Doctor's: Sandblasted Dublin with Bamboo and Boxwood (Double Flash) Tobacco Pipe

Doctor Roman Kovalev is a shockingly accomplished individual, not just in his pipe making ability, but in his life achievements as a whole. Not only is he an actual doctor, a pediatric neurologist, but he is a polyglot, a racecar builder and driver, a distiller, and a distributor of fine coffee supplies. All of this and he is an incredible pipe maker. His approach to his craft is nothing short of scientific, utilizing a slow-burn process of heating and bending metal rods to bore through bent bamboo as smoothly as humanly possible, which takes many hours, and even building his own proprietary sandblasting equipment when he was dissatisfied with those on the market. Kovalev has been an avid pipe smoker for much of his life, and it was only natural that, at some point, he would gravitate toward making them, and the degree of effort that he puts into them is immense, something which can be seen in this straight Dublin.

This is a very small pipe. Measuring in at under four and a half inches long, it sits squarely and comfortably in Nosewarmer territory, packing a massive amount of substance into its small footprint, and remaining light enough to clench, at just over 31 grams. The stem here is a lithe saddle that features an expansion ring at the base which mirrors the flared face of the boxwood extension that is fitted to the shank's bamboo extension. Said bamboo extension is composed of five densely packed visible knuckles that wrap around six nodes, three on either flank of the dense grass. It is here that we see a feature that took me several viewings to notice, though, when I did, I realized just how dedicated Kovalev is to creating truly superlative pipes: On the right side of the shank where the bamboo meets a trim band of black vulcanite, one of these nodes pushes forward, past the band and into the briar. Roman has carved the shank in just such a way so as to account for this, with the burl wrapping around the node, cradling it, and simultaneously merging all three materials with one another, putting in immense work to achieve such a subtle detail, when he could have cut the node short and reconstructed it around the other components.

The transition is nearly a right angle were it not for the bowl's aft being slightly angled, and it leaves plenty of room for the thumb to drape. At the bowl we see a gentle flare to the rim, causing the aforementioned angle, while the fore end showcases a more pronounced rounding of form when compared to the aft side. The rim is domed and then chamfered into the chamber, allowing for easier loading of tobacco, and, beneath, we see a firm heel pushing out from a wide base that allows the pipe to sit. Overall, the shaping of this bowl is immensely precise, with every facet of the carving falling in line with its opposite side and creating a clean sense of line that further reinforces the emphasis placed on the bowl, working in concert with its relatively large size. A warm mahogany sandblast dresses the briar here, revealing ring grain that ripples up the bowl and blasted birdseye on the rim, with the hues it presents contrasted by the vulcanite and bamboo, for a pipe that is beautiful, functional, and ceaselessly alluring.