Scott Klein Sandblasted Tomato (2014) Tobacco Pipe

Scott Klein is an American pipe artisan originally from Illinois, now residing and making pipes in Nashville, TN. Klein credits Alex Florov as being a major influence on his approach to pipe design, and the craft in general, with Klein having worked for 5 years alongside Florov to perfect his technique. This compact Tomato design certainly displays design cues I would expect from a student of Florov's work, with an asymmetric bowl discretely gesturing toward a subtle ridgeline that wraps around the bowl's fore and heel before becoming the point on the left flank of the teardrop-shaped shank. A black sandblast dresses undulating growth rings that climb the broad but supple shape, and a lighter, smooth band of hardwood at the shank end provides a handsome contrast and pleasing visual break. The stem is a vulcanite saddle arrangement, precisely detailed by hand and abbreviated in length, keeping the pipe in pocket-friendly dimensions for a bespoke, compact overall composition.