Bill Shalosky: Sandblasted Brow Burner with New Guinea Ebony (651) 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 as well as one of BriarWorks' in-house craftsmen. Shalosky's past woodworking and his degree in fine arts have lent him quite the unique shaping style: one which displays a respect for the classic profiles of old while maintaining a distinctly modern sense of style, something clearly seen in this Brow Burner, a signature shape for the artisan.

The Brow Burner is a profile that Shalosky has been crafting for quite a while, and his mastery of its lines speaks to the many iterations this shape has seen over the years. The pipe itself is a combination of a wonderfully compressed, Nosewarmer Billiard and a Stack, here resulting in a three-inch-tall bowl paired to an extremely trim shank. Said bowl sits atop a strong, pronounced heel and takes on a gentle taper to the rim, making for a Brandy-like silhouette that's unquestionably the center of attention in this pipe's construction. Despite the extremely trim length of this pipe, the height of the bowl makes for an extremely comfortable feel in hand, as nearly every finger can wrap around its circumference comfortably. The shank is extremely short, though quite thick, and it ebbs out of a wide transition to meet a ring of New Guinea ebony wood that marks the junction to a slender saddle stem. This stem allows for comfortable clenching despite this piece's appreciable weight, and its jet-black vulcanite does well to complement the classic palette of the stummel's earthy sandblast.