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craig61a

Lifer
Apr 29, 2017
5,765
47,527
Minnesota USA
L to R:

P Lg Billiard, P Lg Billiard, P Lg Billiard, Tilshead Billiard, P Med Dublin.


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hoppes

Starting to Get Obsessed
Mar 15, 2017
188
189
Have only 2 Tilshead pipes. In my humble opinion the best value in any English pipe. Found both of these for less than $100. The top one appears new-hasn't been smoked. Don't know what the shapes are. Top one Rhodesian? Bottom one Large apple? Only one possible defect I can find. Anyone able to date either one. Maybe Mr Barnes can add some information. Thanks for looking. Hoppes
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hauntedmyst

Lifer
Feb 1, 2010
4,006
20,750
Chicago
Have only 2 Tilshead pipes. In my humble opinion the best value in any English pipe. Found both of these for less than $100. The top one appears new-hasn't been smoked. Don't know what the shapes are. Top one Rhodesian? Bottom one Large apple? Only one possible defect I can find. Anyone able to date either one. Maybe Mr Barnes can add some information. Thanks for looking. Hoppes
View attachment 8009
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Pure guestimating but based off the stamping, I think the rhodesian is from the Barnes/Jones ownership era and the apple is from the Mordechai Ezrati ownership era which is when they started stamping the sizing information.
 

mngslvs

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jan 24, 2019
256
530
Yarmouth, Maine
I've been considering a certain Upshall pipe, unsmoked. It is $200. Have no way of knowing when it was made. The only stamping is simply James Upshall ( in an oval ) on one side and Tilshead England Made By Hand, on the other. Smooth pipe with a walnut stain (P) . I read somewhere that it is hard to date an Upshall ?.........am especially interested in one made between '78 and '88.
Any guidance out there ? I'm looking for smoking qualities, not rarity or status or whatever.
 
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hauntedmyst

Lifer
Feb 1, 2010
4,006
20,750
Chicago
I've been considering a certain Upshall pipe, unsmoked. It is $200. Have no way of knowing when it was made. The only stamping is simply James Upshall ( in an oval ) on one side and Tilshead England Made By Hand, on the other. Smooth pipe with a walnut stain (P) . I read somewhere that it is hard to date an Upshall ?.........am especially interested in one made between '78 and '88.
Any guidance out there ? I'm looking for smoking qualities, not rarity or status or whatever.


I don't think they added the FH and size markings until well after Ken left so your date range sounds accurate. Smoking qualities? They smoke great. The one downside is the stem, they can be hit or miss. The earlier ones are definitely more hit than miss. For $50, you send it to Rich Lewis and have a hand made stem put on it with the logo.
 

trubka2

Lifer
Feb 27, 2019
2,470
21,640
Nobody was bidding on these three Tilshead pipes last weekend, which is not surprising given the seller's photos:

10392

I figured what the hell, maybe the chambers are OK, and put in the minimum bid. I was pretty stoked when I won the auction, but then the seller wrote and told me he'd dropped one and broke it while packing them up. He offered to send all three and refund 1/3 of the money. So... Two and a half Tilsheads for less than a single basket pipe. The two whole pipes cleaned up beautifully (though the stems still need a third deoxidation session). The rims came clean with some spit scrubbing, and the chambers were in perfect shape under some very ugly cake.
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Judging from the stamping, I think they're from the early-mid 90s, so not the golden age of JU/Tilshead, but good enough for me. These pipes smoke just wonderfully. They are a whole new level for me, completely different from any pipe I've smoked so far. I'm going to send the apple to a pro for a new tenon and a proper cleanup and polishing.
 

hauntedmyst

Lifer
Feb 1, 2010
4,006
20,750
Chicago
Nobody was bidding on these three Tilshead pipes last weekend, which is not surprising given the seller's photos:

View attachment 10392

I figured what the hell, maybe the chambers are OK, and put in the minimum bid. I was pretty stoked when I won the auction, but then the seller wrote and told me he'd dropped one and broke it while packing them up. He offered to send all three and refund 1/3 of the money. So... Two and a half Tilsheads for less than a single basket pipe. The two whole pipes cleaned up beautifully (though the stems still need a third deoxidation session). The rims came clean with some spit scrubbing, and the chambers were in perfect shape under some very ugly cake.
View attachment 10395


Judging from the stamping, I think they're from the early-mid 90s, so not the golden age of JU/Tilshead, but good enough for me. These pipes smoke just wonderfully. They are a whole new level for me, completely different from any pipe I've smoked so far. I'm going to send the apple to a pro for a new tenon and a proper cleanup and polishing.


Man, you hit it out of the ball park with that deal. That seller had some screaming Tilsheads for the last 3 weeks but they seem to have run out.
 
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Crackedpipe

Lurker
Nov 22, 2020
4
25
England
Here are my upshalls, would love to hear some opinions -sorry for the poor picture quality - unsure of the order they'll come through, one is an ungraded upshall which I believe to be one of the earliest of my small collection, two limited series from the 90s which came with their original boxes and paperwork, two tilsheads and an upshall bark finish.image.jpegimage.jpegimage.jpegimage.jpeg
 

Count Vajda

Might Stick Around
Jul 18, 2021
54
1,002
Black Lodge
Just added this James Upshall S-Grade L184 canadian estate pipe to my collection. Bowl is huge and it seems to have a 4mm air hole through the shank. Smokes well but I'm not used 4mm. Feels like I'm drawing through a jumbo straw :ROFLMAO:

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