Sandblasted Cutty (IV.13) Tobacco Pipe

I'll admit I'm partial; I never get tired of seeing these long, lithe, ultra-slender, deeply-sandblasted designs from Michael Parks. Since you've clicked on this one, and are presumably now reading this, I'll assume you, too, have a particular appreciation for the manner in which he daringly combines exceptionally gracile design with one of the most intense sandblasting processes out there. It's a combination that leaves little if any room for error, and more significantly, little or no room for salvaging a shape if a significant flaw suddenly turns up in the briar; there's just no reshaping or paring down something inherently so slender and fine. Little wonder, then, that Michael is one of the very few artisans making designs like these, and as far as anything I've ever seen goes, the only one finishing them with sandblasts anywhere near this deep.

- Eric N. Squires