Ashton 2021 Brindle XXX Sandblasted Dublin w/ Silver Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

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.

Ashton’s Brindle series tends to follow a similar design philosophy to the workshop’s Pebble Grain, with a key difference being the style of the mouthpiece. Like the Pebble Grain (itself a challenger to the old Dunhill Shell Briar), the Brindle features a craggy, burgundy sandblast finish, with just a tad more color than the former by way of a secret contrast finishing method. The most striking difference, however, is typically found in the Brindle’s namesake, that being the material used for its mouthpieces. “Brindle” is often used interchangeably with “Cumberland,” as both are multi-colored—brindled—materials formed through the layering of different resins during casting. This Brindle Dublin from 2021, for example, combines the stout and sturdy shaping and crisp, ring grain sandblast finish that have been hallmarks of Ashton pipes since their inception, with the one of the near-psychedelic, brindled mouthpieces associated with Jimmy Craig’s tenure at the helm. The pipe also features one of Craig’s own, engraved sterling silver collars. On a side note: Jimmy Craig left Dunhill around the same time as Les Wood, of Ferndown, and the two originally planned to create an independent silversmithing partnership under the name “Leslie & James Silverware,” with the maker’s mark “L&JS.” Of course, the two ultimately went their separate ways, though it’s an interesting aspect to Ashton history and an indication as to the caliber of Craig’s work.

The condition is very good. Some darkening of the inner rim.

Details:

Length: 6.8″ / 172.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.79 / 20.06mm

Bowl Depth: 1.55″ / 39.37mm

Weight: 1.9oz / 56g