Doctor's: Sandblasted Brandy with Mokume-gane (Double Flash) Tobacco Pipe

Roman Kovalev excels at everything he does, from his career as a neurologist and race-car builder, to owning distilleries and starting an espresso supply company, to now carving Doctor's pipes. In particular, he enjoys utilizing alternative materials and intriguing accents in his pipes, and he's renowned for his use of eccentrically shaped bamboo and other rare, non-standard materials. Often times, Roman will shape a pipe around such accents, creating organic forms to complement a unique piece of bamboo, but he's also well-versed in classic shapes, approaching each composition individually. One such classic design is presented here in soft-lined Brandy form.

It's a compact, versatile rendition, measuring under five inches in length and featuring a round, supple bowl that is almost Apple-like but with a slight upward taper. The soft-lined shaping of the bowl is contrasted, then, by a crisp, oval shank-and-stem combination with firm flanks that meet the bowl at a distinctly defined transition, visually separating the two elements. An earthy contrast stain covers the stummel, its depth of hue visually intriguing the more it's analyzed, and a light-depth sandblast adds grain definition while maintaining the silhouette's lines, accented by a smooth-polished rim. Lastly, it bears an accent of mokume-gane: an ancient Japanese metalworking process that involves layering metals to create a visual texture that emulates the natural grain of wood, the term, in fact, roughly translating to "wood grain metal." It's a beautiful exhibition of Roman's talent with accenting materials as well as his craftsmanship proficiency even beyond that of pipe making. The metallic accent combines wonderfully with the stummel, the grain patterns of each playing off of each other, and this pipe has earned Kovalev's Double Flash grade.