The History of the Dunhill Shell Briar

The Dunhill Shell Briar is a finish from Dunhill that offers a sandblasted surface in place of a smooth polish, emerging in the final years of the First World War. What sets the line apart is not the sandblasting itself but the oil-curing stage the wood undergoes before it. Since no catalogue page or advertisement survives from the finish's early years, its early history is traced almost entirely through the patent record.

Oil Curing and Sandblasting

Sandblasting is not Dunhill's invention. The method rests on Benjamin Chew Tilghman's US patent of 18 October 1870, whose listed applications include bringing out the grain in wood. What Dunhill tied to its own patent was the preparation briar underwent before blasting.

Under this process, the stummel is soaked for weeks in mineral or vegetable oil, then left to heat for days, during which the oil that seeps to the surface is periodically wiped away. By the end of the process the grain hardens and rises slightly, and a thin waterproof layer forms over the wood. Only after this stage is sand actually blasted; it strips away the hardened layer and reveals the raised grain beneath. If the desired depth isn't reached, the cycle can be repeated from the start. The patent text states that sandblasting applied on its own, without oil curing, cracks the wood, and that this additional stage removes that risk. Trials are said to have begun in 1914 with the help of a London firm specializing in glass sandblasting. The machinery and abrasive side of the work is covered in the art of sandblasting entry.

Patent Records and Stampings

According to the records, the provisional application for the British patent was filed on 13 October 1917, the complete specification was finalized on 12 April 1918, and patent No. 1484/17 was granted on 14 October 1918. The US application, titled "Tobacco-pipe," was filed the same day; the patent was granted a year and a half later, on 25 May 1920, as No. 1,341,418. In Canada, the application is said to have been filed in 1919, with the patent granted in 1921. Two trademark registrations were also obtained for the name: "The Briar Shell," filed 19 February 1921 and published 30 March 1921, lapsed in 2015 for non-renewal; "Dunhill's Shell Briar," filed 19 May 1921 and published 29 June 1921, was renewed and remains in force.

Since the year-coded dating system did not begin until 1922, earlier Shells are identified by their stampings: alongside "DUNHILL'S SHELL" and "MADE IN ENGLAND" markings, patent stamps referencing the US and Canadian applications appear. These stamps are believed to indicate the filing rather than the grant of the patent; on this basis, it has been argued that the line may have reached the market in mid-1917, while the patent process was still underway. Around the same years, Barling is also said to have released a sandblasted model; the question of who first sandblasted a pipe therefore remains undocumented. A detailed reading of the stampings is covered in the Dunhill patent stamps and dating entry.

The Origin of the Name

Where the finish got its name is told in the company's own book, About Smoke, published in 1920. According to the account, an early shipment of Algerian briar reached London at the start of 1914; while its grain richness was striking, the material proved too soft for production, and the growing pile of blocks was forgotten near the furnace for months. When reviewed the following summer, it was found that the long exposure to heat had drawn out the grain, leaving a raised texture reminiscent of a seashell and noticeably lightening the stummels. The line takes its name from this resemblance.

Blast Depth and Color

In the earliest examples the blast was very deep; a double pass could leave marks severe enough to blur the shape's lines. The technique matured by the late 1920s, settling into a balance that preserved shape while still delivering a textured character. The examples collectors prize most come from this period, and the same approach held until the early 1960s. After the Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962) made Algerian briar harder to obtain, the switch to harder Greek briar meant the wood took the blast less readily, leaving that era's sandblasting shallower. The double-pass method returned in the 1980s under the name "Deep Shell," and in the 1990s there was an attempt to revive the early-period techniques. The color, too, has had its own back-and-forth: the line's dark wine tone turns red in light; a switch to black was tried in the 1960s, and when it failed to catch on, the original color was restored.