BriarWorks: Classic Light Smooth with Amber Stem (C142) 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 Belge forgoes the Cutty's protruding foot along the heel. As such, it presents a more clean-lined and aerodynamic stance, the streamlined shank transitioning gently into the dynamic bowl. BriarWorks' "C142" design caters well to the iconic Belge's characteristic profile, with an elongated tapered stem, slender bowl, and lightweight nature. The American workshop's "C141" Cutty rendition shares the same proportions and shaping as this "C142" Belge, only with a heel spur, and the two designs are also available with shorter stems in the BriarWorks' "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, and Micah Redmond. All three 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 Light smooth finish, highlighting the briar's natural grain in an alluring stain.