Northern Briars 2014 Magnum Sea Urchin Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

It would be fair to say that for Ian Walker, the English artisan behind Northern Briars, pipe making runs in the family. His grandfather, George Walker, was a foreman at the Duncan Briars factory in the early 20th century, before leaving to found a pipe repair company in 1958. George Walker was joined by his son, Peter Walker, in this endeavor, and, later, a young Ian would also join the workshop, moving his way up from sweeping floors, to polishing pipes, until he was finally ready to do full repairs himself. The Walkers ran one of England’s most trusted pipe repair shops for many years, and Ian Walker continues to provide repair services to this day. Since the 1990s, however, Ian Walker has made pipes of his own, under the name of “Northern Briars.” With a little encouragement and guidance from his friend, the late Bill Taylor, Ian Walker would soon become one of the premier artisans of the contemporary English scene, crafting handmade pipes from his workshop aboard a canal boat.

Though it may seem odd to think, but the sea urchin is a thoroughly English pipe shape. Its creation is attributed to Bill Taylor, of Ashton pipes, who purportedly got the inspiration to carve such a pipe while on a seaside vacation. In the time since Taylor’s passing, the shape has become something of a minor staple among English artisan carvers, and it is Ian Walker who is credited with spearheading its revival and popularization beyond the Ashton make. As one might expect, it is a highly labor-intensive shape, one that is produced in far fewer number than Walker’s other designs (just as was the case with the Ashton renditions), but rarer still is its magnum form, seen here. Equal parts beautiful and strange, one can only imagine the amount of time and briar that goes into a pipe like this one—and how many blocks end up being discarded in the process.

The condition is good. Some inner rim darkening.

Details:

Length: 9.2″ / 233.6mm

Bowl Width: 0.99 / 25.14mm

Bowl Depth: 1.71″ / 43.43mm

Weight: 6.5oz / 187g