Dunhill 1969 Shell Briar 6EK Sandblasted Panel 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.

Dunhill’s EK is by no means a common shape, and not just because it has long been replaced by later variants. In fact, it was originally what Dunhill calls a “Quaint” shape, meaning a non-standard shape only manufactured when a given block of briar suited it more than anything else. Originating in 1928, the EK is what would commonly be called a “panel” or a “foursquare,” i.e., a pipe whose shank and stem are cut into a flattened four-sided form, and whose bowl is cut into four more main panels, with smaller, slightly more rounded, panels joining them at each corner. This particular model is the “6EK” variant, which featured a saddle stem, rather than the EK’s standard taper. It is dressed in the make’s famed Shell Briar finish, giving the pipe the wonderfully craggy texture that early and mid-century Dunhills are renowned for.

The condition is fair Rim darkening and some finish fading.

 

Details:

Length: 5.8″ / 147.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.78 / 19.81mm

Bowl Depth: 1.5″ / 38.10mm

Weight: 1.0oz / 30g