I was browsing EBay this morning and came across a group of Dunhill pipes that were being sold individually by the same seller. There are four pipes all being sold at strangely high prices with several bidders. All of them obviously came from the same pipe smoker. The three below are the worst of the lot. The last of the foursome is probably redeemable with a light topping and reshaping of the rim. These three would take quite a lot of work. The incredible thing to my mind is the amount of damage caused to all of them. I look at them with sadness and wonder at the person who would do that to that many pipes. Personally I would think that if I had one pipe sustain that damage I would change my habits. Not so with the pipe smoker of this trio, all nice lovats. If you look at the pictures below you will see that all three have a burn in pretty much the same spot. The sacrifice of briar to the flame is absolutely unnecessary.
From my experience this kind of burn is caused by repeatedly using a torch lighter and carelessness in directing the flame into the bowl. Repeatedly lighting the pipe in the same way from the same angle produces the results visible in these photos. I know that they are Dunhill’s and odds are they were not cheap pipes. But they are still selling on EBay at a price that a similarly burnt no name or low name pipe would never see.
I have repaired a lot of burned rims and damaged rims but these seem so unnecessary to me. Ah well I won’t be bidding on them. All three would need a serious topping to bring them to even close to pristine condition and would also ruin their value to collectors. Why buy them at all? I suppose some folks would fall under the spell of the white dot or maybe they are just going for the well kept stems.
rebornpipes 
Interesting that the pipe with the most damage went for 198 USD. The highest bid of this auction. Purchased as a conversation piece?
MAN, this may seem harsh but this is just disgusting!!!!!!!
Sorry boys but I am on a warpath of late, I have some clients here that do this too. If the owner is indeed handicapped in some way I will try to forgive him!
The second pipe shown here just closed out with a final bid of $103.
wow. I was watching them this morning early and figured they would go that high. I just don’t understand it.
There’s an untold story here. As some other posters have said, he probably had a handicap of some kind. Interestingly, I don’t see a lot of cake in the bowls. He could afford some good pipes, whoever he was.
John, I think got that right -there has to be a story there. I am thinking the seller did a bit on the bowls in terms of reaming but I am not sure what was used as it left an odd pattern.
Wow, those are horrific. They certainly look beyond repair/effort. I can only hope that smoker was handicapped, or age, etc. caused that damage. Of course who knows, could be some kids got ahold of Granddads pipe collection for smoking something other than tobacco. A real shame, no Dunhill deserves that fate.
I Also Seen These Pipes On Ebay,Also Wondered Why Someone Would Even Bid On Them,I Agree The White Spot Draws Them In,There Is No Way These Pipes Have Any Collector Value That I Can See,Even With Repair,I Think The Integrity Of The Bowls Is Compromised.Some People Have More Money Then Brains,I Myself Would Have Bid On A Lower Grade,Better Condition Pipe Thank You.
dear friend,
according the burn, every time in the same place, i suppose the pipe smoker was blind or something like that. He, probably did not see clearly le pipe edge
best regards
Mathieu
Maybe so Mathieu. If so he was good at hitting the same spot each time. You do have to wonder.
Wow.. Just goes to show that some people don’t use common sense..Money can’t buy it.. Worst case cut off the top of the bowl and reform..But then it would be just for yourself.. It is all about how they smoke to some..
I have seen this before. My grandfather had only one arm as a result of a train accident and used the top of his gas stove to light his pipes. The result was obvious much like the pipes mentioned above.