Shape Debate: Rhodesian vs. Bulldog

Brothers of Briar

Help Support Brothers of Briar:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Trout Bum

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 11, 2008
Messages
1,104
Reaction score
0
Okay people, I do hereby pose the following question: What is the difference between a rhodesian and a bulldog? Is it the shape of the shank? Well, on a side note, I am going trout fishing now. Got my vest, rod, waders, trusty K-9 companion, plus, of course, pipe and baccy. What more dost one require?

In a cloud of smoke,

Trout Bum
 
IMHO a Rhodesian is rounder- more ball shaped with a slightly angled cone at the top above the twin ring grooves.
The Bulldog is more squatty- less ball shaped maybe squashed tomato with an angled cone above the rings.
That's my impression anyway.
Where are you going trout fishing? Take me please!
 
Trout Bum":pzm2qklc said:
Okay people, I do hereby pose the following question: What is the difference between a rhodesian and a bulldog? Is it the shape of the shank? Well, on a side note, I am going trout fishing now. Got my vest, rod, waders, trusty K-9 companion, plus, of course, pipe and baccy. What more dost one require?

In a cloud of smoke,

Trout Bum
Sounds to me like the difference between a rhodesian and a bulldog would be the least of your worries! :lol: :D Enjoy the fishing!

Actually there was a very interesting thread last year or early this year that addressed this question but it probably got lost in the data meltdown not too long ago. I'll see if I can dig it up anyway.
 
to me a bulldog should have a diamond shank other then that i'm not to sure what separates the two shapes.
 
You must have been in a Miller Lite commercial a while back...where some guy starts an argument then leaves to start one somewhere else. ;)

ASP has a pipe chart with their descriptions and if you believe them to be the final word then the shank shape is the determining factor. Round(ish) is rhodesian and diamond/square is bulldog. Here's the link-- ASP's Pipe Chart

If you look at pipe makers descriptions and pipe shops, that's not necessarily the case. I have three Big Ben Barbados Bulldogs, each with round shanks. If you look on page two and three of Bill Taylor's website, he has rhodesians with square and round shanks. His one bulldog is straight with no ring cut around the bowl. Ashton-Taylor pipes

Jim
 
Just browsing some pipe sites and it seems the stem is usually the diamond/square shape on a bulldog and round on a rhodesian, both in the saddle bit. I still think there is a difference in the bowls too. :D
 
I have always been under the impression that the round shank was a Rhodesian and the diamond shank was considered a Bulldog. All of my Rhodesian also seem to have a more rounded bowl at the top compared to my Bulldogs which have a more pronounced angle leading to the top of the bowl.
 
Thanks for all the responses. It seems like the determining factor is shank shape, though it also seems open to interpretation, making it somewhat of a grey area... I wonder, does anyone know the history of these shapes and how they were actually named? I kind of get "bulldog," but what about "rhodesian?" At any rate, the fishing was fun but a bit slow... most likely due to fairly low water temps (fishing just over 8000 feet in mid November). l Fished the upper Gunnison and the East River... I only landed three fish, but they were nice trouties, all over 15 inches. The highlight was hooking a 24 inch (6 pounds??!!) or so monster brown on a size 20 midge pattern, and immediately watching this fish vault 4 feet straight out of the water and spit the dimunitive hook... it was sa-weet! Also worth mentioning was the bowl of Paul Olsen's My Own Blend #333 I enjoyed streamside in a little prince shaped basket pipe. Ah... tobacco and trout fishing; like campfires and smores!
 
Trout Bum":ajs2ezdo said:
At any rate, the fishing was fun but a bit slow... most likely due to fairly low water temps (fishing just over 8000 feet in mid November). l Fished the upper Gunnison and the East River... I only landed three fish, but they were nice trouties, all over 15 inches. The highlight was hooking a 24 inch (6 pounds??!!) or so monster brown on a size 20 midge pattern, and immediately watching this fish vault 4 feet straight out of the water and spit the dimunitive hook... it was sa-weet! Also worth mentioning was the bowl of Paul Olsen's My Own Blend #333 I enjoyed streamside in a little prince shaped basket pipe. Ah... tobacco and trout fishing; like campfires and smores!
I am so jealous.
What's the old saying "a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work."
 
Every Rhodisan - damn I can't spell - I've ever seen had a short, kinda subby bowl, while Bulldogs can have taller bowl. My fave derivation is the manly bull-moose pipe.
 
So a squat bulldog is a rhodesian with a diamond shank?,,,,,a rhodesian bulldog?,,,a squat rhodesian is a saucer?,,,what was the question????
 
Hey Yak -- Great link -- thanks! Another excellent article by Greg Pease. It appears that, though open to debate, the diamond shaped shank is the determining factor for the bulldog shape. Alrighty then...
 
Top