Tom Eltang Smooth Elephant's foot with Bamboo (Snail) Tobacco Pipe

When it comes to Tom's interpretation of the elephant's foot, when you have seen one, you have (by no means) "seen 'em all". Not even close. Being a handmade shape, naturally, any carver will have some degree of variation within his body of work in a given shape. With Tom, there is zero "Ack! The briar won't allow me to elongate both the front and back panel, sooo. I'll exaggerate the curl to the rear. Yeah, that's it!". Each one has a decidedly differing spirit. While I have seen Tom work in the more organically liquid camp with this shape, this dazzling Snail Grade falls firmly into the architectural camp. Opposing panels boast an exquisite symmetry, and the reduction of the body, from rim to heel is both comfortingly familiar and wonderfully predictable. Tom's Golden Contrast stain and bamboo are superb complements to one another, and the grain in numbing beauty (in other words, "Snail Grade").

--Bear Graves