Henri Sorensen: Smooth Bent Dublin Tobacco Pipe

Originally a glazier, Danish artisan Henri Sørensen primarily takes inspiration from his country's great artisans, with many of his pipes reflecting a skill for fine facets and timeless aesthetics. This bent Dublin is a delightful, subtly sinuous piece from the artisan that boasts an impressive compositional balance and understated dynamism stemming from its carefully considered proportions. The transition is wide, and it's subtly cinched near the top side to emphasize a bit of the bowl's curves, giving way to a gently curling, tapering shank that lifts to meet a sleek saddle stem of black vulcanite. This shank and stem combination are compressed into a broad, ovoid shape that slenderizes their silhouette rather substantially while maintaining a reasonable heartiness from the smoker's perspective. The trajectory of the shank and stem rise naturally from out of the heel, which presents with a rounded, but subtly spurred presence, and the lower line of the shank rises smoothly from this area: cultivating a natural sense of flow. Up front, the bowl rises from the heel with an expressive flare, its thick walls expanding into a broad, domed rim while canting forward dynamically and surrounding a reserved chamber. Dressing this pipe is a warm, smooth, auburn-tinged stain that reveals a stunning array of grain, all of which follows the shape of the stummel expertly, as flame lines the shank through its lift to the stem. Dense streaks of flame and straight grain also surround the bowl, and they naturally guide the eye to the rim's vast ocean of birdseye, matched by similar displays at the top of the rim and underside.