Ashton: Oak Poker with Silver (ELX) Tobacco Pipe

Beginning his career under Alfred Dunhill, William Ashton-Taylor eventually founded the Ashton brand in 1980, focusing on using the best materials and artists to craft exemplary pipes. After William passed away in 2009, the brand's name was carried on by Jimmy Craig, who maintains the company's long standing reputation of quality pipes crafted with care. Stamped with the "ELX" designation, this Poker from Ashton is one of the largest regular-production pipes that the marque makes, trumped only by the rarely seen "Magnum" stamp. The walls of the tubular bowl rise from a flat heel toward an equally leveled rim that looks into a tobacco chamber almost two inches in depth. Out back, a low-set shank extends from the transition and stretches toward a thick accent band of silver wrapping the junction. An acrylic stem brings up the rear, displaying a swirling amalgamation of green and black hues. Ashton's smoky Oak smooth finish dresses the stummel and highlights some stunning birdseye across the left flank of the bowl.