Castello and Dunhill Pipes, what's the big deal?

[PolishDawg]

I haven't found a good compelling reason to get a Dunhill...they are so plain and ordinary, the vintage oil cured,blasted might have some character but at the end of the day they look like an ordinary pipe without much hand crafting going on...Modern day Dunhill pipes are essentially a cheaply and mass produced pipe, they are so incredibly ordinary I just don't get it...

Castello on the other hand makes beautiful pipes of various grades...and they certainly have some charm. But I am noticing on the 400-600$ pipes the bits on the acrylic are often stubby and chunky, zero refinement on the stems...

My recent Vipratti pipe purchase, the stem is well cut and thinly tapered at the bit. Not all acrylic is awful or uncomfortable. I can't see myself owning a Dunhill or Castello anytime soon...

I enjoy the look of the Castello lower tiered Sea Rock series, but Radice does nearly the same thing for half the price or less

Dunhill seems like an elusive brand...personally I'd rather just have an ordinary St Claude pipe because the price per pipe is good...like 5 St Claude briars to one ugly Dunhill.

Does anybody else feel Dunhill pipes are ugly pedestrian looking with no character?

 

[Mr. Shavington]

A Castello Sea Rock would be a very nice pipe for you to consider. The briar stock that Castello has is special and I can honestly taste the difference when I smoke one of their pipes. They are indeed expensive so a rusticated Sea Rock is a good value way to experience a Castello - the briar is the same as the smooths and the Sea Rock rustication is nice in the hand. Personally I prefer an acrylic stem because it is low maintenance and will not oxidize.

Dunhill is only interesting, in my opinion, because they pretty much defined the standard pipe shapes. So a Dunhill billiard shape is the archetype of a billiard, for example. In a sense, therefore, it is their ordinariness that makes them desirable. I am partial to the Dunhill prince shape and this was an original Dunhill shape made for the Prince of Wales (in the 1920s, I think). I’m not sure Dunhill was ever superior to the other great UK pipe makers - Barling, Comoy, Sasieni, etc. - and I think their longevity and collectability is mainly due to the fact that they stamped all their pipes with serial numbers and you can date them exactly. Otherwise I do not think there is anything particularly special about current Dunhills - they’re good pipes but overpriced for what they are.

 

[Isaac]

It’s much cheaper to buy castellos directly from Italy, or dunhills from the UK. Prices in the US are insane.

 

[Kentos]

There are some shapes in the Dunhill catalog you can’t get from any other production house. For some it’s worth it.

People who like cobs and Morgan’s bones might have the same opinion on your Vipratti.

Personally I feel Dunhills are many things, but “ugly and pedestrian”? No.

 

[Columbo]

Does anybody else feel Dunhill pipes are ugly pedestrian looking with no character?

No.

 

[Columbo]

It’s much cheaper to buy castellos directly from Italy, or dunhills from the UK. Prices in the US are insane.

This is true. I use some of the across the pond re-shippers to do this for "market restricted" items that can't normally be sold here in the US. Things like UK made Mathmos lamps, and certain British teas for Mrs. C. And I bought my last two Vauens direct from Germany.

Cheaper for the item. But you add a layer of shipping, cost and delay.

And you do give up the direct customer service that you get from a US vendor if there's a problem.

For some items, buying locally from the US agent is absolutely worth the extra expense.

 

[gpjoe]

People who like cobs and Morgan’s bones might have the same opinion on your Vipratti.

Yep. I've got a pile of pipes, briar and cob. Many are estate pipes or lower priced Savinelli, Rossi, Peterson, Ropp, etc... I can't see myself buying any pipe over $200 for a couple reasons.

First, though there are likely obvious differences in craftsmanship, any enhanced smoking properties would be lost on me. Second, it's purely a matter of value. Much like happily using a $10 vintage Tech to shave (vs a $700 Wolfman), I cannot justify the cost of a $500 pipe, and could happily smoke my cobs forever.

As for Dunhill pipes being "pedestrian" I will say that they look beautiful, though it seems most are classic shapes, and from what I've seen (just browsing, not hardcore research) the Dunhill lineup features a lot of billiards, which is not one of my preferred shapes.

 

[Njguy1977]

I love Dunhills and other high end pipes for style and looks....will I ever have a palate to tell the difference between 1 expensive pipe from an estate lower priced one...chances are no. I didn't get into the hobby to buy the best....only buy the best that I can afford and enjoy...can't say more then that.

Larry

 

[seabee1999]

I love Dunhills and other high end pipes for style and looks....will I ever have a palate to tell the difference between 1 expensive pipe from an estate lower priced one...chances are no. I didn't get into the hobby to buy the best....only buy the best that I can afford and enjoy...can't say more then that.

Larry

This right here. Couldn't agree more.........I love my cobs too!

 

[Njguy1977]

This right here. Couldn't agree more.........I love my cobs too!

I do love my cobs as well...I have quite a few of them and enjoy changing it up from time to time.....I should hook up with you and figure out how to customize some of them, I have 3 Morgan's that would be fun to customize.

