American Estates: Steve Liskey Smooth Blowfish Tobacco Pipe

Trained by both Todd Johnson and J. Alan's Jeff Gracik, Steve Liskey has swiftly become a talented carver in his own right, this talent revealing itself in pieces such as this Blowfish. There is an absolute wealth of asymmetry present throughout this pipe, something that can be easily missed in the shank and stem were it not for the stem's understated curve to the left when viewed aerially. This stem meets a shank that urges out of the wide transition and turns right slightly, the duo's serpentine travel counterbalancing each other and keeping the draft hole in line with the chamber. Around this combination runs a septet of firm ridgelines, all of which dissipate as they reach the transition, save for the bottom two that push through the underside. This duo then goes on to wrap around the flanks of the bowl and frame them with a pair of differently-sized panels, the bowl vertically tapering from the left to the right over the midsection. This bowl is then canted sharply to the right, placing the left panel's ridgeline at the fore and creating a sharp locus of visual intrigue, as well as adding to the aforementioned asymmetry of the composition. Dressed in a warm chestnut stain, the flanks of the stummel here showcase some stunning birdseye while the bowl and underside of the shank are wrapped through the middle with dense cross grain.