American Estates: Alex Florov Smooth Fish with Ivorite (2019) (Unsmoked) Tobacco Pipe

Alex Florov excels at artful, sculptural pipe designs, never hesitating to accent pieces with intricate line work and striking flourishes. The Blowfish natural invites such creative license, its defining ridgelines welcoming a carver's artistic interpretation. In this Fish rendition, Florov has divided the piece by a single ridgeline, as opposed to the Blowfish's typically central panel bisecting the flanks. Here, that cue makes for a more cutting and pointed profile, the ridge flicking outward at the transition on the left side. Also different from the standard Blowfish is the grain orientation: Cross grain sweeps down the flanks while the fore is smattered with birdseye, and then plateau covers the underside extending into the shank face. Said shank is pinched vertically, yet maintains a firm presence in profile, and the end flare quite suddenly, matched by the shaping of the stem base. The mouthpiece is a split stem of Ivorite and vulcanite, the creamy white hue of Ivorite adding contrast and shaped to echo the outline of the shank face — but tilted for accenting asymmetry. Unsmoked.