Danish Estates: S. Bang Smooth Bent Dublin (B) Tobacco Pipe

Svend Bang, the acclaimed founder of S. Bang, founded the Danish shop in the late 1960s. Not long after, Per Hansen came aboard, as did Ulf Noltensmeier — the duo eventually inheriting the workshop after Bang's retirement. With the workshop now closed, S. Bang pipes are highly sought often, making this bent Dublin shape a real find, especially for those with an eye for gorgeously crafted shape-chart standards.

This bent Dublin, like most of the shape's from the S. Bang workshop, possesses a fluid outline, with a subtle curvature defining the aft's trim shank-and-stem arrangement. Said arrangement supports a tall, muscular bowl that flares from a firm, well-defined heel to a broad, ridgeline-wrapped rim. In most compositions, the hefty bowl would overshadow the rest of the shape, its substantive size proportionally dwarfing the slender shank and stem. Here, however, the composition's visual weight is anchored above the transition, thanks in part to an extra thickness present there, as well as the bowl's aft gentle curve toward the shank and stem. A rich smooth finish completes the ensemble and highlights gorgeous grain throughout the stummel, with tight strands of flame covering the flanks and a sea of birdseye along the rim.