No major visible issues other than rim darkening which must be expected on a 100 year old piece of briar. There is heavy cake (which is a good sign imo) so who knows what’s under that though.
Looking for a Restorer: 1925 Dunhill CK Shell
- Thread starter VDL_Piper
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Let’s hope so. My biggest concern as @georged mentioned was the step between shank and stem and I just hoped it was original, took a punt on that. Otherwise it just looked like it’s been well smoked but forgotten/deceased estate and been sitting in a drawer of shoe box somewhere.
The stem is original. Zero doubt. The only worry with it is how deep the green goes. In some "uniformly matte olive" cases it's too deep to remove and still have a correct-looking stem. In others, however, the green is surprisingly shallow.
BTW, the shrunken stummel works in your favor in this case. The stem can be shrunken in overall dimensions for oxidation removal and maybe spare the shank from having to be re-leveled, re-textured, and re-finished.
The rim close-up shot is excellent in terms of information. The rim will definitely need to be "re-sandblasted" (manually textured) after the carbon is gone---it's ashtray hammered underneath---which means the entire stummel will have to be refinished.
Good news: the nomenclature is complete and in excellent condition.
Scary news: the chamber walls could badly jugged from burning. You won't know until the carbon is removed.
If your luck holds with this specimen and someone doesn't screw it up, you could have one of the best early CKs on the planet.
There are hints that the stem may not be original. The guys at Briarville could bring the diameter of it down to a point you'd never notice it.
There is/was a Dunhill on EBay recently with a very green stem
The vendor described as a briar pipe with a wooden stem
I suppose it IS unkind to laugh at such an elementary error.
I'm just curious to see if a "collector" will pay big bucks for an ultra-rare wooden-stemmed Dunhill
It’s a risky game mate but with some luck and in the right hands these old pipes can continue to tell their story.There is/was a Dunhill on EBay recently with a very green stem
The vendor described as a briar pipe with a wooden stem
I suppose it IS unkind to laugh at such an elementary error.
I'm just curious to see if a "collector" will pay big bucks for an ultra-rare wooden-stemmed Dunhill
I’d imagine those wooden stemmed Dunhill‘s are like rocking horse poo…………
I could and have restored (in the manner Jesse suggested) pipes in that condition.
But I wouldn't trust myself with the oldest CK shape I've ever seen that doesn't belong to me (and of that value!).
I've tried researching the CK shape, and found very little. Its not known when it appeared or disappeared from the Dunhill line. Rich Esserman knows a lot about Dunhill pipes, but had no knowledge of the CK shape. That is certainly the oldest CK I've ever seen - congratulations! (I posted the pipe on the British Ebay thread last night)
But I wouldn't trust myself with the oldest CK shape I've ever seen that doesn't belong to me (and of that value!).
I've tried researching the CK shape, and found very little. Its not known when it appeared or disappeared from the Dunhill line. Rich Esserman knows a lot about Dunhill pipes, but had no knowledge of the CK shape. That is certainly the oldest CK I've ever seen - congratulations! (I posted the pipe on the British Ebay thread last night)
I'll bet that it will be a beauty once it's properly restored.
Cleaning removes
Restoration tends to add
Two very different skill sets.
A good case study of the differences can be read on most any reborn pipe blog. The pipe is sent out to be cleaned. It then comes back where skilled hands remove buildup, tend to add material to the stem, and often stain to the briar. Repairs to the rim would definitely be restoration.
Restoration tends to add
Two very different skill sets.
A good case study of the differences can be read on most any reborn pipe blog. The pipe is sent out to be cleaned. It then comes back where skilled hands remove buildup, tend to add material to the stem, and often stain to the briar. Repairs to the rim would definitely be restoration.
Fine pipe!
IIRC, you are down under, no? This could make a difference in cost to you as well as time.
You can put your location in your profile; then it's clear to all in the future.
Good luck!
IIRC, you are down under, no? This could make a difference in cost to you as well as time.
You can put your location in your profile; then it's clear to all in the future.
Good luck!
The overlap is where things get messy, term-wise.
I finally settled it in my own mind as cleaning is just that. The removal of dirt, tar, carbon, stinkiness, and so forth. Nothing more.
Repair is "un doing" mechanical damage. Re-attaching a broken shank on an otherwise new-condition pipe, for example.
Restoration is returning a pipe to what it looked like the day it was made. Whatever must be done to accomplish that is irrelevant. If simple cleaning will do it, the pipe is restored. If some drastic repair is required such as replacing a segment of mouse-chewed wood, that also falls under the restoration umbrella for that pipe. Whatever type of work it takes to make a pipe look new is "Restoration" by definition.
So I guess spraying it down EZ-Off and throwing it in the dishwasher is out...
Dammit, now I want to take a crusty old junker and try that just to see what happens.
I thought that's how you did all your restorations???Dammit, now I want to take a crusty old junker and try that just to see what happens.
I love the scientific approach!Dammit, now I want to take a crusty old junker and try that just to see what happens.
I did a bit of google before the purchase, quite a bit in fact and as you have suggested the information on the CK shape is scant at best. I then worked on the nomenclature and it seemed genuine and in good shape given the pipes aged and it obviously gave me the age.
The hard part was determining if the pipe was sound enough visually via photographs to take the punt on it………..well that part is now history but one thing is certain, this pipe is a relic of which very few examples exist.
My attention now turns to the old boy (Winston) as I’ve affectionately called him and what needs to happen to reinstate him to his former glory and thank you for the congratulations.
Yes I am and that imparts it’s own problems on getting this old pipe restored but not because of time or money, neither matter to me. Its the mechanics around the whole process now that I need to work on.
Cleaning the outside of the pipe is not the ordeal, although it certainly can take some time and effort. Cleaning, sanitizing, and removing orders from the bowl and stummel can keep you busy and be difficult. If you can get the pipe in an ozone chamber, more power to you.