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

Description

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.

The Ex.L, or Extra Large, was the second-largest size group for James Upshall pipes, and the only pipes that surpassed them in size were the workshop’s magnum Empire Series. However, as the size group for any given James Upshall pipe was based on bowl size, there were plenty of Ex.L pipes that came very close to the proportions of an Empire Series, and indeed some that matched them in one dimension or another. If we look at this A grade, for example, calling it “Extra Large” might be something of an understatement. At over 7 inches in length and with a perfectly proportionate heft elsewhere, it is an exceptionally stout rendition of the Lovat, to an extent that it is more reminiscent of certain American handmades, such as those of Premal Chheda, than most of James Upshall’s English contemporaries. In any case, this size makes the graining of the pipe even more impressive, with consistent, straight grain patterning lining the bowl’s exterior, lit up by a deep, chestnut finish. I was a little surprised that this one attained an A grade and not higher, such as a P at the very least, though it bears mentioning that Jones et al. were always far more interested in making their pipes than they were in the minutiae of grading and sizing systems.

This pipe is completely unsmoked. There’s a couple of very light scratches on the bowl, though nothing major by any measure.

Details:

Length: 7.1″ / 180.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.81 / 20.57mm

Bowl Depth: 1.73″ / 43.94mm

Weight: 2.9oz / 84g