Smooth Calabash with Brown Mallee Tobacco Pipe

This novel and beautiful form by Jeff Gracik isn't just a calabash (as if one could ever really assign "just" in front of a briar iteration of the shape) but it's a CALABASH! That's right, the top comes off to reveal a wonderful cavern, wherein smoke swirls and cools on the way to the palate. The cap is adroitly shaped from Brown Mallee, an Australian burl that is famed for its tortured, gnarly grain that (when properly worked) yields insanely striking patterns. One look at the top of the Mallee cap will show that Jeff not only possesses the acumen to work with this exotic wood, but the skill to seamlessly integrate an essential briar inner chamber within the material. A hypnotically tight flame grain crackles up the walls of the briar bowl and then fans to the horizontal, framing the movement of the shank to perfection. That deliciously thin, perfectly slotted bit with inlay isn't just beautiful, the form is a J. Alan signature.

--Bear Graves