My name is Chris Askwith and I have been making pipes since 2007. My workshop is in Plymouth, in the South West of England, famous as the place where the Pilgrim fathers set off for America.
I started pipe smoking in 2006 and due to necessity more than anything else I began restoring estate pipes. Luckily I found many of my tools I used for other hobbies could be pressed into service to clean and repair estate pipes. In 2007 I attended meetings of the South West Pipe Club where I had the good fortune to meet an American pipe maker living in Cornwall, Paul Hubartt of Larrysson Pipes. It was Paul who gave me the opportunity to make my first pipe, and the first dozen or so Askwith pipes were made using his tools. The money made from selling these pipes was invested into equipping my own workshop at home and soon all Askwith pipes were made in my own workshop.
Askwith Pipes are made using Briar, English morta, strawberry wood and sometimes olive wood. Airways are drilled to 4mm. I use a variety of exotic woods and metals and other materials for stem and shank accents.
Pipes are fitted with handcut stems in a wide variety of materials and colours or very occasionally old stem stock in Bakelite and Cumberland. My pipes are stamped with my name, "Handmade In England" and the year of production, Strawberry Wood pipes will also be marked with a small "S" to help differentiate them from Briars. Unless the design imposes a restriction my stems feature my Sterling Silver logo.
I am always happy to answer any questions you might have, and also to discuss ideas if you have specific requirements for a pipe you can contact me via social media or email me using this link. If you would like to join the mailing list for when new pipes are available there is a subscription box on the Contact page.
Thank you for visiting my site, and happy smoking!