American Estates: Pete Prevost Smooth Belge with Bamboo (2015) Tobacco Pipe

Pete Prevost carved his first pipe over two days from a pipe kit. He then had the good fortune to learn the craft of pipe making from two of the most accomplished artisans in the United States: Jody Davis and Todd Johnson, both of whom quickly accelerated his learning process in the realms of both shaping and engineering. In 2012 he made a choice to give up his touring music career and join Johnson in establishing the now legendary BriarWorks workshop, something that, since Johnson left in around 2016, he has headed, overseeing the work of artisans such as Bill Shalosky, Micah Redmond, and Sam Adebayo. This Belge was originally crafted for our 2015 American Pipe Making Exhibition, the original year of the Exhibition which was themed to celebrate the usage of bamboo. Additionally, Prevost only seldomly utilizes bamboo in his craft, and has carved precious few Cutty or Belge renditions that we've seen, making this a rare find for three reasons, as if one would need any more temptation to take on ownership of this sleek, gracile piece of artisan work. The length of bamboo here is a striking four knuckles in length, and it ebbs out of an extremely trim shank to meet a stem that's here stylized with a round ring of vulcanite at the junction point, fitting into the dense grass via an extended metal tenon for added strength. The base of this stem is flared, mirroring the rhythm of the bamboo's natural flow, and its slender saddle orientation keeps the entire aft of this piece looking extremely organic. The bowl further enhances this organicism with its crown of plateau, striking forward cant, and plump, bulb-like build that brings to mind images of a budding flower sat at the end of a tree branch, its walls covered in a vibrant mahogany contrast stain that unveils dense striations of flame and straight grain throughout. Despite its extended length of seven inches, this piece weighs less than an ounce, making it extremely handy and even lending it some surprising clench potential.