Charatan’s Make Special 350DC Smooth Dublin Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

While Dunhill may be Britain’s most famous pipe brand, Charatan is not only older, but has the honor of being the first to have made its pipes entirely in-house. “Charatan’s Make” referred to the fact that, at a time when other pipe companies were sourcing stummels and stems carved from other companies before assembling them in their factories and workshops, Charatan made every part of their pipes on the Charatan premises. So began a legacy of high-quality pipe-making under the Charatan name, one whose employees, at one time or another, included Joel Sasieni (later of Dunhill, then Sasieni fame), Stan Haney (later of Ashby Hall), Dennis Marshall (later of Milville), and Ken Barnes and Barry Jones (later of James Upshall). While Charatan remains famous for its straight grain pipes, there was still a place within the make’s grading schemes for other kinds of beautiful briar patterns. The Special was one such grade. Introduced in the first half of the 20th century, during Reuben Charatan’s time at the helm of F. Charatan & Son (known as the “Reuben era,” or “Reuben’s era”), the Special grade was awarded to “Premier quality pipes, cut in ‘cross grain’ or ‘bird’s eye’ graining.” The Special remained a staple in Charatan’s catalog long after Reuben’s passing, with subsequent generations of ownership upholding his idea of what a special pipe should be. This one, for example, is a very traditional bent Dublin, with a beautiful mixture of cross-cut patternings snaking their way around the bowl. The condition is good. Chamber slightly over-reamed, a spot of char at the back of the rim, and some minor finish fading.   Details: Length: 5.6″ / 142.2mm Bowl Width: 1.00 / 25.4mm Bowl Depth: 1.52″ / 38.60mm Weight: 1.2oz / 36g

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