Pfeifenbox

Brands

Ashton

Tier:

Affordable	Mid-grade	Elevated	High-grade	Top
		X

Country: England

Price: € 100+

Production method:

Factory	Machine-assisted	Freehand
	X

Notes: One of the 'newer' English quality brands - essentially a one-man show and therefore unlikely to survive its owner, former Dunhill carver Bill Ashton-Taylor.

As with Dunhill, grading incorporates finish (series name) and size (one X for a smallish, three for a fairly large pipe). Ashtons also have a date stamp, a one or two digit figure. Add 1980 to this to calculate the production year.

Comments: Overall, I feel that my reputation-based classification method grades this brand higher than it deserves. Ashtons have a host of dedicated fans and are reputed to be superlative smokers - but there's really little reason to value them more highly than Ferndowns or Millvilles. Attention to detail and overall elegance is clearly less developed than with Dunhill or Upshall (yet some see Ashton as the equal of England's top makes). On the plus side, Ashtons are often uncannily light, though the stems could be less chunky.

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