James Upshall A Grade Grp 5 Smooth Canadian 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 handmade British pipes lives on.

While Charatan pipes are perhaps most famously associated with the Dublin shape, and while James Upshall are similarly associated with some of the best of the British Dublins, one of the favorite shapes of Barnes, Jones, and co. was in fact the Canadian. Though, like all James Upshall pipes, it was turned freehand, this group 5 rendition remains faithful to traditional Anglo-French shaping conventions, resulting in a slender, lightweight design. It is also very beautiful, with its bowl surrounded by chatoyant bird’s-eye.

This pipe is completely unsmoked.

 

Details:

Length: 5.8″ / 147.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.80 / 20.32mm

Bowl Depth: 1.52″ / 38.60mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 42g