Andreas Bennwik: Smooth Bent Dublin Tobacco Pipe

Out of the three bent Dublins appearing in this first batch of Andreas Bennwik pipes, one is sandblasted, and two are smooth. The two smooth Dublins, as it happens, are also something of a pair shape-wise, being two different takes on the same general shape — a specific type of bent Dublin. Of those two I would consider this the less aggressive one. Fitting to that, it's also the smaller of the two, though the more aggressive/less aggressive is itself a matter of little differences in line, rather than simply their differing scales.

Take the slant of the stem-base's rear face, for example; here it's less sharp. Likewise, at the rim this Dublin sports an ever-so-slight roundness, where the other is straight beveled. Further you can turn to the rear faces of the bowls, the other rising up from its transition directly, whereas on this pipe the rear face is very slightly convex. That itself affects the transition, making it just a little bit finer here, more slender, relative to the pipe's own proportions. Emphasizing that even further, where the other Dublin wears a more muscular, round cross-section of shank and transition, this lighter one sports something closer to a lenticular form, shedding mass and creating more negative space, especially along its upper half.

- Eric N. Squires