在下写了email给James Upshall, 到今他还没回复。
不过在美国烟斗收藏家Rick Newcombe的书里有这么一段：-
“Aron Licker, pipe specialist at the original Tinder Box in Santa Monica, says that a first is whatever the factory says it is, and the same for second. If Upshall calls one of its pipe a first, they stamp the name Upshall; if a pipe made in the same factory is deemed to be a secnd, for a variety of reasons, they stamp it Tilshead. The same with Dunhill and Parker and others.”
James Upshall 给在下的回信
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As regards the question from the Forum member, please make sure he understands that all our Tilshead and James Upshall pipes are hand made. We do not produce any pipes by machine. The Sandblast and Rusticated finish is not neccessarily done
only in order to cover sandpits etc. We make them merely as another grade of pipe which some customers prefer, it is usually done when the wood is not very grainy. When a pipe gets sandblasted or rusticated it is somewhat lightened through the
process, also, the pipe's surface is more resilient and doesn't require as much care or attention. The Tilshead pipes are still being made with briar which bears a snadpit or a small imperfection naturally. It is a way for the James Upshall collector to enjoy a smooth finished pipe at half the price. I hope that explanation helps. All the best, Moty
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Aha! 所以今天的"Tilshead"只是Upshall的一個比較便宜的光面的line的名字(就像是他們蝕刻的line的名字叫"Bark"), 並不是以往所謂的"副牌".
至於關於手工/機器製的爭論, 我覺得每個人對於這個的定義不太一樣, 中間灰色地帶太多, 再加上英國煙斗製做者又很喜歡在這上面玩文字遊戲, 所以在這邊爭不會爭出什麼結論來 我只想在這說明一下我的argument:
手工vs機器最大的優勢(advantage)之一是在於用手工做的時候, 造型有任何問題可以隨機調整. 比如說bowl和shank的shoulder兩邊不一樣高低時, 手工煙斗製做者可以馬上察覺, 立即對此做修正. 如果一個手工煙斗製做者沒有take這個advatage, 那麼不管是標榜用手做還是用腳做, 到底有什麼義意?
以下是引用upshall在2003-8-19 23:59:05的发言：
James Upshall 给在下的回信
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(略)
原来非原木斗、光面斗不娶的。后来因为好货难觅或性价比的因素，逐渐向粗化斗妥协了。但是还是比较执著于手工粗化的斗。比如，TOM SPNU的粗化斗就十分漂亮。
我就很喜欢duhill的喷沙斗，已经有点痴迷的地步，我觉得简单，朴实，好用，本身就是一种美，对那些什么纹路始终好像没什么兴趣，我想自己喜欢才是最重要的，我觉得挑烟斗和挑老婆是一样的，按照社会标准的漂亮没用的，而且漂亮也不是每个人追求的，合适自己最重要，到底是要一起过日子的呀。。。。。。。。。。。
还是那句话：烟斗是用来抽的