J. Alan Partially Sandblasted Blowfish (1016) (2015) (Unsmoked) Tobacco Pipe

Jeff Gracik learned pipe making from the likes of Todd Johnson, Tonni Nielsen, and Jody Davis. His desire to make the best pipe he possibly can has led him to make some incredible and incredibly unique smoking instruments over the years, including this Blowfish. This pipe is beautifully asymmetrical, given round patches of dark sandblast on the flanks of the bowl and the shank face, paired with a smooth finish on the top and bottom of the bowl and the rest of the shank. Jeff's ridgelines draw this piece with sincerity, and though its roundness makes it seem playful in the hand, the contrast between the finishes and attractive exposed cross grain and birdseye make clear that this was the pipe Jeff set out to make from the start. A lightly bent vulcanite saddle stem finishes the piece, jutting from an organically shaped shank face to give one last sharp, flowing ridgeline to the profile.