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发表于 2011-7-12 17:12:28
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完结篇:死根,Dunhill的DR
一般说到死根都是指D斗的DR,所以这里涉及到两个方面的问题:
1)
D的DR是否指死根:是Dead Root?还是dead root?或者其它?
2)
死根的定义是什么:怎样死的根才能算死根?死根好在哪里?
D的DR
每次看到DR的诠释就想发笑,可能大家也注意到在很多诠释DR的文章中有两种表述方式“Dead Root”和“dead root”,虽然只是大小写的不同,但俺认为这表达的意思可是风马牛不相及。按常理大写的Dead Root更像是一个代号、商标、称呼、名字,而小写的dead root才是真正说死根。
先看看Pipedia里怎么写的吧(http://pipedia.org/index.php?title=Dunhill),在介绍Dunhill的那个章节里有两段描述很有意思,其中一段写到:
“1930: The Root finish is introduced. D.R. "dead root". Denotes Dunhill straight grain pipes. The bruyere finish was used on these pipes through 1929; root finish was used thereafter. "D.R." stamped on shank.”
在这段描述里DR被非常严肃地诠释成“死根”,还特别加了引号。后面接着说“指Dunhill的直纹烟斗”,按Pipedia的意思,归纳起来DR就是:用死根做的抛光直纹斗。
另一段是这么写的:
“Root Briar
Intorduced in 1931 and highly prized because the grain is more pronounced in this finish. The Root Briar finish required a perfectly clean bowl with excellent graining. Therefore, it is the most expensive of the Dunhill pipes. Corsican briar was most often used for the Root finish, since it was generally more finely grained. This is a rare finish, due to the scarcity of briar suitable to achieve it. These pipes are normally only available at Company stores, or Principle Pipe Dealers. Straight grained pipes were formerly graded A through H, but are now graded with one to six stars, with the letters G and H still used for the very finest pieces.”
这段虽然没有提到DR,按字面解释这里的“Root Briar finish”就是上面提到的“Root finish”,如果缩写的话,应该像Ring Grain (RG)一样,是否应该写成RB或者BR(Briar Root)更合理?
在www.smokemag.com上,有一篇文章在介绍Dunhill之子写的一本书“Gentle Art Of Smoking”中对DR及戳记作了非常全面的诠释(http://www.smokemag.com/0302/pipes.htm),其中写道:
“Then there are the straight grain designations, perhaps the ne plus ultra of pipe collecting. With Alfred Dunhill, this category takes on a whole new aura of exclusitivity. The rarest straight grains are stamped DR (which stands for “Dead Root,” referring to the underground burl of the heath tree from which the oldest and usually best-figured briar is cut). Currently, the DR series ranges from one to six stars; the more stars, the tighter and more uniform the grain. Beyond that, the DR designation ventures into the stratosphere of rarity with alphabetical letters, starting with DRG, and the even scarcer DRH.”
值得注意的是:文章中对DR的诠释是大写的Dead Root,并说明“Dead Root定义是指来自于健康生长的石楠根瘤最老的也是纹路最好的那部分”,有趣的是这种诠释不同于通常人所说的“死根”定义。
另外,文章中也很明白地说DR来自于“健康的树”。有人可能要说,死根也有可能是健康树留下的,但我们反过来问:当看到一颗树的死根,我们又怎么能判断它是一棵健康的树?
有一篇非常有趣的博文,由于太长我就不翻译了。作者认为这Dead Root纯粹是Dunhill的市场营销手段,而不是大家认为的真正死根。当初Dunhill为了细分市场,根据石楠产地、款式、颜色、打磨方式分别起不同的名字区分,DR就是其中之一,之所以用DR作者说的也十分有趣,虽然有假设的成分,但也不是不可能发生。
(http://mrholmesdrwatson.wordpress.com/2008/01/22/dunhills-dr-stamping-dead-root-or-extra-stamps/)
有一点必须要说明的是,DR不管是商标名字还是真正死根,DR斗的根瘤材料在D斗中的级别最高是毋庸置疑的。
对于D的DR,俺本人更倾向是一种分类或商标,而不是真正意思的死根。
那么是否有用死根做烟斗的哪?俺认为可能性还是有的,就像射雕秘籍中的“取敌首脑”被梅招风夫妇真的练成“九阴白骨爪”,Julius是争论颇多的加拿大斗师,自称用死根做烟斗(http://www.juliusvesz.ca/pages/article01.html?page=article01), 在介绍他的一篇文章中写到“True dead-root briar, long since harvested into extinction, does not require any such special processes. As Vesz says, dead-root briar has been “cured by nature for hundreds of years,” and the effect is a dry, dense wood that imparts a sweet taste to the tobacco smoked in it.”,他说普通石楠根瘤收获后需要进行木材处理(参考前面帖子中提到的处理工序),而死根经长时间被环境自然加工处理风干,所以收获后不需要再进行木材的处理。
虽然俺觉得他说得有点夸张,特别是“经过几百年的自然处理”,但是死根埋在地下的过程倒是与根瘤加工的过程很象:保湿-自然风干,如果没有大自然的破坏,应该也可以起到加工处理的作用,前面帖子中提到,在木料风干处理时必须考虑产地的土壤和气候,如果环境适宜且没有外界侵害,根瘤可能留在地下自然风干会比较理想。
但是从网上查到的一些资料也可以发现,一般采根瘤的工人很少会去挖死根,因为死根经过自然风化后,其品质很难得到保证。
(这个长贴总算写完了,虽然时间长了点,内容多了点,头绪乱了点,文字糙了点,讨论少了点,能按时完成也算有个交代)。 |
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