Misc. Estates: Vollmer & Nilsson Partially Sandblasted Blowfish (Unsmoked) Tobacco Pipe

The fraternal duo of Vollmer and Nilsson carves their pipes out of Malmö Sweden, inspired by a trip to Copenhagen, where they learned to craft pipes from pre-drilled kits. Inspired by the works of Bo Nordh and Sixten Ivarsson, among others, the pair work collaboratively to make their pipes, combining their efforts to create unique works such as this Blowfish. The Blowfish is actually an uncommon shape from the two Swedes, making this piece a veritable rarity, and a handsome one at that, with a straight profile that sets it apart from most other imaginings of the shape.

There's a profound cleanliness of line here that I really enjoy, with the straightness of the shank and stem contributing to a stylistic contrast between the fore and aft of this pipe. I say this in reference to the circular panels that flank the bowl itself, something iconic to the shape that here appears to leap out even more readily than would be expected, as the eye is led directly to them without being drawn away by a curved or stylized shank and stem combination. In essence this lends it a very subtle, but highly effective, sense of implied momentum which stops at the bowl without continuing forward, making it its own self-contained bundle of slowly building and released kinetic energy. I'm quite impressed with this achievement, as the bowl itself only takes on a slight forward urge coming out of the transition, though its asymmetry enhances this quite a bit, especially as the total locus of asymmetry here is the bowl. A handsome partial sandblast reveals blasted birdseye across the left panel and horizontal growth rings wrapping around the top and bottom, while the right flank showcases a dense field of contrast stained birdseye that causes its slight outward dome and undulating ridgeline to really pop.