Ashton Pebble Grain ELX Sandblasted Billiard 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.

Aside from the rarely-seen “Magnum,” the “ELX” was (and still is) the largest size group produced by Ashton. In the case of this billiard, I would be inclined to use the colloquialism of the “pocket magnum.” At nearly 7 inches in length, this ELX billiard is certainly large, though it earns its pocket magnum status more by its sheer height and heft. Make no mistake, it is a stout pipe, with a voluminous chamber and thick bowl walls that will likely handle just about anything thrown at it, and for a good while, too. While the finishing is a subdued affair, if anything, it makes the pipe even more imposing. The “Pebble Grain” was originally Bill Taylor’s answer to the Dunhill Shell Briar, created using a patented, oil-cured sandblast finishing not unlike the latter in its first decades. In the case of this one, it not only serves its functional purposes, but also makes for a lean, mean, smoking machine.

The condition is very good. Some rim darkening and minor inner rim charring.

Details:

Length: 6.6″ / 167.6mm

Bowl Width: 0.90 / 22.86mm

Bowl Depth: 1.87″ / 47.49mm

Weight: 2.8oz / 82g