Why oil cure briar wood? A fairy tale!
Mark Tinsky
Back in the hey day of the 1920's Dunhill pipes were begining to take
off. MAster Alfred was fit to be tied. It seemed he had only planned
production for x number of pipes and he was selling them at the rate of
2x. What to do?
You see they had run thru their air cured wood that had sat for 5 years.
Being a realist Mr. Dunhill decided to cut corners a bit. He instructed
his foreman to start cutting into next years wood which had been let
sitting 4 years. I don t think it will make all that much difference he
thought. Maybe this years great sales were a bit of a fluke and we ll
order more green wet wood and over the next 5 years we ll catch up .
Fortunately , or unfortunately for Mr. Dunhill, the next years of sales
were better and better and he had to keep cutting into his air curing
times in order to meet demand.
And one day, his foreman came to him and said," Mr. Dunhill, all we have
left is wet wood!"
Any simpleton knows you cant sell pipes made of wet wood. This is wood
that has come from the briar cutters that has been boiled for 24 hours or
so to remove the sap from the briar burls.
"What are we going to do Capt? The warp engines are about...." ( OOps
wrong story. I kind of imagine the foreman sounding like a latter day
Scotty form Star Trek.)
So he says" MR. Dunhill, what are we going to do, we re all out of dry wood? "
Mr Dunhill thought a moment, as he was a very creative man, and said,"
we'll force it to dry quicker!"
The ever innovate Scotty, I mean foreman went back to the factory and
tried many means of heat to dry the wood. Most with terrible results as
force dried woods tend to crack horribly. It wasn t working out so well
until one day MR D came to the factory and uttered these fatefull words. "
If we could only lubricate the wood so it wouldn t crack so horribly our
problems would be solved."
The ever resourceful foreman took him literally and soaked the burls in
hot oil before heating them. This solved the problem as the briar hardly
cracked at all!
" What do you think they 'll smoke like, Mr. D", inquired the foreman?
"I think it will be ok", he said. " Just think anytime they come up with a
new strange meat, everyone thinks it tastes like chicken. I think our
problems are solved......."
Mark Tinsky
--
Web Site http://AmSmoke.com
John C. Loring
Mark Tinsky wrote:
>
> Back in the hey day of the 1920's Dunhill pipes ....
Yes, it is a fairy tale - I believe the oil curing process predates
Dunhill, and certainly is not a '20s innovation. More importantly
Alfred Dunhill was apparently insufferable when it came to manufacturing
standards, reportedly tossing out pipes because the stampings weren't
quite aligned right. Remember, while virtually every other of the great
English pipe makers cut corners, cheapened and destroyed their lines in
the 60s - 80s Dunhill stood almost alone in maintaining it's basic
commitment to quality. Whether with the spin off and corporate changes
of the past few years it will continue to do so is the question.
Personally, while I find that air cured pipes such as Castellos smoke
better in the beginning, I am beginning to conclude that over the years
oil cured pipes such as Dunhills improve beyond the air cured. Whether
given the additional decades post WWII air cured pipes will approach
what I find to be the exceptional, wonderfully soft and warm smoking
characteristics of many of the pre WWII Dunhills only time will tell but
for the moment picking up one of Alfred Dunhill's batch from the '20s
over a younger air cured brethren isn't a fairy tail, it's the beginning
of an evening of contentment.
Mark Shelor
m...@epix.net (Mark Tinsky) wrote:
>
>So he says" MR. Dunhill, what are we going to do, we re all out of dry wood? "
>The ever resourceful foreman took him literally and soaked the burls in
>hot oil before heating them. This solved the problem as the briar hardly
>cracked at all!
>
>" What do you think they 'll smoke like, Mr. D", inquired the foreman?
>
>"I think it will be ok", he said. " Just think anytime they come up with a
>new strange meat, everyone thinks it tastes like chicken. I think our
>problems are solved......."
