American Estates: Scott Klein Smooth Fish (Signature) (2017) (Unsmoked) Tobacco Pipe

An Illinois native, Scott Klein now resides and crafts pipes in Nashville, Tennessee. The American artisan cites artisan Alex Florov as being a mentor and major influence, having spent five years working alongside the Russian native in Chicago.

This Fish is a signature design of Klein's and is a lightweight Nosewarmer pipe, yet the stummel is muscular and compressed. Displaying Danish design cues, the forward-urging plump bowl presents a lifting heel and supple curves along with cheeking at the transition. A crisp ridgeline travels from the softly chamfered rim down the left flank and up through the shank end, terminating at the broad, lens-shaped face. This piece looks different in profile than when viewed from above: In silhouette, the shank looks far more slender; seen from up top, one is treated to the shank's graceful, gradual widening and thickening. It's topped by a slender vulcanite stem, in keeping with the svelte aesthetic. Dressed in a smooth auburn contrast stain, the grain beneath is gorgeous, with tight tendrils of flame grain engulfing all flanks, while the underside is simply resplendent in a wealth of birdseye. Presented unsmoked.