Bill Shalosky: Sandblasted Billiard with Boxwood and Fordite (477) Tobacco Pipe

Bill Shalosky's portfolio well demonstrates his affection for the classics of previous generations, with Billiards, Liverpools, Apples, and Brandies well represented in his portfolio. For 2020's American Pipe Making Exposition, Bill presents a Billiard in his own style but inspired by his affection for British and French pipes from the early 1900s. This piece in particular is based a shape Shalosky saw in an old BBB catalog as well as a Sasieni from his own collection. The American carver admires straightforward, practical designs and he has used that as inspiration for his own style.

Bill maintains his own personal touch here with a trim accent of fordite between the briar of the shank and the extension of pale boxwood. Fordite, also called "motor agate," is made from the accumulated layers of paint left behind by the painting of automobiles from a Chevrolet plant in Bowling Green, KY. It's a signature accent for Bill, and in this case is streaked in subdued blueish grey, contrasting wonderfully with the boxwood.

Very long, lean and slender, this Billiard offers an upright bowl sandblasted with cross-grain orientation of the briar. With just a touch of traditional forward cant and a flat rim. The color of the stain is also traditional, well representing the storied pipe manufacturers of the past but with a style and execution that is undeniably Shalosky.