Ashton 2018 Old Church X Sandblasted Belge Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Ashton is an English pipe brand, one originally created by William Ashton Taylor. Taylor worked at Dunhill from an early age, becoming one of the company’s most accomplished pipe makers. But Taylor was also one of a number of craftsmen and women who who left Dunhill in the 1970s and 1980s, hoping to create something of their own. After experimenting with a couple of different projects, Taylor ultimately founded Ashton, a workshop for high-end, handmade pipes staffed by himself and other industry veterans like Frank Lincoln and Sid Cooper. Later, Taylor’s team were joined by another Dunhill alumnus, Jimmy Craig, who would take over the running of the workshop after Taylor’s sudden passing in 2009. Along with other workshops, such as Ferndown and James Upshall, Ashton would play a decisive role in the emergence of a new English high-grades scene in the late 20th century and beyond.

The Old Church was William Taylor’s re-imagining of Dunhill’s Tanshell finish—specifically, the early, mid-century Tanshell. Like Dunhill’s these pipes featured a craggy sandblast and a light, natural stain. Also much like the early Dunhill Tanshell, Old Church were specially oil cured prior to blasting, using a precise technique patented by Taylor himself. This one, made under Jimmy Craig’s tenure, continues that tradition, with a bird’s-eye blast that is quite extraordinary given how sleek and slender this Belge rendition is. I would assume that the Ashton treatment also contributed to its almost unbelievable lightness, coming in at around half an ounce, total.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating.

Details:

Length: 5″ / 127.0mm

Bowl Width: 0.71 / 18.03mm

Bowl Depth: 1.41″ / 35.81mm

Weight: 0.5oz / 16g