Martelo: Sandblasted Chubby Billiard Tobacco Pipe

The Billiard is perhaps the most difficult classic shape for carvers because the proportions must be nearly perfect lest the pipe become some Frankensteinian amalgamation of disparate elements. This example from Martelo displays that perfect proportioning of bowl, shank, and stem all working together in a stubby, pocket-friendly size that will refuse to be left behind whether erranding or adventuring.

The blast is particularly noteworthy. Gustavo certainly knows his way around a blasting cabinet, and the growth rings here are spectacular as they deeply undulate around the bowl. The shank is wide in classic style, and the perfectly tapering mouthpiece displays some intriguing coloration of variegated sage and browns for an especially modern deportment. Exactly the right inclination of cant to the bowl offers the customary Billiard impression of momentum, and its overall size aptly distinguishes it as a pipe of supreme practicality as well as sophisticated appeal.