GH.ZHANG: Smooth Tomato (Sergey Ailarov) (06) Tobacco Pipe

Guo Hui Zhang's passion for pipes began with his work as an importer and purveyor of pipe-making materials. Zhang's understanding of large-scale pipe logistics inspired an exciting idea: the mass production of high-quality, artisan pipes. In 2017, he opened the GH Zhang workshop and partnered with pipe makers around the world to achieve his vision. Each GH Zhang pipe is designed by a famous artisan pipe maker and shaped on a CNC machine before being finished by hand and fitted with stems by the team at GH Zhang. Offering more than 40 shapes in smooth and sandblasted finishes, GH Zhang presents pipe smokers with a rare opportunity to procure artisan-style pipes at an accessible price.

One of Russia's most prominent pipe-makers, Sergey Ailarov constantly thinks about pipe design, always sketching out his shapes before carving them. Ailarov draws on Danish, Japanese, and American pipe aesthetics for inspiration, which coalesce into his unique style that is put on proud display here by GH Zhang. This "06" Tomato is a hearty, robust pipe, one that emphasizes and amplifies the presence of the bowl: the Tomato's most iconic shaping element. This bowl has not only been carved with a great deal of breadth and a supple, arcing flare out from its heel to the rim, but it boasts a single, wrapping ridgeline that manifests on the aft side of the rim and curls down through the bowl to meet a pronounced spur. Said spur juts out from beneath the transition and allows this pipe to sit rather stably, supporting the pipe's weight in concert with the fore of the bowl, the sitting stance a dynamic and attractive one. From out of the transition, the shank curls up and flares out, its thickness balancing the presence of the bowl before it pairs to a sleek, demurely curved saddle stem here made from cumberland. Dressed in a warm, smooth finish, there's plenty of handsome grain to appreciate all across the stummel.