>Mark Tinsky
>
>--
>Web Site http://AmSmoke.com
Yes, this sounds pretty much like a fairy tale. Given the excellent smoking
qualities of a Dunhill, coupled with the at-times rigidly uncomprimising
standards of the company, it's difficult to even imagine the above scenario.
Perhaps the author, like many of the rest of us, is miffed at Dunhill's high
prices. In fairness to the company, though, the price of a Dunhill in England
isn't that bad: less than half of what you'd pay in the US. Also, many folks
seem to prefer the flavor and smoothness of an oil-cured pipe (such as Dunhill
or Ashton) over an air-cured pipe. The latter always seem to be more difficult
to break in, whereas an oil-cured pipe has a nut-like sweetness from the very
first smoke.
Mark
Irwin Friedman
m...@epix.net (Mark Tinsky) wrote:
>Back in the hey day of the 1920's Dunhill pipes were begining to take
>off. MAster Alfred was fit to be tied. It seemed he had only planned
>production for x number of pipes and he was selling them at the rate of
>2x. What to do?
>You see they had run thru their air cured wood that had sat for 5 years.
>
>Being a realist Mr. Dunhill decided to cut corners a bit. He instructed
>his foreman to start cutting into next years wood which had been let
>sitting 4 years. I don t think it will make all that much difference he
>thought. Maybe this years great sales were a bit of a fluke and we ll
>order more green wet wood and over the next 5 years we ll catch up .
>Fortunately , or unfortunately for Mr. Dunhill, the next years of sales
>were better and better and he had to keep cutting into his air curing
>times in order to meet demand.
>
>And one day, his foreman came to him and said," Mr. Dunhill, all we have
>left is wet wood!"
>
>Any simpleton knows you cant sell pipes made of wet wood. This is wood
>that has come from the briar cutters that has been boiled for 24 hours or
>so to remove the sap from the briar burls.
>
>So he says" MR. Dunhill, what are we going to do, we re all out of dry wood? "
>
>we'll force it to dry quicker!"
>
>The ever innovate Scotty, I mean foreman went back to the factory and
>tried many means of heat to dry the wood. Most with terrible results as
>force dried woods tend to crack horribly. It wasn t working out so well
>until one day MR D came to the factory and uttered these fatefull words. "
>If we could only lubricate the wood so it wouldn t crack so horribly our
>problems would be solved."
>
>hot oil before heating them. This solved the problem as the briar hardly
>cracked at all!
>
>" What do you think they 'll smoke like, Mr. D", inquired the foreman?
>
>"I think it will be ok", he said. " Just think anytime they come up with a
>new strange meat, everyone thinks it tastes like chicken. I think our
>problems are solved......."
>Mark Tinsky
>
Aside from the fact that there is no basis in fact for this tall tale, it
presumes that an astute businessman like Mr. Dunhill didn't plan for any
growth in sales and never increased his purchases of briar, an unlikely
prospect. And of course Dunhill could magically increase the production
capacity of his factory with the snap of his fingers.
In fact, with quality briar as plentiful as it was then, no manufacturer
ever had trouble getting enough briar. The most difficult aspects of
increasing the production of a hand made product in any significant way
are hiring skilled labor, acquiring adequate space, equipping the factory,
and obtaining adequate financing for the expansion.
I have smoked old Dunhill pipes from the teens, '20s, '30s and '40s and,
in my experience have found the smoking qualities of these pieces
remarkably consistent.
What is the point in disparaging Dunhill? Are you trying to imply that
your pipes are better than old (or new) Dunhill pipes? If you believe
that your pipes are better, sell your pipes on their own merit without
rather than knocking your competition.
I only occasionally buy a new Dunhill, not because they aren't good pipes
but because I find that Buteras, Castellos, Il Ceppos and Ser Jacopos are,
IMO, better values for the same or less money than any contemporary
English briar. In older pipes I buy any one of a number of brands;
Barling, BBB, Charatan, Comoy, GBD, Peterson and Sasieni, just to name a
few. While there are common taste characteristics to every brand of
pipe that I own, every one of my pipes has its subtleties; none of them
taste like chicken, or for that matter, sour grapes.
