James Upshall Pipes - A Discussion
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Here are my two, P grade James Upshall pipes. I am hopeful these are both from the Ken Barnes era. The silver band was made by Les Wood.
Two lovely pipes!!! Yes, they are from the mid 1980s I think. The shaping of these two are, in my opinion, really fine and with some great grain. They both look like pipes cut from briar from the Arta Company. Thanks for sharing these.
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Since were sharing Upsalls here is mine, it’s just a little S grade but I suppose I wonder if anything jumps out about this one 
It is one of my favourites for sure!
It is one of my favourites for sure!
Love the looks of this pipe. Nice! ?Got a new one, not sure if Ken is still around but I’d love his take! A P grade.
That sitter Dublin Ken has for sale almost made me break, I’d love to own one of his pipes some day.
Smoking this one now and it’s fantastic.
Bump up the Upshall...
Figured this deserved a bump. There was an Upshall I saw a few months back on Danish Pipe site, but it was a little more than I was willing to spend based on the condition. Up early this morning jonesin and persusing, I noticed they discounted it. It's got a few minor issues. Engraved logo, so sometime after Fall of '83, no grade marking(?), they didn't have the "P" template for the Hermes machine? Or it just didn't get marked? Stain color would indicate a "P" grade to me.
I was looking for a reason to bump this thread...
Figured this deserved a bump. There was an Upshall I saw a few months back on Danish Pipe site, but it was a little more than I was willing to spend based on the condition. Up early this morning jonesin and persusing, I noticed they discounted it. It's got a few minor issues. Engraved logo, so sometime after Fall of '83, no grade marking(?), they didn't have the "P" template for the Hermes machine? Or it just didn't get marked? Stain color would indicate a "P" grade to me.
I was looking for a reason to bump this thread...
I received the Dublin the other day. The rim was knifed pretty badly, so I reamed and sanded it so it would be reasonably round again.
It appeared that the pipe was topped at some point, but I left that alone. There were some minor nicks and thin spots in the finish. One concern I had was that the wood near the end of the shank was chipped out, but it was just wood that was light colored and didn’t absorb stain as much as the area around it.
I washed and scrubbed the stummel in hot water and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the dirt and grime on the surface. Once dried I applied new stain on the heavy side to pop the grain. Sanded and buffed the stummel to smooth it and give a shine to the briar, and lighten the finish. Tightened up a the mortise with an application of Super Glue.
There’s still some work that needs to be done. The stem, while a replacement, looks appropriate. It needs some shaping and sanding to remove the waviness. And I may take it over to Rich Lewis to have the appropriate stamping applied.
All said, it was an enjoyable way to spend the evening yesterday...
It appeared that the pipe was topped at some point, but I left that alone. There were some minor nicks and thin spots in the finish. One concern I had was that the wood near the end of the shank was chipped out, but it was just wood that was light colored and didn’t absorb stain as much as the area around it.
I washed and scrubbed the stummel in hot water and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the dirt and grime on the surface. Once dried I applied new stain on the heavy side to pop the grain. Sanded and buffed the stummel to smooth it and give a shine to the briar, and lighten the finish. Tightened up a the mortise with an application of Super Glue.
There’s still some work that needs to be done. The stem, while a replacement, looks appropriate. It needs some shaping and sanding to remove the waviness. And I may take it over to Rich Lewis to have the appropriate stamping applied.
All said, it was an enjoyable way to spend the evening yesterday...
Since the weather is poor, with freezing rain, I spent time in the shop working on this pipe some more.
The bottom of the bowl was picked and had divots in the surface from some previous ham handed owner. The draft hole was opened up somewhat also. Appeared that the damage didn’t go too deep, so I chucked a reamer bit in the lathe, wrapped some 100 grit around it and proceeded to remove material from the bottom. Looks good now. Not perfect but passable.
I draw filed the stem and sanded and polished to get rid of the waviness.
I just need to do a little more cleaning of the airway in the stem, then polish it. I’ll coat the inside of the bowl and this will be ready to go. Rather generous chamber (A little more so now ?). I think it’ll make a dandy pipe for Burley blends.
The bottom of the bowl was picked and had divots in the surface from some previous ham handed owner. The draft hole was opened up somewhat also. Appeared that the damage didn’t go too deep, so I chucked a reamer bit in the lathe, wrapped some 100 grit around it and proceeded to remove material from the bottom. Looks good now. Not perfect but passable.
I draw filed the stem and sanded and polished to get rid of the waviness.
I just need to do a little more cleaning of the airway in the stem, then polish it. I’ll coat the inside of the bowl and this will be ready to go. Rather generous chamber (A little more so now ?). I think it’ll make a dandy pipe for Burley blends.
Came across this 1977-83 James Upshall P with diagonal smooth panels and what I assume are the original green leather sock and box for very good price. Some very minor issues, hardly worth mentioning. I don’t usually go for paneled pipes, but this was a no-brainer...
And I think the lightness of the stamping would put it more in the 70’s as opposed to the 80’s...
I knew I recalled something about stamping, this narrows the date somewhat... Looks hand stamped to me.
Thank you all for such the fantastic topic! I found it while looked for information regarding dating of James Upshall pipes and received answers almost to all my questions and a lot of valuable details about Upshall, Charatans and people who were being created those legends. And I was absolutely excited reading reminescenses of Mr. Barnes.
I'd like to add to the thread pictures of my own Tilshead. Though, it's rather a project "recover-your-own-Tilshead" - I had to recover the burnout on the bottom, reshape the rim and patch a few less noticeable chips around the bowl. Nevertheless the pipe smokes very nice!
I'd like to add to the thread pictures of my own Tilshead. Though, it's rather a project "recover-your-own-Tilshead" - I had to recover the burnout on the bottom, reshape the rim and patch a few less noticeable chips around the bowl. Nevertheless the pipe smokes very nice!