Bill Shalosky: Sandblasted Rhodesian with Tulipwood (590) Tobacco Pipe

Bill Shalosky's formal education saw him earn a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from the Columbus College of Art and Design, his background in bowl turning and dabbling in clay pipe making seeing him doing repairs at the Smokers' Haven shop. Before long he had moved on to crafting their handmade series of pipes, and afterward began crafting his own line of handmade pieces, becoming one of the foremost artisans in the United States. Shalosky takes inspiration from pipe-making schools the world over, with this particular Rhodesian rendition reminiscent of the Danish school, though still remaining thoroughly in the style of Shalosky.

Shalosky's portfolio has included a few Rhodesians in the past, though it's not a shape that he carves regularly, and this piece in particular is only the second of his Rhodesians we've seen that's been bent. The silhouette here is quite charming and playful, with a compact overall length of less than five inches and a gentle sinuousness suffusing its entire build. The transition is tightly-knit, but wide enough to drape a digit over with ease, and marks the start of the shank's lifting travel to a junction which is here defined by a soft-edged ring of tulipwood. Married to the shank here is a gracefully arcing saddle stem of jet-black vulcanite that not only lends the piece a graceful posture, but a comfortable stature for jaw-hanging, doing well to balance the weight of this pipe. At around an ounce and a half, this certainly isn't the lightest pipe in the world, but its presence in the hand is surprisingly refined, and its easy gesture combines with a thickness of form that distributes that weight evenly and pleasantly, ensuring there's not too much torsion on the teeth when clenched. At the end of its sinuous shank and stem sits the bowl, flaring robustly into a broad, domed rim whose start is marked by a single beadline, its impressive height of over two inches providing plenty of room for the fingers to wrap and holding a capacious chamber within its walls. This bowl is also a great canvas for the crisp, inky sandblast that dresses the briar, these hues contrasted by the light tones of the junctions band of tulipwood.