Davide Iafisco: Smooth Lumberman Tobacco Pipe

Having studied under carvers like Teddy Knudsen and Claudio Cavicchi and attended the pipe-making seminars of Jeff Gracik and Adam Davidson, Italian artisan Davide Iafisco boasts quite a range of stylistic influences. Those influences can be felt in all of Iafisco's pipes, but the carver has an innate ability to transform and elevate his inspirations into something entirely unique. Before carving pipes, he worked with wood for a long time as a furniture designer, and his previous line of work aptly prepared him for the precise balancing of aesthetics with functionality required for pipe making. Here, Iafisco presents his handsome rendition of the Lumberman shape.

A precisely rendered and well-articulated design, this piece boasts all of the Lumberman's distinctive features, including a Billiard bowl, a protracted oval shank, and an abbreviated saddle stem. The bowl here is slightly plumper than most renditions of the shape, displaying a broad heel and subtle upward taper that brings to mind Danish-style Billiards. The oval shank and low-set transition keep the shape looking sleek and streamlined in profile, naturally leading the eye toward the supple contours of the bowl. It's dressed in a stunning smooth finish that highlights a tantalizing mixture of birdseye and cross grain around the bowl.