American Estates: Dave Neeb Smooth Reverse Calabash Poker Tobacco Pipe

Dave Neeb spent much of his life as a maritime lawyer, smoking a pipe for nearly as long as he practiced law. After he retired, Neeb began to sell pipes on the internet, though before long he started to restore them and a little later he began to hand-make his own pieces. As he refined his carving skills, Neeb benefited from teaching at the hands of both Lee von Erck and Rad Davis and now boasts over a decade of experience carving pipes. This reverse Calabash Poker is a unique piece from Neeb, being the first reverse Calabash pipe we've seen from the artisan in our history, and one of the more unique takes on the fusion profile that we've encountered. The bowl here stands on a flattened, pronounced heel that extends below the transition and tapers to its lower panel, which supports thick walls that flare out to a similarly flat rim. The raised transition gives way to a hearty shank that extends to meet a slim, tapering stem of variegated orange acrylic, its impressive breadth concealing a capacious condensation chamber. Dressing this piece is a warm, rich stain that nicely complements the stem, and it reveals a dense pattern of flame grain that wraps around the bowl and lines the shank.