Rusticated Kalabash (R1) (Maxima Maxima) Tobacco Pipe

Sold in Store 5/21 Though many a master pipe maker tries his hand at the calabash, few can approach the deft shaping, and none can come close to the drilling and engineering of Giancarlo's "Kalabash". The calabash is arguably the most immediately recognizable of the Ser Jacopo shapes, and is imbued with a flowing, almost serpentine grace while always displaying an exquisite symmetry. As far as the drilling goes, Giancarlo invented a special curved drill to facilitate a teflon-smooth channel from button to draft hole. This one passes the pipe cleaner test with greater ease than Stephen Hawking taking a GED. As a personal observation? Much as I won't hesitate a second to tell you if I feel that a pipe was short-changed on a grade or size, I have the same compunction when I feel a carver has stretched. I really feel this pipe deserved one Maxima, not two.

--Bear Graves