Kennedy Barnes - Mr. James Upshall

[NeverBend]

Wow, what a great day.

I last saw Ken (Kennedy) Barnes about 27 years ago. After his father, Major Ken Barnes died in 1981 (I believe), Kennedy took over the Tilshead Pipe Company, makers of James Upshall and Tilshead pipes. I imagine that you all know the relation of James Upshall to Charatan (if not I'll post a bit about it).

I met Ken in April of 1982 at the factory and later that year became his USA/Canada importer and distributor. Ken quickly became one of my closest and most valued friends. It was a sad day when he left the company and I'd not seen nor heard from him since. I believe that was late 1988.

I've made many Internet searches over the years trying to find and make contact with Ken but there's nary a word about him anywhere that I looked. No mention of his pivotal role in making James Upshall the best selling handmade pipe in the world. It was as if he never existed and I take umbrage at that.

Short story is that Rich Lewis (Lewis Pipe & Tobacco, Minneapolis) found him and gave me a LinkedIn email address but Ken's replies went into my Promotions folder and were never seen. Today, Rich forwarded his regular email address to me and Ken and I have been writing back and forth.

He's well and I'll write more, with his permission, but to anyone that misses a long lost friend, and that's happened to me several times, I urge you to keep trying to make contact, the rewards are worth the effort.

Hey Ken!!!


(can a moderator please change the spelling in the title of the thread to KENNEDY? Thanks!)

[GWBowman]

I have to admit I am not familiar with the relationship of James Upshall to Charatan.

[NeverBend]

I have to admit I am not familiar with the relationship of James Upshall to Charatan.

Hi George,

I wish that I were a man of more brevity but the story doesn't tell without some background. I should write it all out one day with more details because it's a fascinating story that goes beyond pipes. I just found out that Suzanna (Kennedy's mom) is hale and hearty and 90. I have part of this story from her and I should go and visit her again and perhaps she can tell me more of the beginning.

Pete

Herman Lane signed over his property and possessions to his friend, Philipp, before leaving Nazi Germany in 1935. In 1938 Philipp succeeded his father as chairman of the tobacco giant, Reemtsma, and he remained in Germany during the war with his family.

After the war, Philipp’s daughter, Suzanna, met her future husband, Major Kenneth Barnes of the British occupation forces and Philipp met Herman in Switzerland to return to him his property that he’d (bravely) held during the war.

In the mid-1960s, after Major Barnes had retired from the army, Philipp asked Herman if he had a position for his son-in-law. Herman hired the Major as Managing Director of Charatan Pipes and he ran the company for some of their most prosperous years. He retired to open a small tobacco shop in Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Barry Jones, a Charatan master craftsman left in the late 1970s to turn piston rings for Rolls Royce (aircraft) engines in Wiltshire where he had a chance encounter with Major Barnes who convinced him to give a pipe making demonstration in the store. Soon they were making extra pipes to sell in the store and as demand increased they decided to open a workshop in 1978.

The new company was named after the town where it was located, Tilshead (pop ~360), between Salisbury and Devizes. Barry set-up and ran the workshop while Major Barnes used his connections to get the new brand, James Upshall, distribution and for supply of materials, especially briar from Otto Braun.

The mission of the new company was to make the finest quality English Freehand pipes, made with the best briar in the world. Only perfect, smooth bowls would bear the James Upshall name. A similar credo existed at Charatan in the pre-Lane (Reuben) era.

I met Major Barnes only once when I first saw the James Upshall pipes at the 1980 RTDA (trade show). They were inconsistent but showed great promise.

The Major’s son, Kennedy (Ken), was peripherally involved with the new company just as he’d been at Charatan during his father’s tenure there. When Major Barnes died in 1981, Ken decided to assume control of the young company.

For Ken and Barry, Charatan was the only manufacturing culture that they’d ever known. Barry had started at Charatan before the company had been sold to Herman Lane (1955). Ken wasn’t a craftsman and he had little business background but he threw himself, headlong, into the fray having Barry train him in the most difficult and skilled crafting position of the Cutter.

The Cutter’s job is to trim large blocks of briar into usable ebauchons of optimal shape and grain. In the case of Upshall, this involved holding the block in the hand and passing it against a large, open table saw. By 1985, Ken had not only mastered the craft but was, in my opinion, perhaps the best in the world at this difficult pursuit. For perspective, the best cutters that I’ve known were those at Barling (>60% smooth firsts), Upshall (55%) and Jacopo (40% but they make substantial amounts of sandblasts and carves that give them greater flexibility). All of them make mostly classic shapes. I don’t know of any current makers who can yield > 25%. The Cutter must recognize flaws and their patterns as well as envisioning the optimal shape contained in the block of briar. I always say that the proof is in the pipe and no company, ever, turned out the quantity of unflawed, smooth straight pipes like Upshall.

In April of 1982, I was in England and sought out Ken Barnes, meeting him for the first time at the Tilshead factory. Ironically, the other suitor to distribute the James Upshall pipes was Associated Imports who was located just two miles from us. Ken came to NY to decide and after seeing both of our operations, Associated far larger and more established and nascent Marble Arch, he chose us.

