German Estates: Rainer Barbi Smooth Blowfish (C) (2002) Tobacco Pipe

The Blowfish wasn't a common shape from Rainer Barbi, one of Germany's most cherished artisan pipe makers. The late maker favored plump, sinuous designs — of which this example is one — but the Blowfish shape itself wasn't a ubiquitous form from him. That said, Barbi fashioned this rendition with a considerable Apple-like nature, and if only viewed in silhouette, it could easily pass as that classic shape. In-hand, however, the bowl's central panel becomes apparent, it's slender width offering accenting crispness between the comparatively rotund flanks on either side. That structured shaping extends into the shank, though it still curls sinuously toward the downturned saddle stem, juxtaposing rigidity against smooth-flowing lines.