Willmer Straight Grain AAA Freehand Dublin Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Description

H. Willmer and Sons was an English pipe workshop founded at some point in the mid-20th century. Harold Willmer himself was the brother of Dan Tennyson, one of Charatan’s freehand carvers, and would, according to Ken Barnes, often buy bowls from Charatan’s freehand workshop, which would be subsequently finished by Willmer’s craftsmen. In addition to these pipes, Willmer also manufactured more traditional briars, which were also made by hand.

If you’re familiar with Charatan’s freehands, then this distinctly larger than average combination of a stout, tall bowl with a square shank and saddle stem should be far from unfamiliar. The same goes for the quality; straight grain circling the bowl, bird’s-eye on the rim and base. Given that Harold Willmer had connections to Charatan’s freehand workshop, I’d wager that this resemblance is no accident.

The condition is great. There’s some rim darkening and the chamber is ever so slightly out of round at the lip, but nothing major.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.88 / 22.35mm

Bowl Depth: 1.82″ / 46.22mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 62g