Design Berlin Captain Bent 9mm Briar Pipe DBP052

• Overall Length: 118mm
• Overall Height: 68mm
• Bowl Height: 50mm
• Bowl Diameter: 40mm
• Bore: 19mm
• Weight: 59g
• Filter: 9mm

There is something pleasingly substantial about the Design Berlin Captain DBP052. It is the fully bent model of the Captain series, pairing a deep reddish-brown briar bowl with the range's distinctive polished metal mounting and a sweeping black acrylic mouthpiece.

The bowl follows a traditional Bent Billiard idea, although Design Berlin have given it considerably more body than some of the leaner examples of the shape. The walls rise almost vertically from a generously rounded heel before narrowing gently towards the rim. Viewed from either side, it has a sturdy, well-fed appearance that suits the heavy mounting rather well.

The briar receives a deep mahogany-red stain, considerably darker in appearance than the Baltic Sea pipes we've been looking at. The polished surface still leaves plenty of natural character visible. On the photographed pipe there is a particularly attractive mixture of tight figuring, darker patches and sweeping grain across the bowl and heel.

The Captain metal mount provides the visual break between bowl and stem. Rather than a simple decorative ring, this is a broad, sculpted fitting around the end of the briar shank, followed by a second polished collar beneath the mouthpiece. Against the dark red briar and black acrylic it stands out splendidly.

From there the stem sweeps upwards in a pronounced curve. The bend brings the mouthpiece considerably higher than the rim of the bowl and gives the DBP052 the comfortable hanging posture expected of a traditional full-bent pipe. Design Berlin's small gold DB emblem is inset into the side of the black acrylic.

It is also drilled for a 9mm filter, a format closely associated with German pipe making and one that Design Berlin has used extensively across its ranges.

Design Berlin

The company behind Design Berlin can trace its origins to 1948, when Hubert Hartmann established a pipe-making business in Berlin. Pipe maker and designer Lothar Schirwitz joined the firm in 1954, eventually becoming an important figure in its development and moving production towards better-quality briar and increasingly contemporary designs.

The Design Berlin name appeared around 1975, by which time the firm's pipes were increasingly influenced by the cleaner and more adventurous shapes coming from Scandinavian workshops. Following German reunification, production was established in Schweina in Thuringia, an area with a long history of German pipe manufacture.

The Captain DBP052 sits very comfortably in that tradition. The underlying Bent Billiard is familiar enough, but that enormous gleaming mount gives it a character all its own. One suspects the Captain received his rank largely because nobody fancied arguing with him.