Pebble Grain Billiard with Silver (XX) (2026) Tobacco Pipe

William "Bill" Ashton-Taylor spent his working life around pipes, starting as a lathe operator with Dunhill at the age of 15 in 1959. He struck out on his own with the Ashton brand, spinning its first pipe in 1983. Bill took immense pride in the process of making Ashton pipes. He traveled to Italy twice a year to buy wood, steeped his turned bowls in a blend of oils before heating them to draw out unwanted sap, and even garnered a British patent for his unique manufacturing process that produced pipes that were much lighter than their competitors. Bill died in 2009, but the Ashton process lives on through disciple Jimmy Craig.

This Billiard from Ashton is finished in their lightly craggy Pebble Grain sandblast and stained a gorgeous, ruby-tinged mahogany hue that complements the briar perfectly. The bowl is lightly tapered from the waist, almost in a Brandy-like manner, and backed with a rectangular shank that reaches back to a square accent of silver at the junction. The vulcanite stem has a generous taper back to the bit and finishes this piece with a nice sense of symmetry. It's a wonderfully textured and beautifully colored work of pipe making on Ashton's part, sure to satisfy fans of English craftsmanship.