James Upshall A Grade Group 6 Smooth Billiard 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. James Upshall pipes are no longer made, but their reputation as some of the finest hand-turned British pipes continues to endure.

The “A” grade was a relatively late addition to the James Upshall grading system (early 1990s, I think), one which, not unlike Charatan’s, began relatively small, and expanded over the years to include more and more specific graduations as regarded their graining. Where before the “Standard” grades of the Tilshead Pipe Company were simply the “S” and the “P,” the “A” took its place right between the two, a position that was also reflected in its finish. After all, the “S” was a deep red smooth finish, while the “P” was a warm, walnut finish; the “A,” on the other hand was a warm and deep, reddish-brown finish, referred to by the workshop as a “Chestnut Tan.” When you look at a pipe like this one, however, it really drives home the founding mentality of the boys of James Upshall, who were ambivalent when it came to specificities of grading and sizing and simply wanted to make pipes, all of which would be essentially high-grade. This one is a stunning, large, slightly brandyish billiard (an approach to shaping that was already present right at the workshop’s beginnings), with fine, straight grain and a great luster to its finishing.

This pipe is completely unsmoked.

Details:

Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.86 / 21.84mm

Bowl Depth: 1.75″ / 44.45mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 60g