Unsurprisingly, when it came time to render something in this size, PhD-turned-pipemaker Peter Heding spared nothing; the shaping is spot-on, the briar is absolutely gorgeous, and the dusky, subtly amber-tinged contrast finish is just perfect for this combination of lush flame grain and otherwise reserved, classic shaping. That he made sure to create something worthy of his Diamond grade would only be natural, given that an independent artisan can actually make more off of two or three smaller pipes shaped from the same piece of select briar it takes to produce a single pipe of this impressive scale.
- Eric N. Squires
