Martelo: Sandblasted Prince Tobacco Pipe

The Prince shape was developed by Loewe & Company in London to honor Edward Prince of Wales, later known as Edward VIII, who was said to have a sophisticated sense of style. Generally with a slight bend in the stem, this Prince rendition by Gustavo Cunha of Martelo instead displays an arrow-straight length of shank and stem, that vulcanite mouthpiece in a light salmon color matching the 2175-60 light Salmon color from Benjamin Moore paints, though I don't believe Gustavo conferred with the paint company, nor do I believe that any paints were harmed in the shaping of this stem. The color is intriguing, offering only moderate contrast between the stain of the stummel and the color of the stem. The grain is circularly oriented around birdseye on either flank, displaying detailed, sandblasted growth rings, even in such a diminutive piece. Vertically compressed in Tomato style, the Prince bowl presses its visual weight into the heel, which is broad and relatively substantial. The tobacco chamber is not as wide in diameter as usually found in Prince shapes, which generally contain Pot-like bowl dimensions; instead, Gustavo had drilled a narrower chamber for more Billiard-like smoking characteristics. Elegant, demure, colorful, tactile, sturdy and whimsical, this Martelo Prince is more complex than it first appears, and should likewise accurately render the most sophisticated tobaccos into complex, interesting, delightfully flavorful smoke.