: Les would turn a stummel and Dolly would decide whether it was to be a smooth finish or a rusticated one (Dolly was, after all, a veteran of Dunhill’s finishing department). Both Les and Dolly would then take the stummel and rusticate it by way of a split drill bit rotating at dangerously high speeds. Then, Dolly would make a further decision as to whether the stummel should be given a black and red contrast stain (in the case of the Bark) or be dressed in a much lighter, tannish hue (which came to be known as the “Antique Bark”). The latter were much rarer than the Barks, given that lighter, more natural finishes require more physically and aesthetically consistent briar. As such, Antique Barks were hard to come by even when Ferndown was still operational and, today, that scarcity continues to be reflected in the estates market. This one is a classic “Les” shape, the bent bulldog, and also features a more uncommon, hand-cut cumberland stem, rather than the hand-cut vulcanite Ferndown more frequently employed.

The condition is great. Very minor inner rim darkening and slight residual oxidation around the button, but overall well looked after.

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.88 / 22.35mm

Bowl Depth: 1.50″ / 38.10mm

Weight: 2.3oz / 66g