1985 Ashton Pebble Grain

[ssjones]

This one belongs to forum member Ashdigger and I'm bit envious. I have a small collection of Bill Taylor Ashtons, but no single digit early pipes. The sandblasting on the early pipes was a lot more craggy than later pieces.
This was just a mild clean-up, with full details here below. I couldn't do much with the dents on the Cumberland stem. Hopefully it gets a new stem soon.
https://rebornpipes.com/2016/10/31/1985-ashton-pebble-grain-restored/
Before

After

 

[wyfbane]

That IS an amazing blast. Nice cleanup!

 

[tbradsim1]

Not trying to usurp Al, just wanted to show another Bill Taylor 80s blast. They feel good in the hand and smoke Devine.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

Gorgeous grain indeed.

 

[beefeater33]

That is a Beauty for sure!!!!!!!!.............. ::

 

[ashdigger]

Thank you Al, it's look really nice. Yes, it is going to George D. I have another one heading there as well. Gorgeous grain.

 

[bigpond]

Wow lovely pipe and a great resto job. Kudos. The blast is truly outstanding.

 

[ssjones]

@bradley - yep, that is a beauty.
I wonder -

- what changed on Bill's equipment to change the depth of the blast?

- Was the change intended?
For comparison, here is a Pebble Grain the second Ashton decade (1998).

 

[bigpond]

Well, it could be something as simple as a shift from soft Algerian briar to the much harder Calabrian, for example. I'm sure that someone that knows a thing or two about Ashton will chime in.

 

[ssjones]

A heat gun will pop that dent right out. I did a Comoy Blue Riband stem yesterday, and the stem looks like new. You gotta be careful or you might melt the rubber.

I tried that as well as a flame. I've found that the Cumberland material isn't as resilient as black vulcanite. The dents lifted slightly, but they were very deep and some sharp. Comoys stems seem to be the most resilient of the Brits.

 

[ashdigger]

Just for fun, here's an Ashton from 2009. Its a XXX Pebble Grain


Nowhere near as Craggy.

 

[texmexpipe]

I have an '84 Pebble Grain that I picked up at a Antique shop unsmoked for $20! I love this pipe and smoke it a few times a month, but I baby it as it is my best pipe.

Here is a link to a thread where I posted initially. http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/whitehall-and-ashton-steals-pic-heavy

 

[ashdigger]

Texmexpipe, Nice score on the Ashton..... I plan on smoking mine very heavily.

 

[mso489]

I have to ask, what happened to the Ashton brand after Bill Taylor. If I have it right, he built the brand and established an artisanal name. I always like looking at the current offerings, although they are above my usual price range. Who's doing the carving now, and how are they regarded? The next generation is always looked at with some suspicion, so I factor that into the thinking. How much of the Bill Taylor mystique is sustained, and how much not?

 

[ssjones]

Jimmy Craig now makes Ashton pipes (his are stamped with a three digit date number starting with a 2 (ie 216 for 2016).

Jimmy worked for Bill but his pipes haven't been universally accepted by Ashton fans. I found his early pipes (210) lacking but the quality has apparently improved considerably. It's not crystal clear as to who is making these pipes, and I believe it may be Jimmy's sons in addition to Jimmy.

 

[bigpond]

Hagley said:

Bill made annual trips to Italy to buy his briar in 1990s and 2000s. Prior to that I believe that he indeed had a supply of Algerian briar. His "shallow" sandblasts were intended for the German market, since they didn't like the Linwood Hines gnarly finish. In the mid 1990s, Germany was the primary market for Ashton.

Thank's for sharing your insight, Mike. This raises a lot of questions for me. If at the time, Northern Europeans selected for lightly blasted pipes, where was the market for deep craggy blasts and who was carving the pipes? I believe TJ Cooke was coming up around then, but I can't imagine a single carver was supporting an entire market for deeply blasted pipes.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Gorgeous pipes!!

What I love about viewing pipes is that after a while, you start to notice the aesthetic differences between regions. The English pipes always seem so "stiff" to me, for lack of a better word. German pipes also. Rigid? They stick to a design shape and give no lines to relieve the tensions, as the Danish, or even Italians will do.

Love the Ashtons, so English and proper. I need more English in my collection.

 

[mso489]

Thanks, ssjones. That tracks the history and lets me know what I'm looking at. Doesn't sound altogether promising. The new crew may be just riding on the name. I think their pipes are attractive and distinctively English, but may be above their actual price level.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Love those earlier versions. Great looking blasts.

 

[mothernaturewilleatusallforbreakfast]

I've never owned an Ashton, but their pipes are easy on the eyes. I've read and been told that Bill Taylor was a master craftsman and his pipes are said to reflect this notion. The ones shown in this post are great looking pipes, and ssjones, you did a nice job cleaning up ashdiggers; Cheers! I crossed paths with Jimmy Craig at one of the Columbus shows and he struck me as a genuine guy who wasn't trying to ride anyone's coattail. I think there was a curve there for a while, but I've heard that the curve has since been straightened out. I'm also under the impression that Jimmy's son is making pipes, but am not sure of the details? I will purchase a new Ashton sometime in the future. I've been close to pulling the trigger on one a few times. I'm curious to find out if the most recent production lives up to it's seemingly fair price point.