Larry

 

[seabee1999]

I do love my cobs as well...I have quite a few of them and enjoy changing it up from time to time.....I should hook up with you and figure out how to customize some of them, I have 3 Morgan's that would be fun to customize.

Larry

The next time I'm back east, I'll need to figure out a way out to your neck of the woods in Jersey.

 

[PolishDawg]

Yep. I've got a pile of pipes, briar and cob. Many are estate pipes or lower priced Savinelli, Rossi, Peterson, Ropp, etc... I can't see myself buying any pipe over $200 for a couple reasons.

First, though there are likely obvious differences in craftsmanship, any enhanced smoking properties would be lost on me. Second, it's purely a matter of value. Much like happily using a $10 vintage Tech to shave (vs a $700 Wolfman), I cannot justify the cost of a $500 pipe, and could happily smoke my cobs forever.

As for Dunhill pipes being "pedestrian" I will say that they look beautiful, though it seems most are classic shapes, and from what I've seen (just browsing, not hardcore research) the Dunhill lineup features a lot of billiards, which is not one of my preferred shapes.

I should have been more specific...the latest white spot pipes look so brazenly cheap and generic...like they really look like basket pipes...Dunhill did sort of innovate the contoured cut stem design which is unique and cool. I'm not seeing why a simple billiard should be over 500$ without some real explanation as to age of briar selected...I want something good...

I trust Viprati and Radice to have fairly well seasoned briars...Viprati being better to me. My radice I bought last year was a bit green tasting, but it was the lesser model.

 

[Columbo]

I love Dunhills and other high end pipes for style and looks....will I ever have a palate to tell the difference between 1 expensive pipe from an estate lower priced one...chances are no. I didn't get into the hobby to buy the best....only buy the best that I can afford and enjoy...can't say more then that.

Larry

That's the spirit!

Gentlemen have been enjoying our avocation for pennies on the dollar for generations.

It's all about the relaxation. An old chewed up Grabow or cob can do that just fine.

There's a reason why in the London clubs a true gentleman peels the cigar band off.

 

[PolishDawg]

That's the spirit!

Gentlemen have been enjoying our avocation for pennies on the dollar for generations.

It's all about the relaxation. An old chewed up Grabow or cob can do that just fine.

There's a reason why in the London clubs a true gentleman peels the cigar band off.

I usually peel the band off too...prices so high I must get to the nub...and I refuse to buy double banded cigars because that's twice the risk of cracking the wrapper

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Almost all my pipes were under £40. My Parkers, which come from the Dunhill factory, but weren't made from flawless briar, and therefore didn't have as much time spent on prettying them up, were £25. My Ben Wades from the same factory cost a little more, but less than double.

I'm fairly sure that most of their pipes start off being produced in much the same way, they they decide whether each item is going the cheap brand route, or the premium brand route, depending how good the grain and shape look on the roughed out pipe. Mine might have cost less than 1/10 on the price of a white spot pipe, but they smoke perfectly well. I don't believe they are "mass produced" as the opening post claims.

A lot of more costly pipes can look very nice, be they Dunhills or any other hand made pipe. Many others don't look any better than my cheap ones. However, none of them are worth anywhere near their asking price in my money. I lack whatever genetic characteristic is required to appreciate the artistry and craftsmanship that goes into producing them, and I wouldn't enjoy smoking them any more than I do my low end pipes. I'd just be more frightened of dropping or ruining them.

Even an entry level Peterson costs more than I'm prepared to pay, for something I'm going to chomp on and burn tobacco in.

I have no issue with other folks pursuing their desires, and spending whatever they care to on them, but my own perspectives and priorities prohibit me from following suit. I have the same utilitarian attitude with shaving brushes, shoes, watches, and everything else, and for the most part am perfectly content paddling in the shallow end of the pool.

 

[PolishDawg]

Almost all my pipes were under £40. My Parkers, which come from the Dunhill factory, but weren't made from flawless briar, and therefore didn't have as much time spent on prettying them up, were £25. My Ben Wades from the same factory cost a little more, but less than double.

I'm fairly sure that most of their pipes start off being produced in much the same way, they they decide whether each item is going the cheap brand route, or the premium brand route, depending how good the grain and shape look on the roughed out pipe. Mine might have cost less than 1/10 on the price of a white spot pipe, but they smoke perfectly well. I don't believe they are "mass produced" as the opening post claims.

A lot of more costly pipes can look very nice, be they Dunhills or any other hand made pipe. Many others don't look any better than my cheap ones. However, none of them are worth anywhere near their asking price in my money. I lack whatever genetic characteristic is required to appreciate the artistry and craftsmanship that goes into producing them, and I wouldn't enjoy smoking them any more than I do my low end pipes. I'd just be more frightened of dropping or ruining them.

Even an entry level Peterson costs more than I'm prepared to pay, for something I'm going to chomp on and burn tobacco in.

