Abe Herbaugh: Smooth Calabash with Musk Ox Horn (Crane) Tobacco Pipe

One of the more traditional Calabashes submitted for our 2022 American Pipe-Making Exposition, this pipe by Abe Herbaugh delights with modern adornments and artisan craftsmanship. Each year, a theme is selected for our Exposition, around which pipe makers carve creatively individual pieces, and 2022's motif was Calabash engineering. While virtually any shape can be crafted with the design's characteristic attribute — a vast cooling chamber for the smoke beneath the chamber cap — the most traditional versions have historically been crafted from gourd and display a fluid, gestural profile, as seen here. Abe, however, expanded on this motif, hearkening to the archetypal profile but utilizing briar and musk ox horn instead of gourd and meerschaum.

Abe selected a pristine briar block for this pipe, and its grain patterns perfectly align with the Calabash's deeply bent design: Bands of cross grain define each flank and sweep upward in concert with the stummel's gesture to leave whorls of birdseye fore and aft — all highlighted in a deep, chestnut contrast stain. Most striking, however, are the generous musk ox horn adornments comprising the shank end and the chamber cap.

While the chamber proper is of briar, for a traditional smoking experience, the rim showcases musk ox horn's unique visual texture and color palette. Seemingly translucent, the material is a wealth of shimmering waves and deep patterns that catch the light in vivid arrays. It's a material Abe has used relatively often compared to pipe making at large, and it's the perfect way to elevate the iconic Calabash design. Moreover, the underside of the chamber chap is indented to seamlessly cup the briar, overhanging the cooling chamber's walls for a beautifully integrated design and impressive display of craftsmanship. At the shank end, another section of musk ox horn continues the motif and balances the color palette with a military mount secured by a brass ring around the mortise. At the base of this mount, Abe fashioned a trim ridgeline for a touch of accenting line work that mirrors the base of the stem, integrating it into the overall composition. This is a stunning pipe from form to grain to accent, and it's received Abe's Crane grade, designating his most prestigious work.