Castleford (Colin Fromm) XL Sandblasted Lumberman Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Castleford pipes have a bit of a story to them, as explaining their significance means delving into the life of one of England’s most significant—if slightly underappreciated—pipe makers in the post war era. That pipe maker would be a man by the name of Colin Fromm.

Fromm got his start in the 1970s, crafting pipes out of the Invicta Briars workshop. Invicta Briars is a storied make in itself, tracing its roots to the 1930s, at which point it was a pipe repair shop. In 1974, Invicta Briars entered the pipe making business, and quickly became a popular place to pick up a high-quality, handmade British pipe. Fromm worked with Invicta Briars’ late owner and fellow pipe maker Colin Leeson for many years, a job which included carving Dunhill’s freehand/hand-turned pipes, and Fromm would ultimately end up as the production manager for Charatan upon Dunhill’s second acquisition of the make.

But between his time at Invicta Briars and his new position at Dunhill’s Charatan premises, Fromm also made pipes under the Castleford name. Some Castleford pipes were made while Fromm was still at Invicta Briars; a few were made after he joined Dunhill’s in-house team. At which point this Castleford pipe was made, on the other hand, is neither here nor there. A long, large, lumberman, the pipe is nonetheless perfectly proportioned and includes a dash of extra class by way of a silver collar. Interestingly, it has been speculated that the sandblasting for Castleford pipes was done by Bill Taylor of Ashton, another great English pipe workshop and a near-contemporary of Invicta Briars.

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

Details:

Length: 7″ / 177.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.80 / 20.32mm

Bowl Depth: 1.83″ / 46.48mm

Weight: 2.0oz / 58g