James Upshall Smooth Facet Shank 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 very best handmade British pipes lives on.

With pipes like this one I find it hard to provide an adequate description. It is a genuine stunner, and the pictures say far more than I ever could. But, for the sake of consistency: this particular pipe is a group 6, grade A offering from the long-closed James Upshall workshop. With its mixture of Canadian and Dublin proportions and its octagonal, paneled shank, it is more than a little reminiscent of some of the old Charatan shapes, though its impressive straight grain is unlikely to have been found anywhere but the make’s highest, Lane era grades.

This James Upshall is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating.

 

Details:

Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.87 / 22.09mm

Bowl Depth: 1.71″ / 43.43mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 60g