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

Russian carver Roman Kovalev came to artisan pipe making with the same drive and determination that led to his success as a race car builder, distillery owner, and pediatric neurologist. Before starting Doctor's Pipes, aptly named as a nod to one of his former careers, Kovalev was simply a passionate collector and hobbyist who smoked hundreds of different pipes from artisans around the world. His thorough examination of a diverse range of pipes, with their varying shaping styles, finishes, and smoking qualities, inspired Kovalev to undertake the craft for himself. The Russian artisan often showcases a penchant for compact, organic shapes, and he pioneered the integration of craggy, nonuniform sections of bamboo as a focal point in a pipe's composition.

A compact and versatile take on the classic shape, this Billiard measures less than five inches in total length, and as one might expect from a pipe of such dimensions, it boasts a rather lightweight in-hand presence, in part thanks to the shank-and-stem arrangement's reduced diameter. Though rather abbreviated overall, the bowl here stands quite tall and displays a subtle taper from the wide, plump heel to the tauter rim. The bowl's gentle taper produces a low-set waistline that conforms quite naturally to the hand, while cheeking along the transition creates a nice visual break between the bowl and the shank-and-stem arrangement. The trim shank is extended by three knuckles of craggy, uneven bamboo, their warm complexion standing out quite starkly in profile. A trim band of boxwood tops the aforementioned bamboo and complements the grass' natural hues. It's all dressed in an earthy sandblast that highlights immaculate grain around the bowl, unveiling growth rings that radiate along the flanks before terminating at the smoothly polished rim.