The Whangee
Thursday, August 30, 2012 at 4:27PM | Neill Archer Roan | Permalink tagged Columbus Show, Dunhill, Lawdog, McClelland, NASPC, Old Dog, Whangee, bamboo | in Collecting, Pipe Shows 
Why would anyone nurse the ambition to acquire an old Dunhill bamboo pipe? If you’ve seen many of them, you know that these pipes are all too often ungainly and decrepit things.
Dunhill Catalogue, Collector Range Page, Courtesy of Jeff FollodorUnlike the bamboo we see in contemporary artisanal bamboo pipes, Dunhill used bamboo with all manner of issues. It was often too chunky. Knuckles were oddly spaced, usually way too widely spaced for the pipe’s length. The beautiful rhythmic proportions to which we are accustomered in work by Hiroyuki Tokutumi or Smiou Satou are completely lacking in Dunhill’s bamboos.
Amazingly, these traits are plainly evident in Dunhill’s catalogues. With all the bamboo in the world, it mystifies me that Dunhill’s pipe gnomes didn’t express their customarily restrained, elegant aesthetic in their Whangee pipes. Proportional, clear, and even-knuckled bamboo is no recent product of genetic engineering. It has always been around. It has just not always been used.
Still…sometimes Dunhill’s pipe makers produced exquisite bamboo pipes. I’ve seen several, and I’ve been jonesin’ for one for decades now. As an active quest, I gave up a long time ago. I figured if and when one came along I’d carpe the diem. I wasn’t holding my breath.
Imagine my joy at finding this wonderful Whangee Shell on Lawdog’s table at the NASPC Columbus Show. I could barely contain myself.
(Early on, Dunhill referred to its bamboo pipes as Whangees. The word derives from the Chinese [Mandarin] huáng lí.)
As I gazed down at the pipe, the first thing that occurred to me was that this pipe has been truly loved. The bamboo’s burnt umber and apricot patina seemed to glow from within. A patina this rich and deep only comes about as a result of a great many smokes. In my experience, nobody smokes a pipe this much unless it is a fine smoker, especially someone who can afford Dunhill’s Whangee pipes.
Likewise, the sandblasted sworls and ridges on the old Shell’s bowl have been burnished and rounded by the hands of its smoker. That lighter color peeking through the oxbloody Shell color comes about only through handling. Yes, this pipe has been loved.
Factories, unlike artisans, don’t obsess about locating a bowl’s shape perfectly inside a briar ebauchon. We don’t see all that many Dunhills where the grain structure emerges from the center of the bowl. When it happens it is more a happy accident than the child of intention.
Happier still, what is almost certainly an Algerian briar block yielded up a deep and craggy blast when it rolled around inside the sandblasting drum along with its briar brethren. There is definition. There is detail. There is even symmetry in this Whangee’s blast.
Given how much the Whangee had been smoked, perhaps the most remarkable – even miraculous – aspect of the pipe is the condition of its mouthpiece. The button is still well-defined; there is no oxidation. Even the nomenclature stampings on the bottom of the stem are still readable, albeit with a loupe. And the stem has an ivory dot. It’s color and grain are unmistakeable.
This is no small pipe. At 6.25 inches (161 mm) long and with a bowl that is 1.86 inches (47 mm) tall, it is equivalent to a larger billiard. The chamber is .8 inches (21 mm) in diameter and 1.5 inches (39 mm) deep. The capacity is generous. Typically, a pipe this large comes with heft. The Whangee’s bamboo is light, however, and the pipe only weighs 38 grams (1 3/8 ounces).
I did not wait long until I gave the Whangee its inaugural smoke. I couldn’t wait to experience its smoking quality since all the evidence seemed to indicate that it would sit right up, say “Howdy!” and start singing.
I loaded the pipe with one of my favorite English tobaccos, McClelland’s recreation of the Ashton blend, Old Dog, and took the first slow draw. What I tasted was nothing like the Old Dog I was used to. Instead, I experienced a flavor not unlike those expensive, 90% pure cacao dark chocolate bars that will sprout new hair on a bald merchant marine. It was musky. It was leathery. It was a little bit belligerent, reminding me of the time I woke up this big, old Irish cop who was snoozing in his patrol car when I brought his newspaper to him. He was happy to see me when he was finished cussing me out.
When I spoke to Lawdog about my first Whangee smoke, he shook his head, exasperated. “I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned that pipe. I gave it the alcohol treatment. The problem is, it is impossible to get the ghosts out of the bamboo, no matter how much you clean. Dunhills are unlined and the ghost gets into the bamboo.”
So, there we were. The pipe is beautiful, especially its bamboo. But, the Whangee is also loyal. It may have a new owner but it’s absolutely not giving up on its former smoker’s tobaccos. A ghost – a very happy, albeit stubborn ghost – had taken up residence in the Whangee and was not about to be sent packing by the likes of me.
Thankfully, the former owner was an English smoker, like me. Thank the Almighty above he was not a Condor, a Clan, or an aromatic smoker. (No disrespect intended to Condor or Clan smokers…well, maybe a smidgeon. It’s just not my thing.)
I’ve been smoking the Whangee pretty regularly this week. Little by little, the ghost is dissipating. I’m getting more of what I’m used to or I’m becoming used to what I’m getting. I’m not sure which. At any rate, I’m full of appreciation and gratitude that I found this pipe.
When I think about the questions I read and hear most from my fellow pipe men and women, there is one in particular that rises to the top: “How do you find these great pipes for your collection?” Here’s my answer:
Go to pipe shows. It never fails that I find the rarest, most sought-after pipes from the people I meet at shows. There is no substitute for the networks, friendships, and opportunities that abound at shows. They are populated by people like us – people who have a passion for pipes, people who know pipes, and people who love pipes.
There are shows sprinkled across the country: New York, Richmond, Columbus, Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Las Vegas to name but a few. You’ll be amazed at what you’ll see and learn by attending, not to mention what you might wind up adding to your rotation.
Sometimes, you may even get a sign that you and a pipe were meant for each other – kind of like what happened for me with the Whangee. Imagine my delight when I discovered, in addition to everything else, that the Whangee was made the year I was born.
We were meant for each other.
Reader Comments (8)
Maybe it's because of the color differences from the deep rich color of the briar and the bamboo itself.
Maybe it's because bamboo Has No Business Being In A Pipe.
I don't know.
But I LOVE that pipe. Now I have to rethink that prejudice, also.
So thanks for that.
There's something special about a birth-year pipe.
What really decreased the ghosting for me, besides the alcohol retorts, was chasing the bamboo shank using a 5/32nd drill bit slowly by hand . Unfortunately, the drill bit is not long enough to reach the bowl.
Yours faithfully, Henry Ramirez, Santa Cruz, CA