I have no issue with other folks pursuing their desires, and spending whatever they care to on them, but my own perspectives and priorities prohibit me from following suit. I have the same utilitarian attitude with shaving brushes, shoes, watches, and everything else, and for the most part am perfectly content paddling in the shallow end of the pool.

I place great value in the artistry of the pipe because I enjoy collecting them as much as smoking them. However it is a great point that they might not be entirely mass produced. I think it was rumored that early Dunhills might have been made in St Claude...and I think there is a very nice ensemble of well made french pipes today...Chacom/Genod/Ropp...if you enjoy the classical shapes and Dunhill elegance without the Dunhill price.

But for me its astounding that Dunhill is a high grade pipe because of name and not features...no invidual carvers assigned to the pipe...and absolutely no fine grain or flamed grains or even contrasting stains...Dunhills are mostly homogenized shapes with uniform color and stain...very little features of the briar...

Castello you'll pay dearly for an intricate flamed grain and good contrast stain...but you can get other Italian makers with beautiful grains at a fraction of the price.

I don't enjoy the upkeep of rubber stems so I go with more expensive Italian pipes with acrylic...but there is a difference not just because of the price but because they actually did more work to get the shape of the stem comfortable.

Parkers are really nice pipes. I am going to try and pursue some estates more often if I happen upon them at a good antique store. I'd pay more knowing it was in good condition and didn't smell horrible. I have a well ghosted BBB estate that has been smoked heavily with some aromatic that wouldn't go away with heavy reaming of the cake...but it makes everything taste great and it was a free pipe from my aunt.

I'm not of the belief that an expensive pipe makes a good smoker, I've been burned one too many times on beautiful expensive turd burners.

 

[Njguy1977]

I place great value in the artistry of the pipe because I enjoy collecting them as much as smoking them. However it is a great point that they might not be entirely mass produced. I think it was rumored that early Dunhills might have been made in St Claude...and I think there is a very nice ensemble of well made french pipes today...Chacom/Genod/Ropp...if you enjoy the classical shapes and Dunhill elegance without the Dunhill price.

But for me its astounding that Dunhill is a high grade pipe because of name and not features...no invidual carvers assigned to the pipe...and absolutely no fine grain or flamed grains or even contrasting stains...Dunhills are mostly homogenized shapes with uniform color and stain...very little features of the briar...

Castello you'll pay dearly for an intricate flamed grain and good contrast stain...but you can get other Italian makers with beautiful grains at a fraction of the price.

I don't enjoy the upkeep of rubber stems so I go with more expensive Italian pipes with acrylic...but there is a difference not just because of the price but because they actually did more work to get the shape of the stem comfortable.

Parkers are really nice pipes. I am going to try and pursue some estates more often if I happen upon them at a good antique store. I'd pay more knowing it was in good condition and didn't smell horrible. I have a well ghosted BBB estate that has been smoked heavily with some aromatic that wouldn't go away with heavy reaming of the cake...but it makes everything taste great and it was a free pipe from my aunt.

I'm not of the belief that an expensive pipe makes a good smoker, I've been burned one too many times on beautiful expensive turd burners.

My experience with Petersons is this, it all depends on what type of tobacco you smoke in them. Recently I smoked Lane 1-Q in a Parker Baron. It was so enjoyable and flavorful that I wanted it a 2nd day. Next day I used a Pererson 307, smoke was dry but so dry that the flavor profile was changed to the point it was muted. Wasn’t enjoyable and really had to find the flavor but mostly all I could taste was a burnt flavor. I even packed my Peterson the exact way the company suggests and had the bowl completely burn down which worked well. I haven’t experimented with English blends but I’m assuming that the Peterson will really shine when trying those blends. It seems that the “dry system” pipes change the flavor profile. The other Petersons without the dry system seem to not do that.

Larry

 

[Benzadmiral]

I too would be afraid of dropping or harming an expensive pipe, or losing it if I brought it out somewhere. And I prefer acrylic stems for the reason PD mentioned, the upkeep of rubber stems. Though I suppose, if I ran across a birth year Dunhill that strongly appealed to me, I might go for it. But my <$100 pipes are solid smokers all down the line.

I've reached the point in pipe "collecting" and using that I have most of the shapes that appeal to me, in the finishes I like, at the price points I like. A pipe has to be really unusual (by my own threadbare standards) for me to consider buying it now. And $400 for one pipe? Nah.

If I could locate, and afford, one of the pipes bought by the Ellery Queen cousins at Dunhill in 1928 when they sold their first novel with "EQ" inscribed on it, sure. But that would be more of an artifact I'd never want to smoke, just keep and display.

 

[Commander Quan]

A decade ago I sought out and acquired a birth year Dunhill. It's not my most expensive, or interesting pipe, but it is unique because it's the only one I have that whistles like a train every time you take a puff.

 

[Borderdog]

Is it "Dunhills Are Over Priced Junk" season already? Damn, I've still got my "C&D Releases Too Many Small Batches" decorations up.

A traditional pipe shape carved with precision and accuracy is a long way from pedestrian or dull. That's a weird flex.