by Steve Laug

The next pipe that I am working on came from a seller in Ogden, Utah, USA on 05/04/2025. It was very dirty and rich combination of red and brown stains when it started. The smooth finish around the bowl was dirty and had hand oils ground into the finish. The bowl had a moderate cake in the bowl and a coat of lava flowing onto the inner edge and the rim top. The classic fishtail stem was very dirty, oxidized and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There was a white spot on the topside of the stem. The fit of the stem to the shank is perfect. The pipe is stamped on the left topside of the shank and read 588 F/T followed by Dunhill [over] Bruyere. On the right topside it is stamped Made in [over] England with the superscript ⁰ (date stamp) after the D of England. That is followed by 4 (size of pipe) in a circle A for Bruyere. Jeff took photos of the pipe so I could have a sense of what it looked like before he started his work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl. There was a lava build up on the top of the rim and the inner edge of the bowl. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, marks and oxidation on the stem. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime in the finish around the sides of the bowl and shank. Even under the dirt and debris of the years it looked very good. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The stamping was clear and readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. One of the first things I like to do is to unpack the stamping and understand each element in it. I turned to Pipephil’s helpful site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/shell-briar1.html). The stamping is interpreted as follows: The 588 F/T is the shape of the pipe which I assume is a oval shank Cutty. The Dunhill Bruyere is the finish. Following the Made In England⁰ gives the year that the pipe was made.  The circle 4A is the stamp for a Group 4 in a Bruyere finish.

I turned to Pipedia’s shape charts on Dunhills (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill_Shape_Chart). I have included a section from the article on the 3-digit system.

A transitional three-digit classification, known as the ‘Interim’ system, was introduced to establish a logical methodology for pipe identification. This framework assigned a code based on primary attributes, with the first digit representing size, the second indicating the mouthpiece type, and the third corresponding to the shape. Under this new nomenclature, for instance, a shape formerly designated as ’85’ was recodified to ‘321’, signifying a group 3 ‘Apple’ model fitted with a taper mouthpiece. This interim system was relatively short-lived, however, serving as a precursor to the more comprehensive and formal four- and five-digit system implemented circa 1978.

From what I can discern this Dunhill Bruyere 588 F/T is a

Group 5 Billiard pipe with an oval shank and a smooth, red-stained finish (Bruyere) and a Fishtail (F/T) stem. 

Here is a breakdown of the nomenclature:

• 5: Indicates the size group (Group 5, indicating a large bowl size).
• 88: The shape number, which corresponds to a classic, traditional Billiard shape.
• F/T: Stands for “Fishtail” stem, referring to the tapered vulcanite mouthpiece (as opposed to a tapered stem or a saddle stem without the fishtail, though F/T is usually a saddle bit in this contex

From there I turned to Pipedia’s section on Dunhill Bruyere Pipes to get a bit of background on the Dunhill finishes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill#Root_Briar). I quote:

Bruyere

The original finish produced (usually made using Calabrian briar), and a big part of developing and marketing the brand. It was the only finish from 1910 until 1917. A dark reddish-brown stain. Before the 1950s, there were three possible finishes for Dunhill pipes. The Bruyere was a smooth finish with a deep red stain, obtained through two coats, a brown understain followed by a deep red.

There was a link on the above site to a section specifically written regarding the Bruyere finish (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill_Bruyere). I turned there and have included the information from that short article below.

Initially, made from over century-old briar burls, classified by a “B” (denoted highest quality pipe); “DR” (denoted straight-grained) and an “A” (denoted first quality), until early 1915. After that, they became a high-end subset to the Dunhill ‘Bruyere’. The DR and B pipes, a limited production, they should be distinguished as hand-cut in London from burls as opposed to the Bruyere line which was generally finished from French turned bowls until 1917, when the Calabrian briar started to be used, but not completely. Only in 1920 Dunhill took the final step in its pipe making operation and began sourcing and cutting all of its own bowls, proudly announcing thereafter that “no French briar was employed”.

Bruyere pipes were usually made using Calabrian briar, a very dense and hardy briar that has a modest grain but does very well with the deep red stain.

“Before the 1950s, there were three possible finishes for Dunhill pipes. The Bruyere was a smooth finish with a deep red stain, obtained through two coats, a brown understain followed by a deep red. The Shell finish was the original sandblast with a near-black stain (though the degree to which it is truly black has varied over the years). Lastly, the Root finish was smooth also but with a light brown finish. Early Dunhill used different briars with different stains, resulting in more distinct and identifiable creations… Over the years, to these traditional styles were added four new finishes: Cumberland, Dress, Chestnut and Amber Root, plus some now-defunct finishes, such as County, Russet and Red Bark.”

There was also a link to a catalogue page that gave examples and dates that the various finishes were introduced (https://pipedia.org/wiki/File:Dunnypipescatalog-1.png). I turned to Pipephil’s dating guide to show how I arrived at the date of manufacture for this pipe (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/cledat-en1a.html). I am including the chart that is provided there for the dating a pipe. Since the pipe I am working on has a suffix0 that is raised. It to the 1960 line on the chart below. It also gave me the formula for dating the pipe – 1960.I now knew that I was working on a Bruyere that came out in 1960. The shape of the pipe was an odd Cutty/Billiard shape, 588 F/T that I cannot find a listing for that Dunhill put.

Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The rim top shows some damage on the top and the inner edge of the bowl. The bowl walls looked very good. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. Now the damage to the stem was very clear. Overall, the pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it. I took a photo of the rim top to show the condition. You can see the clean bowl. The bowl is in excellent condition and is clean. The rim top and the inner edge are in good condition. The stem came out looking clean. There were some tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. I took photos of the stamping on the shank. It is faint in spots but still very readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe parts to show what I was working with. I started my work on the pipe by sanding the briar with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad to remove the sanding debris. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. By the final pads the briar really had a shine. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar comes alive with the balm. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the fish tail stem. I “painted” the stem with the flame of a light to lift the tooth marks from the surface. I was able to lift them significantly. I sanded what remained with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. The stem really began to look very good. I sanded the stem with sanding pads- using 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. The stem was beginning to look much better.I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. It really took on a shine and I knew that once it was buffed it would look amazing. This Dunhill Bruyere 588 F/T Group 4A Oval Shank Billiard from 1960 is a beautiful looking piece of briar that has a shape that follows grain. It is a great looking pipe that came out looking even better after the cleanup. The Bruyere is an early finish that Dunhill specialized in making. The finish on the pipe cleaned up well. The red and brown stain on the bowl works well to highlight the grain. The polished black vulcanite taper stem adds to the mix. With the grime gone from the finish and the bowl it was a beauty and is eye-catching. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and buffed it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Dunhill Bruyere 588 F/T Billiard is quite nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 32 grams/1.13 ounces. It will soon be added to the British Pipe Makers Section on the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in adding it to your rack let me know

Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next generation.