Sasieni Family Era (1960-79) Four Dot Ruff Root Hurlingham S Sandblasted Apple Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Along with names like Barling, Charatan, and Dunhill Sasieni holds a special place in the history of English smoking pipes – one near to its very beginnings. So the story goes, Sasieni himself worked for Dunhill during its early days. But eventually he left Dunhill, having his own ideas about how pipes should be made, and founded Sasieni. This was 1919, and Sasieni has been the closest thing to a household name in English pipes ever since.

Sandblasted pipes were not entirely unheard of during Sasieni’s early decades, when the make was under the watch of Joel Sasieni, but they were not especially common, either. It was not until Joel’s son Alfred entered into the picture that a specific line of sandblasted Sasienis was added to its catalog. In 1960, Alfred patented his own, special sandblasting process, the fruits of which were known as the “Ruff-Root.” Despite being relatively late into the game in that regard, Alfred’s Ruff-Root pipes were genuinely excellent, especially those that qualified for Sasieni’s prized Four Dot grade. This rather craggy example takes the form of Sasieni’s classic apple rendition, the Hurlingham, in its saddle (“S”) configuration. As for dating, the nomenclature on this one indicates a “family era” make, i.e., manufactured before the Sasieni family sold their company in 1979. As the Ruff-Root was patented in 1960, that would place this one somewhere between 1960 and 1979.

The condition is good. Some rim darkening, finish fading, and slight handling marks.

Details:

Length: 6.1″ / 154.9mm

Bowl Width: 0.88 / 22.35mm

Bowl Depth: 1.56″ / 39.62mm

Weight: 1.2oz / 36g