1979 Dunhill Collector 001 X Smooth Freehand 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.

Dunhills are generally special pipes, but some Dunhills are even more special than others. Like this one – a Dunhill ‘Collector’ grade. Aptly named, the Collector was introduced in 1978 as less of a formal line, and more of a chance for Dunhill’s craftsmen to show off what they could do when using ‘freehand’ carving techniques. This is why the Collector features the ‘HT’ stamp in place of a shape code, because the pipes are ‘hand turned,’ as opposed to turning on a lathe in the traditional sense, and because freehand/hand turned pipes have the freedom to explore beyond the shapes that factory machinery is otherwise calibrated for. As the pictures of this pipe show, this allowed its carver to ‘chase the grain’ of the briar used, yielding excellent, tight flame and straight grain patterns on the sides of the bowl, and bird’s-eyes on the rim. This very early Collector, from 1979, has been given a Root finish in order to truly let these grain patterns sing.

The condition is excellent. There’s a little inner rim darkening, but it’s minimal. The pipe was supplied to us through our trade-in program, along with a box and sleeve.

 

Details:

Length: 6.4″ / 162.5mm

Bowl Width: 0.91 / 23.11mm

Bowl Depth: 1.89″ / 48.00mm

Weight: 2.0oz / 58g