Michael Butera Royal Classic Dublin (2) (00J) (90) Tobacco Pipe

Michael Butera's limited production can make his pipes hard to track down, not in the least because they are so treasured by collectors. An American artisan of the highest order, Butera is widely seen as an influence on his fellow pipe makers, including Steve Weiner, Larry Roush, and Mike Frey.

This Dublin from Butera features dense, straight flame grain on the muscular walls of the bowl and sloped flame grain on the shank, all of it quite handsome and evidence of a great job reading the briar on Butera's part. Birdseye decorates the heel and the rim of the bowl, the latter of which is asymmetrical and wavy. The shank in the back of the forward-canted bowl is lengthy and round, and the piece is finished with a saddle stem of black acrylic. Butera stuck to convention in making the lines of this Dublin, but the wavy rim shows that he was willing to make it his own amid the handsome grain, smooth finish, and dark walnut stain.