Ping Zhan: Sandblasted Chubby Blowfish Tobacco Pipe

One of the very first shapes we received from Ping Zhan was a playful, yet sharp-lined design called the "Chubby Blowfish." While that original form was impressive in its own right, today we see it in its current edition. Actually shaped in Jeff Gracik's workshop during a recent visit there, the differences between this rendition and the one we've seen previously, while minute, speak to Ping's perfectionist streak — the tweaking of his signature shapes little by little until the perfect rendition is realized.

The forward cant of the bowl is more pronounced, and, correspondingly, the transition is both more sweeping in nature and more defined. That sweeping motion is far more exaggerated along the crisp lines of the shank than in the original design as well, resulting in both more visual weight placed on the bowl and a more dynamic, forward momentum in profile. All in all, it's an extremely modern take on the Blowfish design, a balance of organic asymmetry and firm, architectural lines, and if truth be told, one of my favorite interpretations of the shape to date.

- Andrew Wike