Patina Smooth Freehand Bent Dublin (66) Tobacco Pipe

There was a time, principally in the late 70's to mid 80's, when a ton of American carvers tried their hand at creating "our" version of the Danish freehand. Ironically, on the occasion that the final product actually imparted enough impact to grab attention and serious money, a couple of exceptions aside, the pipe looked like. well, a Danish freehand. Randy was always an exception to the trend of that era. Sure, he allowed the grain of a given block of briar to guide much of the shaping, and there always was an ample amount of organic effusiveness about, but compositions didn't feel "Danish", they felt like novel approaches to a freehand. Today, Randy remains one of the very few that still do consistent work in the freehand milieu, because unlike so many others, his pipes "work" aesthetically and remain readily identifiable as his. Just look at this 66 Grade beauty. See what I mean?

--Bear Graves