Nørding: Cut Smooth Bent Dublin with Bamboo (E) Tobacco Pipe

Erik Nording's Cut Smooth series comprises pipes that are entirely hand made by the Danish carver, many of which display a far more reserved design than his usual Fancy Freehand fare. This bent Dublin is certainly one of these pieces, though it is by no means subdued, with a distinctively neoclassical sense of proportion that places most emphasis on the bowl. The stem here is a trim, black, acrylic taper which ebbs out of a shank end that's been accented by a pair of black acrylic rings, these framing a single expansive knuckle of bamboo. The dense grass lends the aft portion of this pipe a bit more substance, drawing some of the visual weight back from the bowl, as well as a handsome bit of contrast. Sitting atop a sweeping heel, the bowl flares slightly toward its plateau-crowned rim, though it maintains a robust disposition throughout, even as it begins its travel upward and outward. Dressing the briar here is a warm mahogany stain that unveils dense licks of flame grain surrounding the bowl, with visible growth rings on the left flank and birdseye peppering the underside of this "E" grade piece.