Ken eschewed sandblasting or any carving of bowls that had become a necessity of demand at Charatan when they’d became so successful under his father’s watch but all in all, James Upshall was the natural successor to Charatan. I coined the company’s motto, “The Tradition Continues…” because of this.

To finish, the hardest pipe to make is a flawless, smooth, classically defined bowl (especially the billiard family of shapes) with excellent grain. There’s no shortcut or crutch. Fancy shapes have latitude, billiards don’t. Once defined only the most skilled craftsmen can make these pipes on a regular basis. All Upshall pipes were made to this exacting standard. I’m proud to have played a part in the success that made Upshall the best selling handmade pipe in the world for the decade of the 1980s.

[GWBowman]

Thanks for taking the time to post that. You have a great memory and some great memories.

"You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to NeverBend again."

[NeverBend]

Thanks for taking the time to post that. You have a great memory and some great memories.

"You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to NeverBend again."

Thanks George,

It was an exciting and memorable time in my life. Relevant because this is a pipe forum but less so on a sports forum .

I spent a few days in Kleinlutzel Switzerland as Herman's guest when he told me part of the story. I spoke with Suzanna many times and her description of living in Germany during the war was very impacting ("grey, everything was very grey, always grey"). Ken and Barry occasionally spoke about this stuff but we were all way too involved with Upshall to be very deep in the past. Now of course it is the past and a lesson for the younger guys that the present soon is the past and before long the long past. I didn't understand that until I was nearly 50 and now it's a mantra.

Regards,

Pete

[NeverBend]

Update:

Ken made his first post on another forum and this was my reply (long):

SSJones said

Sadly, I wouldn't be surprised if that was has occurred. If so, that is a sad end to a storied name and history. Moty's involvement in the brand has always been cloudy and caused me to lose favor with that brand altogether. A James Upshall was my first really good British pipe and I'll always keep several. Perhaps someone will swoop in and buy the brand and revive this name.

Hi Al,
When Ken told me that he had posted here I thought of you. Sadly, Barry's level of skill would be difficult if not impossible to replace. During Moti's tenure there were many carved Upshalls made but under Kennedy there were only smooths (other than a few test carves and sandblasts). The skill required to make a smooth, unblemished handmade pipe has, essentially, been lost. One of the most respected boutique craftsmen recently told me that his yield of smooths is less than 10%. Under Kennedy, Upshall made 100% smooth, about 55% branded James Upshall and the rest Tilsheads (true 2nd).
From it's inception in 1977 (I thought it was 1978) until 1989, Ken was the face and driving force behind Upshall as they became the largest selling handmade pipe in the world. During those years it was Ken who was know to the industry and not Barry who ran the factory, taught the staff and had expertise in all phases of production. In 1985, Ken dedicated himself so completely to Upshall that he rarely left the factory, except to make some sales calls, and he often slept there. That year, I too slept in the factory a few times.
In ALL pipe making, the Cutter is the most important and skilled position. For machine made pipes this is done at the saw mill that delivers their customers shaped ebauchons. Hand makers use larger, higher quality and unshaped blocks of plateaux briar and no one had better briar than Upshall in the 1980s. A skilled Cutter crafts a custom ebauchon based on optimal shape, grain and to avoid flaws. It's the Cutter who defines what the following craftsmen must do. By 1985, Ken was Cutting much of the Upshall production and his ability to 'see' in 3 dimensions (he Cut on a open table saw and on any bias required) had people in the industry, and other pipe makers, marveling at his skill.
On eBay I often see pipes that I've sold and this pipe caught my attention the other day. If I can't post pictures please use the link.
By 1985, Ken's craft was so evolved that Upshall was making more graceful, better balanced and superior grained pipes than they had in their past or even that Charatan (generally) had made. This eBay pipe caused an argument between Ken and myself (~1985).
Ken graded it a "B", despite a superior straight grain, because the production was so strong. I argued that he was setting the bar too high and that it was at least a "G" (one grade higher). Obviously, Ken won the argument .
Upshalls best pipes were made between 1985-1987, not coincidentally when Ken was doing so much Cutting. In 1986, after a hard downturn in the value of the dollar we were forced to raise the price of the "P" from $125 to $175 but under Ken's leadership and Cutting the Upshall quality was so strong that sales increased.
The eBay listing (properly) lauds Barry but doesn't mention Ken who Cut it.


James Upshall B from 1985

[AndyCAYP]

First: I've always wanted an Upshall. Damn you, Pete, for stoking the fire.

Second: I'll be darned if stories like this - THIS - aren't exactly why pipe smoking is such an incredible pursuit. It goes well beyond the simple ignition of tobacco, but in the end that act provides a tangible thread wrapped up in a simple, relaxing moment that men have been experiencing for a long time.

As always, thank you for sharing, Pete.

[Bruck]

Tnx Pete. I wasn't familiar with the Upshall pipes so I looked them up. Here's a bargain on e-bay

James Upshall Unique Giant Sized Freehand Pipe Grade E | eBay

But in general they're in the couple hundred dollar range new, and low hundreds used.

[c.ortiz108]

Not sure how I missed this thread before, but thanks for updating it, Pete. All really interesting, and makes me appreciate the art of pipe making in a new way.

[Chad Vegas]

Glad you reconnected with your long lost friend! Its always great to find someone after all those years, kudos for not giving up!