Irwin
James D. Beard
Mark,
You do not have to buy (literally or figuratively) everything that Dunhill
puts out to gain some appreciation of what is on offer, be it product or
(in the good sense: spread or propagate the faith) propaganda. Consider
a few words from Mary Dunhill about her father and pipe making:
"He had continued to make headway as a tobacco blender, though, until
1910, he was still without a pipe to do justice to the quality of his
blends. The calabash and finely carved meerschaum pipes in his
show cases were to fragile for everyday use, and customers had long been
complaining about the taste of the cheaply varnished Algerian briars
which, as I pointed out, were about all any tobacconist had to offer.
Why couldn't Father produce a first-class pipe himself?....
"...The point is that Father's objective was to produce nothing less than a
perfect pipe, free from all forms of camouflage....
"...However, unlike the cheap Algerian briar pipes which had caused
so many complaints, a first-class pipe calls for top quality wood which,
over a year or more, has been thoroughly seasoned....So good-quality
root has always been expensive. Supplies are now increasingly scarce.
"From St Claude, Father could obtain the wood he wanted. But from the
day he began to study the effect of sunlight on immature bowls in his
shop window, he had become obsessed with the subject of wood, its
nature and the business of seasoning it. This is why it had taken him
three years to evolve heat treatment processes that are peculiar to the
Dunhill pipe and which have a fundamental effect on its smoking
properties and on the lasting, natural finish that is given to the grain."
This has the ring of truth in its simplicity, and is consistent with all
that I know of Alfred Dunhill from other sources. The man was
obsessive about what he made, whether it was harnesses for the carriage
trade (his initial line of work) or pipes. And he drew up a regimen for
manufacturing that was intended to satisfy the most demanding customer
(who, incidentally, had the wealth to pay a premium price for product
provided). His efforts led to an oil curing process for the wood, a set
of specifications for pipe making said to be still in use in the late 1970s
and presumably still today, and a description of roughly 90 processes
to be performed in making a Dunhill pipe. Give credit where credit is
due: The man created a new standard in pipe making, and his pipes are the
standard to this day. The oil cure is part of it. Part of his quest for
the perfect (and perfectly profitable to sell) pipe.
This is not to say that only Dunhill makes a good pipe. To quote Mary
Dunhill again, "There are, too, better quality pipes made by other
manufacturers of repute and which I would not disparage." Note the word
"better." Not " as good as" or "equal to" but "better." And note that
Mary Dunhill did not write fairy tales about how other pipe makers
discovered or created improvements in their technology. If you would
like to know more about what makes Dunhill oil-cured pipes special,
I would propose you buy a sizeable sample of new ones to ensure
representative specimens and spend a sizeable about of time smoking them.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
J...@blckhrse.clark.net
Almost apologetic about being unnecessarily nasty to someone
attempting to use humor to provoke discussion. Almost.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Tinsky
In article <502u4m$f...@mtinsc01-mgt.ops.worldnet.att.net>, Irwin Friedman
<i...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>I only occasionally buy a new Dunhill, not because they aren't good pipes
>but because I find that Buteras, Castellos, Il Ceppos and Ser Jacopos are,
>IMO, better values for the same or less money than any contemporary
>English briar. In older pipes I buy any one of a number of brands;
>Barling, BBB, Charatan, Comoy, GBD, Peterson and Sasieni, just to name a
>few. While there are common taste characteristics to every brand of
>pipe that I own, every one of my pipes has its subtleties; none of them
>taste like chicken, or for that matter, sour grapes.
>
>Irwin
--
Dear Mr. Friedman
The point of my article was first and foremost not to debunk or disparage
ANY pipes or pipemakers dead or alive. It was foremost humor and to
provoke discussion. I m sorry if you didn t catch the "humorousness" of
the posting; sometimes it is hard to convey humor or any "double meanings
" with E mail or other electronic postings.
