Sometimes I hate my self-imposed rules… like the one where I said I won’t keep any unsmoked pipes…

This hurts even more when we are talking about a very early and nice Upshall pipe.

Upshalls are extra tricky to date, but on this specific pipe there are multiple signs — like the lack of stem stamp, the style of the briar stamp, and the style of the tenon — which all point towards a period of 1978–1983.

The James Upshall brand was created by Ken Barnes and Barry Jones right after Dunhill bought Charatan’s. Ken was Charatan’s director at that time and Barry was the most legendary pipe carver in the factory.

The pipes they created are, in my opinion, the absolute best money can buy — all handmade in England, the best quality briar, and stunning grains. No sandblast or rusticated finishes allowed, no fills or flaws allowed! Their quality control standards were unmatched.

When it comes to Upshall’s grading system, it goes like this in ascending order from lowest to highest grade:

S, A, P, B, G, E, X, XX

There are some special grades above XX, but they are not part of the standard catalog. Also, the X and XX grades are usually for more exaggerated shapes and oversized pipes.

Just as a reference, I would compare some P grade Upshalls to Dunhill’s DR (Dead Root) straight grain pipes. Actually, I would put the DR below Upshall, since one is a factory pipe and the other is a handmade pipe — and that’s just for the P grade… higher grades have consistently extremely nice straight grains, just like this example here.

This is an earlier pipe and if it was a later production, it would have probably had an EXL stamp showing the large size.

The pipes go through one final check before shipping, so if you notice any inconsistencies in the carnauba finish or smudges they will be taken care of before your pipe is shipped to you.