BriarWorks: Classic Brown Sandblasted with Coffee Stem (C141) Tobacco Pipe

The Belge and Cutty designs are among the oldest pipe shapes still regularly produced today. Their long, sleek profiles and distinctive forward cants date back to when pipes were primarily fashioned from clay throughout the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, before briar was discovered to be an ideal medium. While both the Belge and the Cutty feature canted, Egg-like bowls, the Cutty is distinguished by a protruding foot along the heel. Tradition posits that the clay tavern pipes of yesteryear displayed these heel spurs as a handle, of sorts, to hold the pipe when the bowl became hot, or perhaps as rests for a Churchwarden bowl on an armrest without burning or marring the upholstery. Another theory suggests that their function wasn't meant to be practical but, rather, was merely the result of excess clay seeping from the molds used to shape clay pipes. Regardless, the heel spur has become a stylistic aspect of pipes ever since, especially so for the Cutty — as represented by this "C141" shape from BriarWorks. It caters well to the iconic design's characteristic sleekness, with an elongated tapered stem, slender bowl, and of course, footed heel. BriarWorks' "C142" Belge rendition shares the same proportions and shaping as the "C141" Cutty, only sans heel spur, and the two designs are also available with shorter stems in the American workshop's "C141S" and "C142S" renditions, offering the Cutty and Belge in convenient Nosewarmer size.

As the name suggests, BriarWorks' Classic series comprises iconic, shape-chart standards and represents the workshop's standard-production lineup. 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.