Jody Davis Smooth Volcano with Cocobolo (Saint) (Halo) (A22) (13) (2022) (Unsmoked) Tobacco Pipe

Grammy Award-nominated musician Jody Davis is a profusely talented man, not only an actual rock star but one of the United States' most accomplished and widely celebrated artisan pipe carvers. Davis is a master pipe maker, and the skill he's acquired over his more than two decades working with briar affords him a richly varied portfolio whose style can range from classically Anglo-French or timelessly Danish to hearty, bold, and thoroughly American compositions. This Volcano hews far closer to the latter style thanks to its impressive build and the great deal of substance it boasts throughout its entire silhouette. Showcasing a thick construction across its stummel and weighing in at a touch over three ounces, this pipe exudes a commanding presence, something that's only redoubled and reinforced by the impressive firmness with which Davis has crafted the shank. From out of a wide transition, this shank, a strikingly broad expanse of briar, takes on an impressive degree of lift and tapers from the flanks toward the stem. At its flanks, the shank is framed by a pair of crisp-lined panels that maintain an impressively consistent height from end to end, their ridges flowing past the bounds of the shank and extending into the fore at the underside: forming the Volcano shape's iconic base. Additionally, the ridges extend at the top side as well, with the right side's curling and rising to line the aft wall of the bowl, while both flanks' top ridges feed into the accent at the stem.

The stem here is especially noteworthy, as Davis hasn't just accented it with a fitment of cocobolo, rather, he's crafted an especially baroque style of split stem whose left side features a pointed extension of the rare wood that reaches up and slightly away from the bit's black vulcanite. This sharp styling promotes an extremely dynamic, fluid look about the stummel, with an aerial view revealing a curved, teardop-like appearance that merges the lines of disparate woods to form a cohesive composition. Up front, the walls of the bowl stand proudly atop the shape's base, rising high and tapering slowly toward the rim while simultaneously urging forward, lending this piece a subdued sense of momentum while still feeling sturdy. At the flanks these walls look fairly consistent, save for the flowing ridge across the right side, though a view from the fore reveals a striking bit of asymmetry that further highlights the sophisticated stylization of the shank and stem combination. The right wall makes a sharp curve toward the left almost immediately after rising from the base, its sleek arc standing out immediately against the other side's far more upright arrangement, fostering a delightfully varied appearance and introducing a touch of softness to appreciate in hand. Dressing this pipe is a vibrant, rich contrast stain that reveals dense bands of flame and straight grain lining the sides of the shank and surrounding the walls of the bowl, while the top of the shank displays ample birdseye. The underside, however, with its vast surface area, is absolutely drenched in the grain's swirling vortices, forming one of the densest, most well-developed displays of the pinpricks that I've had the pleasure of witnessing.