Dunhill: Difference between revisions

A deep craggy sandblast with a black stain finish.

The documentary history of Shell's inception is essentially limited to patent applications — there are no pages in catalogues or advertisements promoting product blasting at the time. These requirements show that the preliminary application of the English patent (Patent No. 1484/17) was lodged on 13 October 1917, with a request completed half a year later, on April 12, 1918, followed by the granting of the English patent on October 14, 1918, shortly before the end Of the Great War on November 11th.

The American patent (Patent No. 1,341,418) application was prepared and filed before the English concession, between September 19 and October 14, 1918. The American patent was granted more than a year later, on May 25, 1920. Canadian documents were behind the U.S. in a year, with application of 1919 and the concession in 1921.

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The American patent application was prepared and filed before the English concession, between September 19 and October 14, 1918. The American patent was granted more than a year later, on May 25, 1920. Canadian documents were behind the U.S. in a year, with application of 1919 and the numerical code system for date marking only started at 1922, but occasionally we found pipes that can be dated before 1922, specifically, those that were Stamped by: "DUNHILL'S SHELL" - "MADE IN ENGLAND", followed by "PAT. MAR. 9.15" with "PAT. APP FOR" and "AT. 1914" with "PAT. APP FOR". The patent references are respectively for the U.S. and Canada. These impressions possibly date from the patent application, not the concession. Hard to say with certainty, but it is speculated that the first was commercialized in mid-1917 while the process was proceeding. The tests were run and improved since 1914 with the support of a company specializing in glass blasting, the London Sandblasting Company.

Jonathan Guss and Jesse Silver, important members of our community, point out inconsistencies in the main story that is widespread, in which it states that the blasting in pipes is authored by Dunhill. The blasting technique was invented in 1870 and patented by Benjamin Chew Tilghman, 47 years before Dunhill used it in his pipes. There is no way to say for sure who was the first who applied the concept in pipes. There are clues and theories that point to sandblasting performed in pipes before Dunhill, by [[Barling]], for example, in a model called "Niblick" in mid-1917. Guss points out that the patent is more related to the process than the thing itself, the blasting. Alfred Dunhill explained the process of curing oil and sandblasting in his patent application:

Alfred's invention therefore concerns the treatment and healing of the Briar in oils, strengthening it as it removes impurities.

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The conception of the invention is reported in the book "About Smoke", released in mid-1920. The Algeria had become an important source of root briar supply. It was at the beginning of 1914 that Alfred Dunhill bought his first shipment of Algerian briar. Impressed with the beauty and richness of the grain of his new briar stock, he tried to put it into production, but soon found that the results were not satisfactory on account of the softness of the material. Unused briar blocks were subsequently put aside and forgotten-for months-near the heating furnace. At random, sometime next summer, he decided to re-examine these blocks and realized that some of the grains had shrunk, notably highlighting, leaving a pattern of relief similar to that of a sea shell, result of prolonged exposure to Heat. The voluminous wood spongy could be reduced to a mere shell, assuming a new and fascinating appearance, which, coupled with its extreme lightness and perfect quality could become an excellent and beautiful piece. On account of these characteristics, each piece is unique. It is born then, the classic and iconic "Dunhill's Shell Briar ".

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We can observe that in addition to the registered patents, we also have the registration of the mark applied between parenthesis below the "Briar"-(REGD). There were two records, one for "The Briar Shell ", requested at the English Intellectual Property Office (IPO) on February 19, 1921, published on March 30 of the same year and expired on February 20, 2015, without renewal. The other record went to  "Dunhill's Shell Briar", requested on May 19, 1921, published on June 29 of the same year and renewed on February 04, 2015.

The Dunhill did not fully dominate sand blasting techniques until the mid-1920, so the first specimens were deeply marked by double blasting and almost always irregular. By the end of the 20s the technique was dominated, allowing the execution of blasting with more personality and beauty. The pieces of this era are the most regarded by collectors. This blasting style was practices until the beginning of 1960.

In the decade of 60, the Italian government restricted the use of the Briar to Italian manufacturers and the Algerian briar became scarce (consequence of the Algerian War of Independence. 1954-1962), which forced Dunhill to use a somewhat more rigid Greek briar, which compromised the sandblasted finish. This explains why the blast is superficial in the models from this time onwards. Between the end 60 or the beginning of the decade of 70, it was already possible to perform a deeper blasting, however, the market began to reject them. In this way, Dunhill has preserved the smooth blasting. It is said that Richard Dunhill took one of the Shells rejected and asked:

— Why is this in the rejection deposit?

See [[The Art of Sandblasting]], and by R.D. Field, for in depth look at Dunhill's revolutionary new finish. Concluding, the deepest and craggiest finishes were from Algerian briar, which is softer and yields more to the blasting. These are found in circa 1920's, 1940's, and 1960's Shells. The pipes were double blasted until the 1960's, and then the double blast technique resumed in the 1980's calling it the "Deep Shell" finish. During the 1960’s and 70’s Dunhill could not acquire the Algerian briar. Consequently, the company’s sandblast pipes were much shallower and less distinct. Once again Dunhill showed itself to be innovative, inventing the “double blast” technique to bring about a deeper blast even with harder briar. The black shell sandblast finish uses a stain the was developed for the color, not the taste. Some enthusiasts experience them having a more bitter taste, even when judiciously smoked.

In the 90s there was a ransom of the values practiced in the first blasting. The pipes came to present  blasts of greater personality, but nothing compared to those of the past. The dyeing of this line was in dark wine shade, which exposed to light presented a typical reddish tone of the series. At some point in the decade of 60, this value was also altered, assuming a black coloration, but was rejected, making the original coloration also be rescued. Let's look at some examples of the mutations that the process has undergone over the years: