G. Penzo: Sandblasted Morta Dublin (Shell) (A) Tobacco Pipe

Though originally from Italy, Giacomo Penzo now resides in Ireland, where he works for Peterson as the firm's Pipe Specialist. He takes inspiration from both Danish and Anglo-French pipe charts and leverages his background in Industrial Design to craft shapes that are both beautiful and highly functional. Penzo understands that pipes are equal parts art and tool, so he makes sure to focus on engineering and smoking capabilities with the same attention to detail as a pipe's aesthetic beauty. This stubby Dublin showcases Penzo's affinity and love for the craft with its elegant shaping, stylish finish, and charming character.

Instead of traditional briar, Penzo has fashioned this piece from morta, a petrified bog oak that's prized for its unique grain patterning and heat-resistance. He's dressed the morta stummel in a crisp sandblast that provides the subtlest of textures in hand and unveils truly hypnotic waves of grain radiating across the length of the pipe. While it's a fairly compact design, measuring less than five inches in total length, this piece boasts a rather stocky build, the bowl substantive and wide, the shank thick and muscular. Even given its size, each aspect of the pipe is well-balanced and harmonious, with the bowl, shank, and stem all proportionally aligned. A brindled vulcanite mouthpiece tops off the shape and complements the grayish-brown hues of the stummel quite nicely, making for a cohesive color palette in profile.