James Upshall P Grade EXL Smooth “Winston” Rhodesian 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 “P” was the highest of James Upshall’s “standard” grades, and one notable for its excellent grain patterns. Taking its name from Charatan’s “Perfection” grade, the “P” was Barry and Ken’s attempt to create their own version of the warm, walnut contrast stain used by Charatan on such pipes. The Upshall boys were a little bolder when it came to comparing the “P” to Charatan in terms of quality, however. As Ken Barnes would later recount, the “P” was, rather, much closer to Charatan’s “Distinction,” presumably those of the quality Barnes and Jones saw first-hand when working there. The Distinction in Charatan’s system was, of course, considerably higher than the “Perfection,” instead belonging to its famous straight grain output. In the case of this one, there’s plenty of straight grain on show, especially for such a muscular design. The design itself is rather interesting, too, being a hybrid of the Dublin and the Rhodesian with an uncanny resemblance to the old Charatan “Winston,” aka the shape 323. I wonder if Jones had that in the back of his mind when turning this pipe, given that it’s another that that he will have known like the back of his own hand. “The tradition continues,” as they used to say.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. A couple of very minor scratches on the bowl, though nothing major.

Details:

Length: 6.7″ / 170.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.88 / 22.35mm

Bowl Depth: 1.84″ / 46.73mm

Weight: 2.4oz / 70g