Old Church Billiard (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 features Ashton's sandblasted Old Church finish, which does an excellent job of bringing out the flame grain and birdseye of the bowl. The touch of the stummel is quite natural, as is the stain — a very light brown that contrasts well with the jet-black of the tapered vulcanite stem. The lines of the stummel are very straightforward, even for this very straightforward shape, producing a particularly angular bowl. The entire piece weighs in at barely over an ounce despite stretching nearly five and a half inches in length, a remarkable piece of work even for such a legendary marque.