DUNHILL Root Briar 42081, 1978

England, 1978

Initially Dunhill didn’t pay any special attention to a grain of briar. Perhaps, the public opinion had not been ready yet to a “straight grain” and material of early Bruyere pipes didn’t differ by a remarkable grain. But in 1931 Root Briar series was started. The pipes were made of Corsican briar, wonderful by both its mechanical properties and very frequently by its bright and expressive grain. Since then Root Briar pipes is the most expensive Dunhill series. As a pleasant sample – this nice bull dog shaped Root Briar pipe made in 1978!

The pipe markings are “42081”, “DUNHILL \ ROOT BRIAR”, “MADE IN \ ENGLAND 18”. The length is 14.8 cm (5.83″), bowl’s height is 4.1 cm (1.61″). External diameter of the bowl is 4.5 cm (1.77″), internal diameter is 2.1 cm (0.83″). The depth is 3.2 cm (1.26″) and this pipe weights 47 gr. Briar, vulcanite stem (just a very lightly corrected – you may identify that under a bright light), no filter. There’s a very small spacing (a few tenth of mm) between the stem and shank, but that doesn’t affect smoking qualities, the stem sits snugly and reliably. The chamber has normal smoked wear without any critical issues.