Bill Shalosky: Smooth Eye Scorcher Calabash with Mammoth (570) Tobacco Pipe

Every year since 2015, Smokingpipes has hosted an annual American Pipe-Making Exposition, a showcase of pipes from some of the United States' most esteemed artisans. Each Expo focuses on a central theme, and the carvers are able express their creativity and signature style within that given motif. Past themes have highlighted different finishes, stem types, and accenting materials, but for 2022, the theme was Calabash engineering, whether traditional or reverse.

Bill Shalosky's entry for 2022's Exposition was a Calabash-engineered rendition of his signature Eye Scorcher shape. Aptly named, the Eye Scorcher presents a towering bowl that surpasses most Stacks in terms of height and rises to about eye level. This particular rendition boasts a bowl over three inches tall, though the overall length of the piece is firmly within Nosewarmer dimensions, measuring less than five inches from end to end. Shalosky, instead of drilling the Calabash's condensation chamber into the shank or utilizing a traditional rim cap, has seamlessly integrated the chamber cap with portion that houses the cooling chamber: The top half of the bowl is removable, though when attached, presents a seamless junction that makes the form seem entirely one piece. The Calabash chamber near the base of the bowl will collect excess moisture and ensure a cooler, drier smoking experience of a favored blend. Shalosky has dressed this piece in a smoky, chestnut-hued smooth finish that highlights tight stacks of cross grain climbing the flanks of the bowl and fields of birdseye along the fore and aft sides. The stummel's dark stain nicely harmonizes with the hues of the cumberland saddle stem for a cohesive visual palette, while the trim band of mammoth around the shank end provides a touch of warmth to the overall composition.