Charatans Make 461DC Lane Era Yachtsman Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Description

While Dunhill may be Britain’s most famous pipe brand, Charatan is not only older, but has the honor of being the first to have made its pipes entirely in-house. ‘Charatan’s Make’ referred to the fact that, at a time when other pipe companies were sourcing stummels and stems carved from other companies before assembling them in their factories and workshops, Charatan made every part of their pipes on the Charatan premises. So began a legacy of high-quality pipe-making under the Charatan name, one whose employees, at one time or another, included Joel Sasieni, and Ken Barnes and Barry Jones of James Upshall fame.

Collectors of Charatan pipes have their preferences for which ‘era’ of the make’s history was or is its best. From my experience, it is the Lane era (1961-77) that has the largest contingent of fans. And it’s hard to argue with those fans; the pipes made during Lane Ltd’s ownership of the make are excellent, in both their aesthetic and functional properties. This one belongs to what is known as the ‘first’ Lane era (1961-65), and is undoubtedly one of Charatan’s classic shapes. It’s a fairly conventional design, being a variation on the Dublin shape, though it is also a very distinct pipe. It has an unorthodox, strong forward cant, for example (which I suppose brings it closer to the lesser-known) Yachtsman, as well as one of Lane’s proprietary Double Comfort vulcanite stems.

The condition is good for the pipe’s age. There are a few scratches on the pipe’s vulcanite stem, and the rim does show some substantial darkening, though some of this is likely to be removable. As I’ve said in other listings, with sandblasted and rusticated rims, I prefer to take a light-touch approach to restoration, leaving any more significant scrubbing to the buyer’s discretion.

 

Details:

Length: 5.8″ / 147.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.91 / 23.11mm

Bowl Depth: 1.54″ / 39.11mm

Weight: 1.3oz / 38g