Mike Butera Classic Amber (008) (3) (1990) Tobacco Pipe

I have known Texan Mike Butera for about a decade and had been aware of his art for at least a decade previous to our first introduction. During that entire time I might have seen 20 of Mike's pipes and that's on a stretch. On a strictly artisanal level, Mike walked into his first pipe carving competition in 1985 and won. Now duplicate that win at every single Pipe Collectors International show that he ever actively entered. for the next NINE years and you are beginning to get an inkling. As far as teacher and mentor goes, the likes of the late Steve Weiner, Michael Fry, Larry Roush are just a few of the American pipe carving giants that cite Mr. Butera as a mentor. While finding a Butera estate isn't impossible, it can be a chore that is roughly akin to trying to drain the Sea of Cortez with a bent straw. The few that we get are freak occurrences that come about under unusual circumstances. This 1990 straight rhodesian now before you is a rather cool piece of history. While you may find that you recognize the overarching form and elongation, I can assure you that in the mid eighties, you wouldn't have. That's but one small example of the impact that Mike Butera has made in pipe carving.

--Bear Graves