Blowfish (Two Snail) Tobacco Pipe

Let's give the master his due, there are a lot of great carvers out there that have a blowfish in their repertoire, but few (if any) approach the dazzling fugu created by Hiroyuki Tokutomi. It's been long established that Tokutomis individual shapes are about as mutable from iteration to iteration as, say, a variety of mushroom (though this certainly depends on your perspectives on the relative aesthetic value of various fungi, Id argue that Tokutomi-sans pipes are considerably more attractive). Lets talk about this pipe specifically, as it relates to other blowfish created by the Master.

On a "running gallop/surface appraisal" The body of this fugu shows far less elongation and a more pronounced sense of verticality than just about an Toku fish that I have run across. Toku-san went to great lengths to stress the unity of the pipe, eschewing the use of a ridge-like bisecting bevel in favor of a dramatically executed and dominating center plane that runs from the top of the mount, around the body, completing itself upon its return to its birthplace. The result are two of the most unequivocal side panels that you are likely to see in one of Tokutomi's fugus. Indeed, the side panels are direct mirrors of each other, the panel on the left only substantially differentiating itself from its brother in size. The birdseye on the side panels is quite delightful, but the true scene stealer is the cross cut grain. I am really loving this one.

--Bear Graves