Davide Iafisco: Sandblasted Blowfish Tobacco Pipe

Inspired in equal measure by the classic Anglo-French marques of old and the contemporary artisan makers of modern times, Davide Iafisco is an Italian artisan whose body of work spans many styles, with this Blowfish being a handsome example. The first thing that strikes me about this imagining of the profile is its compactness, coming in at less than five inches long, followed by its silhouette, which is possessed of a fluid and easygoing curvature through the underside. From the flanks, at a passing glance, this pipe looks impressively symmetrical, with similar, rounded features, though a closer look unveils its subtle, elegant asymmetry.

The shank here lifts subtly as it reaches out from a wide transition, flaring to its end and meeting a short, smartly curved saddle stem crafted from black vulcanite, the base of which continues the shank's flare. At the lower flanks of the shank, a pair of ridges manifest, which extend into the base of the stem and flow toward the bowl, firming up the look of the stummel significantly and guiding the eye to the fore. These ridges curve out at the transition and form a pair of structures at the lower aft side of the bowl's flanks, structures that resemble a pair of fins and mark the start of the shape's iconic, asymmetrical panels. The pseudo-fin on the right side is more pronounced than that of the left side, and this side of the bowl additionally boasts a broader build than its twin, with a plump bulge at the center of the panel creating an organic, supple look. There's a slight bulge at the left side of the bowl as well, centered on its panel, though the difference in the diameter of these panels offsets the bulge a bit, enhancing the asymmetry of this piece significantly. On the underside, a central ridgeline runs the length of the stem base, shank, and bowl, before curling into the fore wall and splitting at the rim. The space between this ridge and the bowl's left panel creates a separate, more angular panel that lends this pipe a subtle dynamism, especially from the smoker's perspective, which affords it the look of its tetrodotoxin-producing namesake mid-swim. Dressed in a crisp, inky sandblast, the stummel showcases rippling growth rings through the center, while the flanks of the bowl display blasted birdseye, with contrast offered by the smooth, geometrically-shaped rim.