American Estates: Ryan Quagliata Sandblasted Prince (0985) Tobacco Pipe

Ryan Quagliata is an American carver whose background includes cabinetry, machining, and jewelry-making, and his enjoyment of pipes led him to a career making them. He began by apprenticing under Paul Hildebrand, a pipe repairman and pipe maker from Phoenix, Arizona, and he quickly began to carve for himself: inspired by the work of Jody Davis and Jeff Gracik. This Prince is a plump and rather rotund take on the classic shape, with a full-bodied bowl perched atop its comparatively slender shank and stem combination, creating a bowl-forward composition. The transition is wide, with plenty of room to drape a digit, and it gives way to a tapering shank and stem combination, the shank itself staying straight while the stem makes a demure downturn at the bit for a more comfortable smoking posture. Up front, the bowl stands on a rounded heel and grows thick, supple walls with ample curvature, nicely insulating the chamber and offering plenty of soft contours in hand. Dressed in a crisp sandblast and earthy stain, this pipe boasts a timeless palette and showcases handsome grain throughout.