Misc. Estates: Xin Li Smooth Stubby Dublin (20) (010) Tobacco Pipe

Chinese artisan Xin Li benefits from a lengthy history and education as an industrial designer, spending much of his free time prior to becoming a pipe maker as a woodworker. In 2014, after his son was born, Xin nearly had to give up woodworking, but he met with good fortune after becoming acquainted with Yang Zhimin, a pipe maker who took Xin on as an apprentice and allowed him to use his space. The two made pipes together for a few years before Li decided to break out on his own, and now he crafts striking pieces under his own name, taking inspiration from schools the world over while imbuing his work with a style all his own. This bent Dublin is a shockingly compact pipe, coming in at well under four inches long and boasting a remarkable substance about its build, coupled with an impressively aerodynamic silhouette. Despite the thickness of this pipe's build, it's still more than apt as a designated travel companion, as the shank and stem curl into a comfortable smoking posture well-suited to clenching. Said shank lifts out of a rather wide transition and tapers toward a slim and demurely curved saddle stem of black vulcanite, the pair rendered in a crisp, muscular, diamond shape reminiscent of the Bulldog. Up front, the bowl stands on a sharp, firm-lined heel and grows flaring walls that expand subtly toward a firm ridge that marks the rim's domed taper to the chamfered rim. Both ridges on the flanks of the shank extend into the lower bowl and rise to a peak at the fore, before they both dip and meet, forming a cleft-like point that pulls the eye toward the bowl. Dressed in a warm, vibrant, smooth finish, the stummel showcases handsome grain throughout, with dense streaks of flame wrapping around the walls and birdseye through the rim and underside.