Brindle Bulldog (XX) (2025) Tobacco Pipe

William "Bill" Ashton Taylor began working for Dunhill in 1959 at 15 years old, manning one of the legendary English marque's lathes after a lengthy apprenticeship. During his time at the White Spot, Bill absorbed all the secrets of the craft he could from their experienced carvers, coming into his own as a carver and marking the start of a lengthy career. After feeling the need to start his own company, Bill founded Ashton pipes in 1983, going into business for himself and holding his work to extremely strict standards of quality that have earned the Ashton name an excellent reputation. William passed away in 2009, entrusting Ashton's production to Jimmy Craig, his protege, who has maintained the stringent standards of his predecessor, creating pieces with timeless appeal and classic charm. A stout Bulldog possessed of a muscular and rustic character, this piece, presented by Ashton, is true to the shape-chart archetype. The sharply angled cumberland stem informs the shank, making for a smooth and pleasing transition whose ridges continue up the stummel and into the bowl before gently dissipating as they rise toward the beadlines that delineate the dual taper of the bowl: adding further to the muscularity of the piece. The pipe is finished with Ashton's darkly-stained Brindle sandblast, revealing a wealth of handsome texture and rippling growth rings across the stummel.