James Upshall B Grade EXL Smooth Freehand 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.

During the workshop’s lifetime, most of James Upshall’s pipes were either Tilsheads (which functioned as an “entry level” pipe), or they were S, A, or P grades (which were the workshop’s “standard” grades). But, if a pipe was extraordinarily well grained, it had a chance to become one of James Upshall’s “high-grades.” Given that a “standard” James Upshall was already quite exceptional, these high grades were very special indeed. The “B” was the first rung on the high-grades ladder, one which the late Ken Barnes considered roughly equivalent to a Charatan Executive grade (presumably a Lane era example, as he left Charatan during its acquisition by Dunhill). Similarly to Charatan’s freehand pipes, oversized James Upshalls were also sorted into an “Ex.L,” or “Extra Large,” size group, making this one equivalent to an Executive Extra Large in terms of grain quality and stature.

As we’ve seen with a few James Upshall pipes, on the other hand, the shaping on this one is quite different from Charatan or, indeed, most other “English-style” freehands. Reminiscent of the aesthetics of both the “Danish Fancy” designs of figures like Preben Holm, as well as certain Italian post-war projects, like Savinelli and its Autograph workshop, the pipe leans into freeform territory far more than many of James Upshall’s English counterparts, though doesn’t abandon Anglo-French conventions entirely. While it is a towering, naturalistic piece, it is also recognizably a Dublin rendition, albeit one whose contours have been strongly directed by the inherent patterning of the briar itself.

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

Details:

Length: 6.3″ / 160.0mm

Bowl Width: 0.93 / 23.62mm

Bowl Depth: 2.16″ / 54.86mm

Weight: 2.7oz / 78g