Danish Estates: Tom Eltang Smooth Bent Dublin (Snail) (2017) Tobacco Pipe

A man obsessed with fine pipes since the age of six, Tom Eltang has become one of the most respected artisan carvers in the world, his nearly five-decade-long career and commitment to both functional and aesthetic perfection earning him a stellar reputation in the pipe world. His breadth of experience includes apprenticing under Anne-Julie at only 16 years old, repairing pipes for Pipe-Dan, and working as a traveling carver for Stanwell, all the while carving pipes of his own. His work comprises a variety of shapes, all in his Danish Functionalist-inspired style, with this bent Dublin serving as an excellent example of his unique approach to design.

Many of the bent Dublin designs that we've seen from Eltang in the past are possessed of just a slight degree of curvature through their shank and stem. This iteration is decidedly the opposite, with its main feature being the strikingly curved combination of shank and stem arcing away out back. The stem itself is quite well-bent and its saddle orientation does well to reinforce the visual weight's present at the bowl, the black vulcanite being paired here to a shank that lifts and curls sinuously out of the transition, its end rising above the rim. This stance makes for an extremely comfortable smoking posture and a stance that simply begs to be hung from the jaw, a feat that this bent Dublin would take on with ease, allowing for hands-free enjoyment of your tobacco. Up front, the heel sweeps forward and rises into the walls of the bowl, these walls flaring gently from their base to an inflated rim that's here marked with a ridgeline. Dressed in one of Eltang's iconic contrast stains, the stummel showcases flickering flame and straight grain through the flanks of the shank and wrapping around the bowl, while the heel and rim display some beautiful birdseye.