Sandblasted Large Lovat with Mastodon Ivory Tobacco Pipe

If you've been scooping up pipes from new American carvers over the last few years, chances are you've heard the name Pete Prevost once or twice. Part of the Nashville school of astonishingly talented makers like Todd Johnson, Bruce Weaver, and Steve Morrisette, Pete's story is a familiar one. He bought a pipe kit four years ago, hooked up with the right mentors, like Jody Davis, fell in love with the craft, and tightened his chops quickly. This magnum-sized Lovat certainly shows off Pete's talent; it's well balanced, with evenly cut cheeks and a perfectly shaped bowl, and sports a carefully cut, beautifully tapered saddle stem with a clean, thin button, and a precise slot. In a low-contrast, shallow blasted finish, the pipe's hue plays well in tone and texture against the band of ivory accented at the stem.

-- Ted Swearingen