James Upshall Pipes - A Discussion
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This is the left side which also shows most of the front.
Oh, thanks for the memory recall! Yes, I do remember these, I think we may have made four or five in total. Barry did all the work on these and I particularly like the shape of this Billiard and the finish on the bowl work. I must say that you keep your pipes in excellent condition. Thanks for sharing these pictures.
One more stroll down memory lane. To be honest, I bought this one because it was the last one in the case.
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Lovely pipe hauntedmyst. This looks like an early 1980s 'P' grade. The rough top on this one indicates that it is a really fine piece of briar even if the grain is not in the highest quality straight grain bracket. At about this time we moved the JU stamp from the side of the mouthpiece to the top side.
Cool info Ken! It was a good smoker but I let it go a while back because it didn't fit in with my billiard focus. I miss it though seriously how many pipes do you not miss?
My two James Upshall Pipes, both P grades, a super long (7.34) Canadian with a silver band. The other is a monstrous billiard (6.5", chamber 2" by .81")with a small crack in the shank I picked up for super cheap on ebay.
My two James Upshall Pipes, both P grades, a super long (7.34) Canadian with a silver band. The other is a monstrous billiard (6.5", chamber 2" by .81")with a small crack in the shank I picked up for super cheap on ebay.
Both lookers, especially the long one.
Shame about the crack. Maybe it can be repaired?
The crack in the billiard is quite tiny. Right now I'm just ignoring it because it is smoking just fine, and not growing, but yeah, it will have to be repaired at some point.
Here is my newest Upshall, it appears to be a very early bulldog. Hand stamped nomenclature, no grading and no stamp on the stem.
Be careful, repair before it breaks. Hate to see that beauty break.The crack in the billiard is quite tiny. Right now I'm just ignoring it because it is smoking just fine, and not growing, but yeah, it will have to be repaired at some point.
bron340
this is, in my opinion, a very early bulldog. It has been hand stamped and I am not sure if this one was made (and sold) before we received the grade letter stamps from the stamp die maker (January 1979) I wouldn't be surprised if this one was made in November/December 1978 - one of the very first? I do know that the beading tool used here was quite primitive and later on, Barry made a more sophisticated beading tool which gave a crisper slightly angled bead - see below. The mouthpiece may not be the original as there is no hand-pressed JU and the colour of the shank at the fit looks slightly lighter which could indicate that it has been replaced.
this is, in my opinion, a very early bulldog. It has been hand stamped and I am not sure if this one was made (and sold) before we received the grade letter stamps from the stamp die maker (January 1979) I wouldn't be surprised if this one was made in November/December 1978 - one of the very first? I do know that the beading tool used here was quite primitive and later on, Barry made a more sophisticated beading tool which gave a crisper slightly angled bead - see below. The mouthpiece may not be the original as there is no hand-pressed JU and the colour of the shank at the fit looks slightly lighter which could indicate that it has been replaced.
Mr. Barnes, I thank you for your insight on this pipe. If the stem was replaced, it was done by a very skilled craftsman, as it fits the shank perfectly. It would not surprise me if it had been replaced. I believe the light color on the stem was poor lighting when photographing the pipe, because looking at it now it appears to be a uniform colour.
I picked up this big, bolshy Billiard the other day. Mid 1980’s I reckon. I absolutely love the shape and the grain...
I've seen a few Upshalls w/o a grade mark, but I guess I really didn't think to look that closely as to whether the logo was stamped or milled out with the Hermes machine. Interesting tidbit of information on the grade stamps.
alaskanpiper: thanks for sharing photos of these two pipes. In 1983 or 1984 the demand for long shank pipes was very strong and I decided to buy some MFF 4-5 (Marseille Forte Forte 4-5 cms wide). These blocks came from the Arta Company in the small village of Arta in the foothills of the Pindu mountains in Greece. This sawmill produced the best briar I have cut (comparable to Manno Briar, Tuscany). These blocks came with cross grain but were beautiful to cut and turn - lovely texture.
So is that likely when that Canadian was produced? Do you happen to know anything about the large billiard I posted as well?
As always, thanks for the knowledge, Ken!
Yes, the large billiard has also been cut from this same MFF 4-5 briar wood and made around the same time 1984?