BriarWorks: Signature Dark Rusticated Calabash with Dark Rusticated Cap and White Stem Tobacco Pipe

The Signature Calabash is among BriarWorks' most singular and impressively engineered pipes. Like the traditional Calabash, this piece features a hollowed out stummel with a removable chamber cap; however, it's entirely fashioned from briar instead of the historic use of gourd and meerschaum. The stummel's expansive chamber allows the smoke to cool and dry before entering the airway, and BriarWorks' rendition is further elevated by magnets that secure the chamber cap in place, allowing collectors to mix and match various finishes for the cap and the rest of the stummel — with this particular cap wearing the workshop's Dark Rusticated finish.

BriarWorks' Original series comprises shapes designed by iconic American artisans, representing uniquely individual forms compared to the shape-chart standards of the Classic series. While every BriarWorks stummel is carved on CNC (computer numerical control) machines based on pre-established templates for consistent shaping across renditions, the stem-fitting and finishing processes are entirely hand-applied by the American workshop's team of artisans: Pete Prevost, Bill Shalosky, Micah Redmond, and Sam Adebayo. All four men are artisan pipe makers in their own rights, and BriarWorks' production model of combining mass-production processes with hand-applied, artisanal techniques results in modestly priced pipes with the engineering and aesthetic quality of handmade work. This particular example wears the workshop's Dark rusticated finish, offering a crisp, wire-brushed texture.