James Upshall P Grade ExL Smooth Author Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked
$345.00
1 in stock
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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.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a James Upshall author shape before. I suppose you can teach an old dog new tricks, though, as this one has been pulled off with aplomb. I suppose it could be likened to a bigger, broader version of something like the Savinelli 320 KS, though even Savinelli doesn’t do contrast stains as beautiful as seen here. On the subject of contrast stains, this James Upshall belongs to the P grade series, the highest of the workshop’s standard grades. Ken Barnes once recalled that it something like a mix between Charatan’s Perfection 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.
This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating.
Details:
Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm
Bowl Width: 0.85 / 21.59mm
Bowl Depth: 1.40″ / 35.56mm
Weight: 2.8oz / 80g
Additional information
Weight | 15 oz |
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Condition | Used |
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Notes | Unsmoked estate. |