James Upshall Grade A Group 6 Smooth Bent Apple 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. Sadly, James Upshall pipes are no longer made, but their reputation as some of the finest hand-turned British pipes lives on.

The size groupings that the James Upshall workshop used for their pipes can be a little misleading, though this was neither deliberate nor particularly consequential. Take this A grade bent apple: at around six and a half inches in length, with a rather bulbous, thick-walled bowl, one might expect to belong to the Empire, or at least the Extra Large (EX.L), grouping of James Upshall pipes. But it is instead a group 6, something that might appear curiously modest, especially as the smallest size offered was group 3. The key to it all is that James Upshall pipes were grouped by bowl height, rather than a broader sense of proportion.
The pipe itself certainly has a good-sized bowl, with its long shank and saddle stem working to keep a distinct elegance to the design. The grain is also excellent, with its fiery patterning accentuated by a chestnut finish.

This pipe is completely unsmoked.

 

Details:

Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.83 / 21.08mm

Bowl Depth: 1.55″ / 39.37mm

Weight: 2.5oz / 72g