James Upshall

[Grumpy11]

Anybody smoking one. What is your opinion if you have one. I have two. I’m very fond of them. Smoke as good as any I have which includes some high dollar briars. I will be picking up a few more. Probably from eBay. I don’t think they make them any more.

 

[JimInks]

I have two and both are great smokers. I'll recommend Upshalls all day long.

 

[Grumpy11]

I have two and both are great smokers. I'll recommend Upshalls all day long.

I just wish there were more available. Sellers on eBay can ask some pretty dear prices. I’ll buy a couple anyway. I have a G grade bent Dublin that is the best pipe I’ve smoked in over 40 years.

 

[ben88]

 

[musicman]

I've got a Tilshead (Upshall second) that smokes beautifully and does not look in any way like a second. And I bought it from a forum member for a song. A little while back someone on here was unloading a substantial collection of Upshalls. If you stick around and pay attention to the classifieds you might score one or two at prices that are much more reasonable than flea-bay.

 

[ssjones]

We have a "Show us your Upshalls" thread here, but I don't recall it getting any recent updates.
I have one, a B-grade silver spigot.
Great briar, not so good stems (pre-molded).

 

[craig61a]

In my opinion, Upshalls are the premier banner of British pipes. Traditional English freehand style pipes.

Pipes from 1978-1989 are the best examples, 1989-1996 are still good but some can show poor execution. Barry Jones took over the operation of the factory at that point, since Ken Barnes had left, and wasn't able to devote 100% of his time to making pipes.

Moti Ezrati bought the factory in 1997, and the quality was not the same afterwards. Supposedly lower quality stummels were stripped and rebranded as Upshalls.

 

[craig61a]

As an aside, Ken Barnes got back into the pipe making game a few years back after an almost 30 year hiatus and made a number of fabulous looking pipes, probably numbering less than 100 pieces.

 

[trouttimes]

I have 6 or 7 Upshalls and I like all of them. I think they rank up their with other highly regarded Brit wood.

 

[OzPiper]

We have a "Show us your Upshalls" thread here, but I don't recall it getting any recent updates.
I have one, a B-grade silver spigot.
Great briar, not so good stems (pre-molded).

^^^^^
@ssjones used the moniker "upshallfan" in his earlier incarnation on these Forums.

I have a couple (I don't think they are from the Ken Barnes era), along with Ashtons, Ferndowns, Willmers and Blakemar as representative of the "newer" Britwoods.

They are good, but I prefer my Ashtons and Ferndowns.

 

[craiginthecorn]

I have two dozen Upshalls from the early Ken Barnes era, most with silver bands or spigots, all purchased unsmoked. About 60% are P grade and the rest B,G, or E. Most of them are still unsmokeable due to mildew. I can't even sell them, or at least wouldn't sell them. And if you have an idea how to rid then of that smell... I've tried it. Too bad. They're very handsome pipes.

The one good thing I got out of buying those pipes at auction was that I ended up corresponding quite a bit with Ken Barnes, who was simply a delightful man who will be missed.

And yes, the mouthpieces are not good. Oxidation magnets.

 

[craig61a]

Stems have always been a point of contention on the Upshalls, but I wouldn’t consider them any worse than a lot of manufacturers. And the vulcanite in my opinion is of sufficient quality. I don’t notice them showing oxidation any more so than a number of comparable pipes I own.

But of course a guy could always have a hand cut stem made for an Upshall too…

 

[jaytex1969]

I've got a Tilshead (Upshall second) that smokes beautifully and does not look in any way like a second.

+1

 

[ssjones]

^^^^^
@ssjones used the moniker "upshallfan" in his earlier incarnation on these Forums.

I have a couple (I don't think they are from the Ken Barnes era), along with Ashtons, Ferndowns, Willmers and Blakemar as representative of the "newer" Britwoods.

They are good, but I prefer my Ashtons and Ferndowns.

I don't think I ever used it here, but my screen name on Reborn Pipes is still "Upshallfan".

I grew tired, over time, with the maintenance needed on the molded stems - they turn green literally overnight. And compared to Ashton (Taylor), Sasieni and Comoys, I became "stem picky" and preferred them So, nearly all of my Upshalls were sold - save my Silver-Spigot B, which has a new Cumberland stem to replace the original.

Ken Barnes said here somewhere that he regretted not investing in handcut stems for James Upshall, at the time, it was a cost savings decision.

 

[Grumpy11]

I don't think I ever used it here, but my screen name on Reborn Pipes is still "Upshallfan".

I grew tired, over time, with the maintenance needed on the molded stems - they turn green literally overnight. And compared to Ashton (Taylor), Sasieni and Comoys, I became "stem picky" and preferred them So, nearly all of my Upshalls were sold - save my Silver-Spigot B, which has a new Cumberland stem to replace the original.

Ken Barnes said here somewhere that he regretted not investing in handcut stems for James Upshall, at the time, it was a cost savings decision.

Too bad on the stems. Guess I’ll continue to take it easy on them.

 

[Grumpy11]

I picked up a Tilshead estate billiard at our local b and m yesterday.

 

[trouttimes]

I bet you are going to like it. The stems don’t bother me one bit. Let use know after a few bowls.

 

[kcghost]

Upshall was a quality brand from Great Britain,

 

[cigrmaster]

I recently sold off my last Upshall. It was an older model with a nice blast. Problem was that if you looked at it funny it would turn green. I finally unloaded it.

I have had others over the years. They smoke just fine, but are too much work.

 

[trouttimes]

I clean my stems every 6 or 8 months and give them a good coating of mineral oil. I don’t seem to have the problem of which you speak.