Bill Shalosky: Smooth Tomato with Mammoth (577) Tobacco Pipe

Bill Shaloksky is an American artisan pipe maker with a deft understanding of shaping, having spent years making pipes for Smoker's Haven, Chheda Pipes, and BriarWorks. Shalosky boasts a wide range of influences and crafts anything from classic English shapes to more organic, Danish-inspired pieces, like this Tomato. Muscular and low-slung, this piece features a broad bowl that's hoisted at the fore of the composition by a subtly lifted heel. The heel works in concert with the bowl's sloped fore to give the entire pipe an active posture in profile. The shank-and-stem arrangement matches the bowl's brawny build and strikes a subtle S-curve in back that promotes a comfortable smoking posture. A smoky smooth finish dresses the stummel and highlights tight strands of flame grain as they rise to a rim populated with birdseye, while a trim band of mammoth accents the shank end and provides a dose of warm to the pipe's otherwise reserved color palette.