Adjusting the Lines of a Dunhill Shape 56

[georged]

My perfectionator never stops zeroing in on things to perfectionize.

Last week I took a 1956 Dunhill shape 56 from my rack to snap a photo of its manufacture date to help someone determine if their Dunhill was from 1956 or 1966.

When I did, I noticed I hadn't smoked it in years.

I thought about why, and realized it was because the stem/shank transition was clunky. Specifically, the shank was "bloated" and leveling at the time of manufacture had been done heavy handedly.

It was noticeable in profile, and outright wince-inducing when seen from above (though no photos of that... I didn't plan on making a thread out of this).








What to do? Put the shank on a diet, of course. Reduce its diameter so it flows into the stem the way it should have to start with.

It's mucher gooder now, and smoking it is a pleasure. (It's being puffed on as I type)

Don't know why I didn't do it years ago. It's a fine smoking, friendly little guy.

 

[OzPiper]

It DOES look gooder
You perfectionist you

 

[TheIronMonkey]

The purist collector in me cringes at the idea of altering the pipe from its “as issued” state from the marque. That said, from an aesthetic point of view, it is mucher, mucher gooder.

 

[jguss]

I don’t think it’s ok to fat shame your pipes anymore. Off to the reeducation camp you go George.

 

[AroEnglish]

Nicely done!

So only the shank was reduced in diameter and nothing was done to the stem? And did you then do a light blasting to it so it matches the rest of the bowl?

 

[georged]

FWIW, know that Joel Sasieni is to blame for this.

A look at the lines of this pipe I posted a month ago will explain everything:

Patent-era Sasieni "Viscount Lascelles" To Die For :: Pipe Talk

In the collecting world, from cars to watches to pipes, there are ultra-rare, never used, never sold "time capsule" specimens, and there are desirable specimens, but they hardly ever overlap. Meaning, not many people care about a zero-miles Yugo with the option sticker still in the window, but...

pipesmagazine.com

Ain't no going back when you smoke a pipe like that one for a month, then pick up a Dunhill 56 whose shank looks like an eggplant. The decision gets made FOR you.

 

[georged]

So only the shank was reduced in diameter and nothing was done to the stem? And did you then do a light blasting to it so it matches the rest of the bowl?

The stem had to be finessed slightly, and all "blasting" is done by hand.

Here's a shop-level view of the process if you're into such things:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFwwtvtKlXW9Cck1UslaCawEQg21bD8zS

 

[MattRVA]

It really takes an experienced eye to see what you see George, I’ve learned a ton just from these types of posts. Thanks for that.

 

[AroEnglish]

The stem had to be finessed slightly, and all "blasting" is done by hand.

Here's a shop-level view of the process if you're into such things:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFwwtvtKlXW9Cck1UslaCawEQg21bD8zS

I very much am. Thanks for passing along the playlist.

 

[lithicus]

It really takes an experienced eye to see what you see George, I’ve learned a ton just from these types of posts. Thanks for that.

Agreed 100%. I have a lot of things to learn still about pipe smoking. But, seeing posts like this really help you learn to appreciate the finer details!

 

[georged]

I don’t think it’s ok to fat shame your pipes anymore. Off to the reeducation camp you go George.

The problem with trying to change reality via willful self-delusion (either internally generated or coerced Winston Smith-style, the result is the same), is that it doesn't work.

Put another way, those BMI charts are created from empirical evidence, and what's being measured is binary. Biological organisms are either dead or alive. There is no "C".

fat model died from obesity - Google Search

www.google.com

 

[buckaroo]

Impressive update, G. My goodness. Looks much better. Thx for posting.

 

[yanoJL]

Fascinating @georged, thank you!

In performing liposuction on this pipe, we're you limited to removing material only from the top of the shank? So as to preserve the stamping on the underside?

 

[georged]

Fascinating @georged, thank you!

In performing liposuction on this pipe, we're you limited to removing material only from the top of the shank? So as to preserve the stamping on the underside?

100% yes. Erasing the nomenclature would be fatal.

 

[milk]

The stem had to be finessed slightly, and all "blasting" is done by hand.

Here's a shop-level view of the process if you're into such things:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFwwtvtKlXW9Cck1UslaCawEQg21bD8zS

Thanks. I enjoyed this. I’m not very good with machines and I could never carve pipes. I probably wouldn’t try this with a Dunhill because I lack confidence, but this gave me some interesting ideas for what one can do with discarded pipes, maybe even with elementary tools and dyes.

 

[georged]

The purist collector in me cringes at the idea of altering the pipe from its “as issued” state from the marque.

How I deal with it is pretending I have a combination time/machine magic wand, and could send the pipe back to the "finished" tray on the day it was made. Would the QA guy give it a thumb's up?

Little doubt he would and probably feel better about it than version A.

Which makes it a win for everyone.

 

[didimauw]

How I deal with it is pretending I have a combination time/machine magic wand, and could send the pipe back to the "finished" tray on the day it was made. Would the QA guy give it a thumb's up?

Little doubt he would and probably feel better about it than version A.

Which makes it a win for everyone.

Serious question.

After seeing so many, and working on so many, do you think Alfred himself cared about these "minute" details?

 

[georged]

Serious question.

After seeing so many, and working on so many, do you think Alfred himself cared about these "minute" details?

Philosophically, yes.

Meaning as a businessman, he was in favor of anything that contributed to his brand's excellence and the public thinking it was the best available.

QA slipped a bit in this case---I've never seen such clumsy leveling on a pipe made in the 1950's---and a correction is still a correction, even if 68 years late, right?

 

[peteguy]

Do you think the next owner should know about this work? Just curious what your take is.

 

[georged]

Do you think the next owner should know about this work? Just curious what your take is.

I don't think about it one way or the other. I figure personal property is exactly that---I could throw it into a wood chipper for fun if I was so inclined---so "tweaking it better" doesn't even budge the needle.