Ferndown Root Smooth Magnum-Sized Panel Bulldog Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

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.

Many of the greats of handmade British pipes in the second half of the 20th century, such as James Upshall, Ashton, and Ferndown, were staffed by individuals who had learned the craft at the great pipe factories founded in the first half of the 20th century. And as such, in their new ventures, these talented individuals often employed finishes that paid homage to their former employers. James Upshall’s P grade, for example, took inspiration from the stain used on Charatan’s Perfection grade pipes (even though the P was far higher as grades went); Ashton’s Pebble Grain resembled the early Dunhill Shell (in more ways than one); and Ferndown’s Root was something of an analog to—of course—Dunhill’s Root Briar. The Ferndown Root was even more scarce than the Root Briar, however. Not only was Les and Dolly’s production far smaller in scale than Dunhill’s, but Dolly had exacting standards when selecting a finish that would best suit the stummels Les turned (a job she had also once done at Dunhill). 9 out of 10 Ferndowns were rusticated (“Barked” as Les and Dolly would say), meaning a Reo, a Tudor Root, or a Root was much harder to come by than a Bark, owing to fewer of them being produced.

In the case of this one, it’s an especially rare piece, given that it is—essentially—a magnum-sized Root, with a remarkably muscular figure and a length exceeding 7 inches. As anyone who works with pipes knows, the more briar needed to make a bowl, the higher the chance that a disqualifying flaw will be discovered. This aspect of pipe making, coupled with Dolly’s strict standards for smooth-finished Ferndowns, will have meant that the odds of a pipe of this size leaving the workshop in a Root finish will have been incredibly low. It would seem that fortune smiled upon the Woods in this instance.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating.

Details:

Length: 7″ / 177.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.89 / 22.60mm

Bowl Depth: 1.78″ / 45.21mm

Weight: 2.8oz / 82g