James Upshall A Grade EXL Smooth Dublin Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

James Upshall was, along with Ferndown and Ashton, part of a new wave of British hand-made, high-grade pipes in the late 20th century, with their founders largely coming from previous positions in the factories of companies such as Dunhill and Charatan. James Upshall was founded in 1978 by Barry Jones and Ken Barnes, both of whom had previously worked for Charatan and who had worked their way up to being carvers Charatan’s higher-end, non-standard shapes. Jones and Barnes’ pipes quickly grew to being something of a status symbol, and were enjoyed by King Hussein of Jordan, Anwar Sadat, Bing Crosby, Yul Brynner, Robert Wagner and Tom Selleck. The company also made house-brand pipes for Astleys in London, along with many of the other major makes of the era. James Upshall pipes are no longer made, but their reputation as some of the finest hand-turned British pipes continues to endure.

While not quite as large as the workshop’s Empire Series, James Upshall’s Ex.L, or Extra Large, pipes were indeed sizeable pieces. One could call them “mini-magnums,” or “semi-giant” in the vein of certain Dunhill OD shapes. This one, for example, is almost like a cross between a Dunhill 835 and 848, taking the form of an especially stout Dublin shape, with a thick shank and an overall length of approximately 7 inches. Needless to say, it is especially sturdy, though its muscular build has certainly not come at the expense of its grain. Dressed in the walnut hues of James Upshall’s “A” finish, the bowl is covered in a full 360 degrees of lapping flame grain, which erupts into bird’s-eye at the pipe’s broad rim.

This pipe is completely unsmoked.

Details:

Length: 6.9″ / 175.2mm

Bowl Width: 0.91 / 23.11mm

Bowl Depth: 1.82″ / 46.22mm

Weight: 2.5oz / 72g