James Upshall & Bill Taylor Natural Sandblast EXL Bent 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. While James Upshall pipes are no longer made, their reputation as some of the finest hand-turned British pipes lives on.

For a long time, sandblasted James Upshall pipes were something of a mystery. James Upshall is widely known for its smooth finishes, and non-smooth finishes were not produced in the early days of the James Upshall make. Near the end of the 2010s, and prior to his sudden passing, Ken Barnes was gracious enough to spend time on pipe forums fielding questions from Charatan and James Upshall fans. What he said about Upshall sandblasts was fascinating: that, yes, no sandblasted or rusticated James Upshall pipes were made until the late 1980s. And technically, James Upshall did not do sandblasting. Instead, much like in Charatan’s early decades, the blasting itself was outsourced. Unlike the early Charatan, however, James Upshall outsourced their sandblasting to to another pipe maker, rather than a glass manufacturer. That pipe maker was the late, great Bill Taylor, who at that time was primarily making Ashton pipes. This pocket-magnum bent billiard is a rare example of a Natural Sandblast James Upshall, which were priced at a steep premium compared to their burgundy counterparts. As I’ve noted before, though pipes like these are James Upshall in name, I’ve come to think of them as Upshall-Ashton collaborations.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. The drilling of the draft hole is slightly off-center, veering to the left as it enters the chamber. This does not affect the draw, though I’ve reduced the price to account for it nonetheless.

Details:

Length: 7″ / 177.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.84 / 21.33mm

Bowl Depth: 1.78″ / 45.21mm

Weight: 3.6oz / 104g