James Upshall Handmade 5 Rusticated 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, along with Les and Wood of Ferndown fame. Sadly, James Upshall pipes are no longer made, but their reputation as some of the best British pipes ever made lives on.

What’s better than an unsmoked James Upshall pipe? An unsmoked James Upshall with a silver collar made by none other than Les Wood, of Ferndown fame. Perhaps even better than that, this Upshall appears to be from the 1980s, based on the stamping, nomenclature, and bowl coating. This decade is considered by many to have been the best for Upshall pipes, with Barry Jones and Ken Barnes being at the top of their game. The pipe itself is a group 5 bent billiard in Upshall’s rusticated finish, and at 46 grams it would likely be a comfortable pipe to clench and hang during smoking. Even when it isn’t being clenched, its finish will ensure it is tactile and pleasing in the hand. As an added bonus, this Upshall features sterling silverwork from Les Wood, who often supplied his talents in this domain for Upshall pipes.

This Upshall is completely unsmoked, as mentioned. It comes with its original sleeve, but I’m not sure if the box is original to the pipe itself. It may or not be – I can’t say for certain.

 

Details:

Length: 5.8″ / 147.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.79 / 20.06mm

Bowl Depth: 1.53″ / 38.86mm

Weight: 1.6oz / 46g