Design Berlin Captain Half Bent 9mm Briar Pipe DBP051

• Overall Length: 122mm
• Overall Height: 40mm
• Bowl Height: 40mm
• Bowl Diameter: 45mm
• Bore: 19mm
• Weight: 52g
• Filter: 9mm

The Design Berlin Captain DBP051 takes the splendid metal mounting of the Captain series and puts it onto a much softer, rounder shape than its straight stablemate. This is a broad half-bent Apple, generously proportioned through the bowl and finished in a deep reddish-brown polish.

It is a handsome lump of briar.

The bowl is low and full, swelling considerably through the lower half before drawing inward towards the rim. Rather than the flat-topped appearance of a conventional Billiard, the rim itself rolls gently into the bowl, continuing the rounded character of the shape. The transition into the shank is similarly soft, so there are very few hard lines anywhere in the briar.

The finish is a rich mixture of mahogany, chestnut and darker brown, polished highly enough to show the grain clearly. Looking closely at the photographs, this particular pipe has some especially attractive diagonal grain sweeping across the sides of the bowl, alongside tighter and more turbulent figuring around the transition.

Then comes the feature that gives the Captain its identity: that substantial polished metal mounting.

A broad silver-coloured fitting caps the briar shank, accompanied by a second cylindrical metal section leading into the mouthpiece. It gives the pipe the appearance of an Army-mounted design, and on the DBP051 the metalwork works particularly well. The rounded bowl, bright mount and glossy black stem form three very distinct sections.

The black acrylic mouthpiece rises in a gentle curve rather than adopting a severe bend. That gives the DBP051 its half-bent posture while keeping the pipe relatively compact and visually balanced. A small gold DB emblem is set into the side of the stem.

Internally, it is drilled for the familiar 9mm filter system, something which became closely associated with Design Berlin as the company developed under Lothar Schirwitz. German smoking habits strongly favoured 9mm filtration, and it became a characteristic feature of DB production.