American Estates: Rad Davis Smooth Volcano (Early Piece) Tobacco Pipe

Rad Davis' shaping style ranges from timeless, classic pieces straight from a vintage shape chart, to more sculptural, Danish-style works, though this Volcano features a look that's simultaneously sleek and neoclassical. The bowl stands on the Volcano's requisite broad base, one whose remarkable breadth immediately draws the eye to the fore, where a firm ridgeline surrounds its lower edge. This ridge denotes the start of the walls' swift, arcing taper to the rim, with a taller wall at the fore than at the aft, which affords this pipe a unique, rearward-canting look. The transition is rather wide and gives way to a lifting shank out back that tapers as it reaches out to meet a similarly tapering stem of black vulcanite. The shank and stem combination is poised for comfortable smoking, their willowy length making a flowing arc that reaches high and lends the pipe a dynamic posture. Dressed in a warm, rich, mahogany-toned stain, the stummel displays handsome grain throughout, with flame surrounding the bowl and a broad sea of birdseye across the underside.