A James Upshall Bent Acclaim FH

[rfernand]

Now here is a pipe I adore. It has a cavernous bowl capable of giving you over 2.5 hours of enjoyment. I know very little of this series, all I found was a passing reference in connection to the Empire series. The stain looks different from what I have seen in other Upshall Barks. The stem itself is like nothing I’ve seen on an Upshall. Maybe they are more common than I think. The pipe feels remarkably balanced an light in my hand.
Does anyone know more about these beauties? Ken Barnes tells me this was for sure made after he left.

 

[kenbarnes]

Very interesting. Is the mouthpiece vulcanite brindle or acrylic? The saddle part of the mouthpiece looks quite sharp (rather than curved) which is how Reuben (affectionately called 'Ruby' by Barry) Charatan used to make the saddle hand-cuts way back in the 1950s - early 1960s. Interesting name for a series of pipes. I will mention it to Barry the next time I speak with him. Pete Siegel, our U.S. importer may be able to shed some light on this line too. Nice Pipe!

 

[ssjones]

That does look like a different finish than the Bark.
Sadly, Pete Siegel has dropped out of sight.

 

[rfernand]

Mouthpiece: Definitely not vulcanite. It feels softer than the acrylic I have in some pipes. It also has nice coloring:

The saddle is indeed interesting — not super sharp, a little bit of roundness. Notice the details in the following pictures:

The previous picture shows a bark 6 FH (another Upshall I adore). You can clearly see the stains are different and so is the rustication. I took a picture of it with a 6 FH and a Charatan Countryman as well; notice the rustication of the Acclaim and the Charatan have a lot in common:

 

[pitchfork]

Acrylic JH stem? Wow. Never seen that before.

 

[tfdickson]

I have one with an acrylic stem, also from the Empire series. An Executive with a 3” bowl.

 

[rfernand]

Holy cow, that’s pretty!

 

[jvnshr]

:worship:

 

[tfdickson]

Thanks! It actually passes an extra long cleaner too. The stem is “brindle” style acrylic- I’d prefer a true ebonite brindle stem but I’m happy with it all the same.

 

[didimauw]

1. That's a great pipe!

2. R, have you ever thought of shortening your screen name? It's a bit long don't ya think?

3. Stem looks comfortable, and I like the coloring on it.

 

[rfernand]

didimauw: it is indeed a comfortable bit. I can’t stress enough how comfortable the pipe is despite its gargantuan size.
As for the screen name, we have a subcommittee working on it. :P

 

[pitchfork]

That makes 2 with acrylic stem.
Also, holy &%$* that's a nice looking pipe.