Also I have always wondered why anyone would soak burls in oil? In a
serious vein now. Generally boiling briar removes the saps impurities etc.
and a fairly long drying process usually is sufficient to prepare briar
to be smoked. How long? I don t know and I ve never heard of any tests
done to see how long a drying or curing process is needed. I let my
blocks cure at least a few years but rather for no other reason that I
like to have lots of briar on hand, the more the better, and it takes
years before I can get to it. My pipes generally break in quickly and
smoke well. This "system" has worked for me so I follow it. Many other
manufacturers have there own briar curing systems and produce excellent
smoking pipes. Generally the pipemakers in this country employ air curing.
That is they let it sit for a time to dry and then use it. The exception
to this that I ve heard of is Randy Wiley who uses some type of oil
curing. Tho I have not heard this from him personally .
So whats the point? I d still like to hear why pipe manufactuers use oil
curing. The only reason I could think of was expediency. Yes briar was
plentiful and still is. However, dry aged briar is NOT plentiful. Briar
cutters do not like to sit on their inventory for years, its too
expensive. Briar wood comes wet, that is, from the initial factory boiling
process. Pipemakers have to sit on it until its ready to use.
The logic in the fairy tale was that Dunhill didn t forsee they re sales
rising meteorically, pure conjecture on my part, and undertook to find a
method to hasten the curing process. Obviously the method has been
successful as they are the most prestigious pipe firm in the world . I
would still like to know why the oil curing process came about in the
first place . If anyone knows I d really like to hear and I m sure so
would others. Though I d like to know the real story and not another
story that has become part of the Dunhill legend. If you d believe
everything Dunhill has ever put out you might as well believe in the
Tooth Fairy. I don t believe that it was done for considerations of taste,
hence my reference to "chicken" and if it happenned to impart a "nutty"
flavor to the wood I skeptically believe it to be a lucky accident. If
you have any information on the subject I d be happy to hear it. Mark
John C. Loring
James D. Beard wrote:
> due: The man created a new standard in pipe making, and his pipes are the
> standard to this day. The oil cure is part of it.
While I concur with the thoughts expressed, I do not believe that
Dunhill invented the "oil cure" per se (as opposed to refining an
existing process). I have English briars that predate 1910 that !appear!
to be oil cured and I do not recall ever seeing a specific claim for
inventing the general oil cure process.
If anyone has further or better info, would appreciate the input.
David Quisenberry
In article <502u4m$f...@mtinsc01-mgt.ops.worldnet.att.net>, Irwin Friedman <i...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>What is the point in disparaging Dunhill? Are you trying to imply that
>your pipes are better than old (or new) Dunhill pipes? If you believe
>that your pipes are better, sell your pipes on their own merit without
>rather than knocking your competition.
>
I read Mark's original posts and wonder if you did also? Ever hear of the term "tongue in cheek"?
And btw, yes I do own pipes from Dunhill, Tinsky, and the others discussed...
David
..smoking a Tinsky with a white dot.............
Irwin Friedman
Yes I read Mark's (and all other) posts and, believe it or not, I know
what is "tongue in cheek" as much as I do sarcasm. If Mark was attempting
satire, IMO, he failed miserably.
Excuse me, but one of my oil cured Dunhill's calling me to fill its bowl
and light up.
Irwin
SSmith62
FWIW I recently bought a Ferndown. It was my first new oil cured pipe. I
immediately noticed a difference in the taste of the English blend I
usually smoke. It was softer, almost creamier, you could even say
nuttier. It was definitely different from anything else I had ever tried.
It's now one of my favorite pipes.
Steve Smith
^
~~ ~~ ^
@ ~ @~~ ^
^
\/ ^
~~ ~~ ^
<>-------0
\/
-portrait of the pipe smoker as a young man-
"taking up a glowing cinder with the tongs and lighting with it the long
cherry-wood pipe which was wont to replace his clay when he was in a
disputacious rather than a meditative mood" -- Dr. John H. Watson