Old Church Canadian with Silver (LX) (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 wears their Old Church sandblast, which in this case brings out excellent, concentric growth rings crossing the left flank across tall flame grain. Birdseye is more prevalent on the right flank, and the entire stummel is stained a warm auburn hue reaching back to the wide silver ring that wraps around the ovoid shank. A straight, tapered cumberland stem finishes the piece, the fiery color scheme of which catches the eye immediately.