Dunnie Classic Series

Score one for Ramon! Way to go pal. I'm with ya in this Dunhill love affair.

è bellisimo pipa, boun fumare!

è pipa bellisimo, boun fumare!

I always had trouble with this in Spanish class (yes, I know its Italian).

Ramon? A little help here please!

:) ok :)

"Una bellissima pipa, buone fumate!"

There is somethind very, very wierd about an Italian guy buying an English pipe. Surrounded by makers of the most beautiful pipes in the world, he chooses one of the most plain. It is like Sophia Loren making a pass at Prince Philip. Am I missing something here?

Maybe.
Depends, what italian pipe brands do you speak about?
I'm interested.

Actually, it isn't, if you know that quite a few italian brands tend to -- or at least used to -- mirror themselves on their English counterparts.

and obviously & trying to find someone who can persuade me to buy a Dunhill. But in the meantime, a comparison is in order. Go to Dinopuffin's excellent Italian pipe site: www.dinopuffin.it. There you will find an excellent representation of the state of the Italian middle-range pipe market. Go to 'Mastro de Paja' & choose '3A Group Natural Smooth'. There you will find what I consider a reasonably representative set of examples of beautiful, quite affordable pipes. Or to "1B Group Brown sand-blasted". I see everything that Italy is famous for - style, beautiful lines, quality finish, architecture. These are the flowing works of a Michelangelo. Now let us go to www.smokingpipes.com & choose New Pipes & then Dunhill. Here I see beautiful photography courtesy of Bear's guys. The pipes are classic, well-executed but staid, lacking imagination or any flair. They are - to me - boring. If Italian pipes are Michelangelo's, these are Gainsboroughs.

Now this is a personal POV. Personally, I prefer Jaguars to Ferraris, so there is no consistency in it. And I respect Dunhills. But I feel the need for someone to explain WHY to me. As my daughter would say: It is so not obvious.

Case rested.

Of course.
Thera are many brands, my opinion is that write "italian pipes" does not say anything.
There is Savinelli and there is Castello.
There is Viprati and there is Baldo Baldi.
There is Brebbia anc there is Mastro de Paja.
We must speak brand for brand, and in Italy we have... how many? 80?
I can't speak about danish and american pipes, I don't know, but, I think, I can speak about italian pipes.

I talk about my opinion.
Ok, you talked about Masto de Paja (Pesaro school).
The briar of Mastro in my opinion now is young and sweet, of course not oil-cured.
If I smoke different virginias tobaccos I don't perceive in taste different nuance.
Mastro pipes makes all virginias equal: sweets. I say: "Mastro taste, not tobacco taste."
The mouthpiece of Mastro is plastic, I like ebonite.
I can't find a standard billiard in Mastro, there isn't.. every times differents shapes.
Good pipes of course, but not for me.
Really good Mastro were made in 80 years, not now, now they make humidors...
I want a good pipe to smoke everyday, not a nice object.

in the past I had 2 Mastro 3A... I sold their.
Their low to dry and I found plaster.

To understand the ownership of a Dunhill you need to understand what drives any pipe smoker to spend $250 to $3000 (or more) for a chunk of wood when he could just as easily have spent $40 for a similar shaped piece from a different carver. All things are not scientific ... some are on an emotional level. Mechanically, of course, Dunhill pipes are consistantly fantastic. You could say the same about whatever your favorite brand is I suppose - I speak from experience regarding Dunhill with 17 of them all perfect in every way. But for me its about much more than having a functional miniature furnace. When I smoke a Dunhill I feel a link to my English heritage (English+Scottish+Irish+Italian = Mutt). I look at the classic lines and KNOW that [for me] I'm smoking the kind of pipe my forefathers would have smoked. There is also a certain level of pride knowing I'm smoking what I consider to be one of the best pipes on the market. Notice all these things are emotionally based. I never said anything about the draw of the air passage, the thickness of the walls, the color of the stain, the fit of the mortise / tenon, etc. I'm doing this poorly, but what I'm trying to say is that for me Dunhill pipes are a passion, not a pass time.

Now ... you seem to be toying with the idea of getting one ... I'd suggest you don't do it. Surprised? Well, if you're running hot and cold over the idea now you'll likely just sit back and say something like, "well, it smokes as good as my other pipes but its nothing special" ... and then you'll get mad because of the amount you spent for it which will probably lead to frustration and negativity towards the line. Why do that to yourself?

Look at it this way, if you drive a Chevy (not dissin' Chevys folks, they're fine vehicles) and you're happy with a Chevy why would you want to buy that Jag you mentioned. Hell, both are just cars. The Chevy could be every bit as wonderful for you as the Jag might be. But, if you're passionate about driving one of the elite vehicles made perhaps a Jag is for you ... maybe you need more - a Bentley, a Rolls, add any name you wish (this isn't about Jags).

Like it or not, what we buy (pipes, cars, hell probably even toasters!) isn't just on a 'logical level' ... at least not for me. I'd sure feel much differently about myself if I drove down the road in a rusted Yugo smoking a cob of captain black than I do when driving the Jag down the road with a $2000 Dunnie full of aged FVF. If you can't see the difference there, you'll never understand why I buy Dunhill. Agree or disagree - doesn't matter. My passion is fully established and I won't repent.

Now ... here's the key: Just because I feel good about myself in the Jag with the Dunhill hanging out of my kisser doesn't mean that I judge you or anyone else for that matter because they drive the Yugo with the Corn Cob. As I said in the beginning, its all a matter of preference. Nothing more, nothing less.

Sorry for the long winded response ... its the passion coming out.

... I have nothing to add to what the venerable mister Piatt has written, so I'll refrain just a bit and state my opinion, which should be read as a summary of Rick's eloquent missive.

Muddler, you should buy a pipe because it makes you happy, regardless of size, brand, shape or whatever. If you're not sure about a Dunhill, then give it a pass.

Unfortunately, in English I can't express well, I would explain many things about Italian pipe brands and because I love Dunhill. I'm sorry to have this limit. I have so often quarrelled with Luigi Viprati, with Bruto Sordini (Don Carlos) with Montini (Mastro), etc...
I'm agree with Rick, and I do not want to persuade anyone. It was not my intention.
The next friday I will take my car and I will do 600 km to be able to see the new dunhill pipes just arrived from London.
I think that we will be 30 friends, not more, all Italian fans and collectors of the mark.
Maybe I will take a new pipe but I promise that I write on the forum: "All bad, always the same since the time of Alfred, until I bought a Castello."
This is a joke
:-)

Seriously, I am used to the question: "Why Dunhill?"
in these cases, my father-in-law jokes saying to his wife:
if you have not understood is useless that I explain to you

translate if you can.. really intresting
http://crown.claudio...

About this pipe, two days ago I have sold unsmoked. the pipe was very beautiful but I decided this: only briar and ebonite, I don't want metal rings on the "spartan" straight billiards. (buyed for 300 euro sold for 370 euro to a collector, lucky strike!)