Davide Iafisco: Sandblasted Billiard Tobacco Pipe

Davide Iafisco, a talented Italian pipe maker, seamlessly blends traditional Italian craftsmanship with aspects of the Danish, Japanese, and American design schools. His pipes are celebrated for their dynamic shaping cues, graceful lines, and occasional asymmetry, each meticulously crafted to the highest standard.

This Billiard by Davide Iafisco is a masterful expression of the classic form through a contemporary lens, embodying the Italian artisan's signature fusion of traditional craftsmanship and global design influences. Though compact in stature — just a touch over five inches — this piece delivers a commanding presence, with a bold, rounded bowl that draws the eye with its proud, upright posture. The bowl stands on a rounded heel, its walls rising with a gentle taper toward a softly inflated, smooth rim. This commanding bowl echoes Iafisco's Italian neoclassic influence, as it towers over the low-set shank and an almost ninety-degree transition. Cheeking along the transition and the shank's clean straight lines contribute to this design's neoclassic, bowl-centric proportions, while a sleek cumberland saddle stem completes the design. Dressing the stummel is a light sandblast that highlights tightly packed growth rings rippling along the bowl's flanks.