jb

I'm just finishing a bowl of fine English tobacco in an old Upshall P
billiard, and I'm here to tell you that this is one great pipe.

I think the old Upshalls may be among the most under appreciated pipes
out there. I think the briar used in these pipe is excellent, the
carving spot on, and you could tell they were going above and beyond
to try and get the brand established.

This one has virtually perfect straight grain, uninterrupted birdseyes
on top and bottom of the bowl and shank. How it was graded a "P",
I'll never know.

I've checked out the P grade pipes on their website over the past
couple of years and they aren't anywhere in the vacinity of the old
Ps.

For those of you who are looking for great value pipes out there in
pipe land, either on eBay or otherwise, I think old Upshalls are a
great way to go.

JB

affordable pipes

Yap great pipes and as of late they seem to have fallen from ***
appeal or what have ya and can be had at some great prices on e bay


Guy and Jackie


http://affordablepipes.com/

info

Hello JB:

Many of the pipes that you see on our James Upshall website are "Old
Upshalls". When the company was restructured following bankruptcy in
1996, we began mixing our newly made pipes in with our older stock.
When we remove a pipe from stock to fill an order there is no way to
tell the difference between a new pipe and an older pipe. They are
exactly the same.

Our pipes are 100% hand made in the Village of Tilshead, United
Kingdom by Mr. Barry Jones just as they have always been. We still
use the same briar from the same lots that were purchased in the early
to mid 1990's. We still make pipes in the same studio, by the same
pipemaker, with the same tools, from the same briar, and the same
vulcanite, etc., etc. Our production policies and procedures have
never changed.

We at the James Upshall Pipe Company (UK) Ltd. take pride in the fact
that you are currently enjoying one of our pipes and appreciate your
business and comments.

Happy Holidays!

Mike Falba
http://www.upshallusa.com

jb

Hi Mike, and Happy Holidays to you as well.

I wasn't really referring to Upshalls from 1996 as "old Upshalls"...I
was talking about the first years...the early 1980s. I find it very
hard to believe that Upshall still has any significant stock from the
early 1980s sitting around, and therefore being mixed in to the
website rotation.

The point of my post was not to compare Upshalls from 1996 to 2003.
My point is that based on my personal experience and observation, a
comparably graded Upshall pipe from 1982 was a better pipe than its
"equivilant" from 2003. Or it could be that I've just gotten
extraoridinarily lucky with the older Upshalls that I have collected
from that era and since...but I doubt it.

I am not saying that Upshall doesn't produce fine pipes now. Far from
it. However, nothing happens in a vacuum. Over the years, the P
grade has changed from what it used to be, and customers used to get a
better piece of briar at that level than they do now.

It's fine to suggest that nothing has changed, but my experience with
the line has lead me to a different conclusion.

JB

sandre746

My experience with Upshall pipes over the years is that, while early pipes P-
and A-Grades may have on average had better grain than current models with
those designations, pipes presently being made by Barry Jones exhibit a level
of quality that is fully equal to and perhaps even better than has ever been
the case.

For whatever reason most of the newer Upshalls seem to smoke even better, at
least as far as I've been able to discern, than have older (1980's vintage)
Upshalls. While admittedly this is my very subjective take on things I do have
a number of Upshalls from different eras and have to my own satisfaction
determined a slight preference for recently made Upshalls.

Couldn't even begin to provide a reason for this minor difference, but it is
there--at least for me, smoking the various blends which I prefer--and
therefore any supposed advantage to older Upshalls is completely lost on me.
Where there IS a difference is in pricing, but then again you can't buy cars or
many other consumer goods for what you used to be able to obtain them, either.
Aside from electronics, just about everything else has increased in price over
the years.

Upshall pipes very nearly vanished altogether some years back due to
undercharging for their pipes (and other factors, as well). As is the case with
other top makes, the artisan who produces pipes has to make a living or there
is no incentive to keep carving.

Andy S.

jb

Andy,

I stayed away from the price issue because I didn't want that to cloud
the discussion. Many folks in the recent past have questioned the
pricing of Upshalls in the current market. Everybody is left to make
their own judgements about the relative value of this line.

In your first paragraph, you noted that the grain features of the P
through A grades were better in the past. That was basically all I
was trying to say in my original post.

Based on the one "newer" Upshall I've smoked, versus the older pipes,
I would disagree with your experience that the newer pipes are
marginally better smokers. That has not been my experience, but
admittedly, I've only smoked one of the newer pipes and many of the
80's vintage.

Here's the bottom line from my perspective, you can buy a P graded new
Upshall pipe anywhere from $350 to $580 off the web and most of them
have mixed grain. Or, you can buy an older P graded pipe from eBay as
I did just recently for $100 flat and it has much nicer "straightish"
grain and birdseyes on the bottom.

I know which direction I would go.

Cheers,

JB

sandre746

I've found some older Upshalls at bargain prices too, JB, and while I do not
disagree with the essence of your original post my point was really to
illustratve why higher grade Upshalls merit the prices which they do command.

First off, it does no one who truly likes Upshalls any good if Barry Jones goes
out of business. The man IS immensely talented by any reasonable standard, and
makes a true "first" and not pipes which are premium in name only as has been
the case with some other ("white spot") makes from time to time. Oh, the tales
I could tell just from my own firsthand experience!

Secondly, keepinig the comparisons with other premium grade English pipes for
the sake of a more direct side-by-side contrast, Bill Taylor gets a fair amount
of coin for his Magnums. Wonderful and huge pipes, to be certain, but sheer
size aside I would contend that an Upshall Empire Series or most of the "B"
grades from current manufacture, represent a degree of excellence and fineness
of grain that is hard to find in modern-day English pipes.

Price is surely like water--it WILL find its own level. Should demand lag badly
enough due to overly amitious price structures then Upshall will have some hard
decisions to make, such as whether or not to keep the doors open, or cut
corners in any of several areas, or ????

At the pricepoint we are seeing these days for new Upshalls they seem to be
doing alright. I don't imagine Upshalls were ever intended to be anything like
a super high volume product, anyway. Supply and demand, as is the case in any
enterprise, will determine the future course.

Andy S.

apollo

<SNIP>

I was told that Barry produce about 1200 pipe per annum, while we can see
only a few online, my guess will be most are sold in shops at U.K.
While I can't difference the smokability between "older" & "current"
production, I have to agree that the grain of the "older" ones looks better.

--
===========================
Arthur

Remove NOSPAM to reply
===========================

bob weiske

I'm not an Upshall expert but tonight I smoked an Upshall of
undeterminate age that really put me in the zone as it *always* does.
This is an ungraded pipe with rustication like a sea rock. I don't
think I've seen another one like it, and would appreciate any comments
about its provenance. I might add that it smokes as well, if not
better than any other pipe I have. And this old fart has a bunch of
pipes ;-)
Bob Weiske
Curmudgeon at large

chantymanjack1

Me too.

Jack