Smooth Tomato (Snail) Tobacco Pipe

It took me a while to pin down just what this handy little Gabriele Tomato design reminded me of, flipping through our archives of Japanese artisans - I was at least pretty sure as to which shaping school it was influenced by. Eventually I gave in and held it up to Adam, who immediately said, "Tsuge." And he was right - the gesture and character of Tsuge's compact, lively little bent Pot was exactly right. Obviously Gabriele's put a lot more work into this individual briar, producing gorgeous displays of birdseye and flame grain, not to mention his use of a rounded Tomato bowl and a broader shank, but the same compact, lively sense of flow, and playful character of the shank and stem, remains pretty obvious.

- Eric N. Squires