Konstantin Shekita: Smooth Reverse Calabash Snail with Rosewood Tobacco Pipe

One of the first Ukrainian artisan pipe makers, Konstantin Shekita has been carving pipes for over 30 years, and in those decades he has cultivated a design outlook that ranges from the classic to the highly sculptural. His immense creativity and unique sense of line is on display here with this Snail rendition, a shape that is rare not only from Shekita, but in the pipe world in general.

The plump build often seen in the Snail is not usually utilized in the way that Konstantin does, as the roundest end is most often seen at the bowl, with the shank and stem making up the extension of the interpreted snail's neck and head. Here, that has been inverted, with the "shell" not only exaggerated in size, but holding a reverse Calabash condensation chamber within it, a feature that this particular imagining is well suited for. Coming out of that chamber, and resting within a wide disc of rosewood, is the stem, a trim saddle with an expansion ring at the base that somewhat mirrors the breadth of the rosewood fitment. On the underside there is a gradually tapering streak of plateau which is further defined by the hollow carving at its sides, the craggy surface of the briar emulating the underside of an actual snail, a playful detail that further emphasizes the imagination of the Ukrainian artisan. Additionally, this ridge allows for the pipe to sit, not only at its midsection, but further back, orienting the tobacco chamber to be almost completely in line with it. The stability of the pipe while sitting in this position leads me to think that this is not only the intended sitting orientation, but also the intended smoking position.

I mention this specifically because of the way that the plateau curves, as, from this orientation, it curves and rises upward, terminating at the rim, the sharp hollow carving at the sides feeding into a wrapping ridgeline that extends the reach of the briar rearward, toward the stem. Following the implied anatomy that I see here, I can envision that head and eyes of the snail, lifting itself up and looking behind it to gaze in confusion at this mysterious vulcanite addition to its shell. Speaking of the shell, I have to point out the deftness of Shekita's ability to carve ridges, as along the base, there is a bit of plateau that has been sanded down, and he's perfectly followed the line of the edge that wraps around the left flank to flow through into the right, meeting the natural one once again after a confluence of three lines. One of these curves rearward up and through the shell to meet the rosewood disk, adding some texture to the shell and reinforce the anatomy of the "snail." This pipe in a smooth, natural finish which highlights dense streaks of flame grain flickering out from the plateau underside on all sides of the briar.