Ashton: Pebble Grain Billiard (XX) Tobacco Pipe

Founded in 1983 by William "Bill" Ashton-Taylor, who worked as a Dunhill apprentice, the Ashton workshop is lauded for its incredibly high standards of quality and mastery of classic English design principles. Jimmy Craig currently heads the company, having taken up the mantle after Bill's passing in 2009. Since then, he has sustained the Ashton legacy by steadfastly following the founder's philosophy of equally prioritizing all parts of the pipe, and utilizing only the best materials and most pristine finishing. Today, the English marque is known for combining classic shaping and elegant finishing with eye-catching accents and colorful stems. With its smoky sandblast and jet black stem, this Billiard hews closer to the marque's classic English roots.

Rendered in the English marque's XX sizing, this offering boasts a plump, slightly tapered bowl balanced on the end of a sleek shank-and-stem arrangement. The bowl possesses a subtle forward cant, widening the transition out back and thus providing ample room to drape a digit. The arrow-straight posture of the shank-and-stem arrangement lend the piece a crisp, streamlined silhouette. Adding to this pipe's elegance is its rugged, dark-stained sandblast — Ashton's signature Pebble Grain finish.