James Upshall B Grade EXL Smooth Dublin Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

James Upshall was, along with Ferndown and Ashton, part of a new wave of British hand-made, high-grade pipes in the late 20th century, with their founders largely coming from previous positions in the factories of companies such as Dunhill and Charatan. James Upshall was founded in 1978 by Barry Jones and Ken Barnes, both of whom had previously worked for Charatan and who had worked their way up to being carvers Charatan’s higher-end, non-standard shapes. Jones and Barnes’ pipes quickly grew to being something of a status symbol, and were enjoyed by King Hussein of Jordan, Anwar Sadat, Bing Crosby, Yul Brynner, Robert Wagner and Tom Selleck. The company also made house-brand pipes for Astleys in London. Sadly, James Upshall pipes are no longer made, but their reputation as some of the finest hand-turned British pipes lives on.

During the workshop’s lifetime, most of James Upshall’s pipes were either Tilsheads (which functioned as an “entry level” pipe), or they were S, A, or P grades (which were the workshop’s “standard” grades). But, if a pipe was extraordinarily well grained, it had a chance to become one of James Upshall’s “high-grades.” Given that a “standard” James Upshall was already quite exceptional, these high grades were very special indeed. The “B” was the first rung on the high-grades ladder, one which the late Ken Barnes considered roughly equivalent to a Charatan Executive grade (presumably a Lane era example, as he left Charatan during its acquisition by Dunhill). As can be seen on this classic Dublin, the B grade was defined by its superior straight grain and a light, very natural finish that allowed these patterns to “speak for themselves,” as one might say. The comparison to the Charatan Executive is very apt in that regard. To continue that analogy, this particular B grade would be best compared to a Charatan Executive Extra Large, however, as the pipe seen here belongs to the largest size grouping a B grade could fall into, which was also the Extra Large, or Ex.L for short.

This pipe is completely unsmoked.

 

Details:

Length: 7″ / 177.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.94 / 23.87mm

Bowl Depth: 1.72″ / 43.68mm

Weight: 2.6oz / 74g