James Upshall P Grade Ex.L Smooth Dublin 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.

This particular James Upshall Upshall belongs to the P grade line Ken Barnes once recalled that it something like a mix between Charatan’s Perfection (hence the “P”) and Distinction grades in terms of finishing, though in quality it was equivalent to the latter. In this instance, that would be a Distinction Extra Large, as this P grade belongs to the highest size grouping within the workshop’s non-magnum portfolio. James Upshall size groupings referred to the size of the bowl, rather than the pipe as a whole, though in this instance the pipe is very much the latter. Taking the form of a classic Dublin, in a manner highly reminiscent of Charatan’s “Bell Dublin,” the pipe features 360 degrees of straight grain and a chamber that is sure to keep one occupied for a good while every time it is loaded up.

This pipe is completely unsmoked.

Details:

Length: 7″ / 177.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.89 / 22.60mm

Bowl Depth: 1.92″ / 48.76mm

Weight: 2.6oz / 74g