1986 Ashton Pebble Grain XX Canadian Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Description

Ashton is an English pipe brand created by William Ashton Taylor, a former Dunhill pipe-maker who left Dunhill in the 1980s to make pipes under his own name. Along with other pipe-makers such as Ken Barnes and Barry Jones of James Upshall and Les Wood of Ferndown, Ashton emerged as part of a new wave of high end, hand made British pipes in the late 20th century.

If you ask the most die-hard fans of Bill Taylor’s work, they’ll often tell you that his very best Ashton pipes were made in the first decade of the make’s existence. This Pebble Grain – Ashton’s answer to Dunhill’s Shell or Barling’s Fossil finishes – is a great example of that early output. It is an eminently traditional Canadian shape, with good, horizontal, ring grain sandblasting and a hand-cut cumberland stem. The proportions are exact, the button is slim and comfortable, and the pipe, despite being six inches long, is not at all heavy, at around 40 grams. Veteran smokers should find it comfortable enough for clenching, especially with Bill’s renowned stem-work.

The condition is excellent. There’s some minimal, residual chatter on the end of the stem, but it’s superficial. The finish is unblemished and the blast remains crisp, as does the stamping.

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.81 / 20.57mm

Bowl Depth: 1.74″ / 44.19mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 40g