Castleford (Colin Fromm) XL Smooth Panel Shank Zulu 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. If I had to guess, I would say that this one was made in 1998, as Fromm did date some of his pipes (though not all, it seems). The dating would make sense, given that Dunhill re-acquired Charatan in 2002.

In any case, it’s an impressive pipe, blending elements of the traditional Zulu (or yachtsman, technically speaking), Dublin, and foursquare, to create a beautiful, large, straight grain sitter.

This pipe is completely unsmoked. Some minor residual oxidation on the pipe’s vulcanite stem, and a couple of very small scratches on the bowl.

Details:

Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.85 / 21.59mm

Bowl Depth: 1.76″ / 44.70mm

Weight: 1.8oz / 52g