American Estates: Rad Davis Smooth Lovat (2003) Tobacco Pipe

Rad Davis smoked pipes for around thirty years before finally starting to craft them himself in the mid-2000s. After needing help repairing one of his pipes, he contacted the American pipe maker Mark Tinsky. The two shared a love for fly fishing, which led to them becoming friends. Eventually, Davis would ask Tinsky to help him learn to make his own pipes. He has since become a skilled artisan crafting pipes that range from the classics of Anglo-French shape charts to more organic, Danish-style pipes. This Lovat from Rad Davis is a classic rendition of the traditional shape — with an elongated, cylindrical shank, a brief saddle stem, and a Billiard-like bowl. Rays of flame grain streaking across the stummel accentuate subtle curvature, while echoing the striated brindle pattern in the stem. Tangled strands of birdseye twirl around the rim, brought into high definition by an earthy-hued, smooth finish. To complement these colors, Davis completed this piece with a warm cumberland stem.