Bill Shalosky: Sandblasted Morta Billiard with Boxwood (451) Tobacco Pipe

Bill Shalosky is certainly no stranger when it comes to crafting the Billiard as the American carver is practically a machine when it comes to fashioning the timeless shape chart standard. Shalosky is incredibly talented at taking the Billiard and rendering it with spot on proportions no matter the scale or overall size of each individual piece. Bill's work often displays a strong mix of Danish and English shaping cues reinterpreted through the American Industrial approach, which takes traditional designs and beefs up their proportions throughout. However, here the American artisan presents one of his trimmest, lightest takes on the straight Billiard to date and is only the third time we've received a morta pipe from him. The last morta piece we saw from Bill was his 2018 contribution to our annual American Pipemaking Exposition, with the focus of that year's theme being alternative materials.

Essentially semi-petrified bog oak, morta as a pipemaking medium is renowned for its light weight and smoking properties that set it apart from briar as it tends to smoke drier and imparts less flavor to the tobacco. The jet-black material is also well-known for the mesmerizing patterns that can be unveiled when it's sandblasted and Bill has taken full advantage of that here. Tight, rippling waves of grain cascade down the towering, upright bowl and provides plenty of crisp texture to keep the fingers entertained. A pale boxwood accent along the stem base adds just enough contrast to the pipe's all-black color palette without distracting from the balanced proportions and clean line work.