American Estates: Scott Klein Smooth Blowfish with Mammoth (Collaboration with Todd Johnson) (2018) (Unsmoked) Tobacco Pipe

While collaborations between pipe makers is not unheard of, it is still something of a rarity, and its rarer still to see a collaboration performed between two masters of the craft, but that's what we have with this Blowfish design, a stunning work made by Scott Klein and Todd Johnson, two of America's premier carvers. This piece is, of course, stunning, as if the names associated with it weren't a dead giveaway of that fact. The compact form, measuring in at just a touch over four and half inches, features a compressed bowl that's bifurcated by a firm, pronounced ridgeline that wraps from the rim at the fore, across the heel, and under the shank. The ridgeline's trajectory accentuates the form's supple curvature, drawing attention to the consistent undercurve and well-balanced proportionality. A second, less pronounced, ridgeline across the left side of the flank travels from the rim to the cheeked transition, lending that portion of the bowl a slightly clinched look for a subtle touch of asymmetry when viewed from the fore.

Out back, the shank flares gradually coming out of the base of the bowl, before giving way to a saddle stem of jet-black vulcanite. The junction between shank and stem features a fetching accent band of mammoth, its light color adding a dose of vibrancy to the traditional palette of the design. The stummel wears a fetching, chestnut-hued smooth finish that showcases a delightful array of birdseye across either flank of the bowl, with stunning cross grain across the fore. Beautiful, charming, and all together graceful, this piece is sure to become a favorite among any collector's rotation, and it is surprisingly, somehow, unsmoked.