Smooth Bent Brandy (Snail) Tobacco Pipe

Tom has a pipe making cycle, a pattern he's maintained for years. He cleans his workshop after the last round of pipe making and starts with classic shapes. As the cycle progresses, the shapes get wilder, but he really likes the discipline associated with that first stretch where he mostly focuses on classic shapes. I'm guessing that this breathtaking Danish-classic bent brandy was early in that pipe making cycle.

From the beautiful, subtle forward cant to the bowl to the gently curving oval shaped shank to the perfectly executed saddle-bit stem, it is pipes such as this that Tom Eltang has built his reputation for extraordinary pipes. Though his more avant-garde compositions frequently get the most attention, Tom's classic shapes are the foundation upon which that reputation was built. The grain, as one might expect on a Snail graded Eltang, is exemplary, perfectly accentuated by Tom's famous Golden Contrast staining technique. The straight grain runs perfectly around the bowl, terminating into intricate birdseye on the base of the bowl. An extraordinary composition in every respect.

-- Sykes Wilford