Rattray's: Majesty Black Smooth (177) (9mm) Tobacco Pipe

Rattray's "177" bent Billiard is a sinuous and muscular interpretation of the classic shape, its build marked by a deeply bent shank-and-stem combination. This pairing maintains a distinctive muscularity throughout its high-kicking travel out of the open transition, their steep curvature promising easy jaw-hanging and lending the profile a bit of gracefulness. The bowl here sits atop a lifted heel and boasts a low-set waistline with plenty of plumpness for a comfortable feel in hand, the walls taking on a forward-canting taper to the rim that keeps profile quite dynamic, despite its stoutness. A slight outward push of briar at the underside of the transitional area not only adds additional muscularity, but informs the heel's lift, placing emphasis on the bowl without making the bowl itself overly large.

Presented in an array of finishes, Rattray's Majesty series offers pipes in a ruddy sandblast or smooth finishes with ebony or chestnut stains. They all focus on a traditional aesthetic with added elegance through a generous brass accent, evoking the style of an army mount but with a standard mortise-tenon arrangement. Ever elegant and eminently regal, this particular Majesty example is presented in the Black Smooth version.