American Estates: Brad Pohlmann Sandblasted Bent Brandy (Pipes & Tobaccos Magazine Pipe of the Year) (42/50) (2010) (Unsmoked) Tobacco Pipe

Pipes and tobaccos magazine, affectionately known as P&T by many, was the longest running pipe-focused periodical ever, its existence spanning more than two decades between 1996 and 2019. A massively influential publication whose success was unprecedented, Pipes and tobaccos was founded by Dayton Matlick and covered a variety of topics in the pipe sphere, including widely known artisans, small-scale carvers, and full-on factories. The scope of their coverage and consistently excellent photography led to success and acclaim, though Matlick often operated at a loss, making it a true passion project. Among its litany of services to the pipe world, Pipes and tobaccos also produced a long line of pipes of the year, collaborating with a variety of artisans and craftsmen to create unique and stylish smokers that include this piece from 2010. Carved by Brad Pohlmann, this bent Brandy is a handsomely dynamic pipe that boasts an impressive, yet subtle curvature throughout its silhouette and a pleasing fullness for the hand to appreciate. Up front, the bowl stands atop a strongly lifted heel, thrusting the bowl into visual prominence immediately and drawing the eye toward its forward-canting, tapering walls. The rim which these walls reach toward is chamfered gently into the chamber, and the low-set waist provides a visual anchor alongside the lifting heel, cementing the visual weight at the fore. A wide transition gives way to a lifting shank that's flattened at the underside and domes out toward the top in unique style, the ridges at the underside of the shank pushing through to line part of the heel's underside. A sleek, demurely curved saddle stem of black vulcanite arcs out of the shank face, its band of hardwood at the base contrasting the dark stain and crisp sandblast of the stummel nicely. This pipe is one out of 50 examples crafted for 2010, and it's been serialized as number 42.