Abe Herbaugh: Sandblasted Billiard with Horn Tobacco Pipe

When Abe Herbaugh fashions a classic shape of Nosewarmer length, he often increases the relative proportions for added stoutness and muscularity. Such a design cue is something of a characteristic of American artisan pipe making, and this Billiard from Abe exemplifies the aesthetic. The bowl height and shank diameter are that of a standard Group 4-sized pipe, but Herbaugh dramatically reduced the shank's length, and the stem, while balanced of length in relation to the abbreviated shank, is likewise shorter than would be considered typical for a standard-sized Billiard. Such compact proportions lend the shank an even more robust look, especially considering the negative space contributed by the saddle stem. Furthermore, Abe will often ever-so-slightly taper the shanks of his straight pipes, not to the extent done by Italian makers, like Castello and Radice, but just enough to guide the eye forward and add sleekness to the profile. Here, though, the shank shows little to no taper, retaining its hearty muscularity and sturdy structure all the way from transition to end. Those lines, then, continue into the stem base, which bears an accent of creamy horn — the perfect accoutrement to the pipe's overall dark palette, with a sandblast of low-depth texture and detailed grain definition.