Michail Kyriazanos Sandblasted Billiard with Silver (2016) Tobacco Pipe

Athenian by birth and raised on the island of Paros in the Aegean Sea — where he still lives today — Michail Kyriazanos started making pipes as a hobby in 2010. His first offering was a saddle-stemmed Dublin, and he sold the third pipe he ever made, a Pickaxe. By the time he reached pipe number 13, Michail was very confident in his work. He uses Greek briar from a pair of mills — one that ages it between eight and 27 years and is the "tastiest" in the world by his estimation, and one that ages it between two and four years before Michail ages it one further year for a softer, lighter-in-color appearance.

This Billiard from Michail stretches just past Nosewarmer status at nearly five inches long, and is fronted proudly with a straight, lightly-tapered bowl and a short, muscular shank that are both sandblasted in shallow waves and stained darkly. A thick cylinder of silver serves as an elegant accent at the junction between stummel and stem, and Michail finished the piece with a tapered cumberland stem. Though the stummel is brief in length, its contrast with the accent offers plenty of visual intrigue to match with Michail's fine sandblasting work.