James Upshall Grade A Grp 6 Smooth Hex Shank Canadian Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

James Upshall was, along with Ferndown and Ashton, part of a new wave of British handmade, 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 British hand-turned pipes lives on.

As I said in another listing, I remember listening to Ken Barnes discuss the James Upshall grading system a few years ago, and since then one of the things he mentioned has increasingly struck a chord with me. He noted that the workshop was often a little less consistent when it came to assigning grades to pipes, and that some pipes should have received lower grades, while others should have been higher. This “A” grade—while already being far from low-end—has the kind of fine, straight grain that I would have expected to earn a “P” grade, and its light, tan stain strikes me as closer to the P too, oddly enough. As well as that, the shape, a distinct hexagonal shank Canadian, makes it even more interesting and beautiful. In any case, I’ll price it as an A, and someone out there will get an excellent deal.

This pipe is completely unsmoked. Some very slight stem oxidation, but nothing major.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.80 / 20.32mm

Bowl Depth: 1.75″ / 44.45mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 60g