Rattray's: Sanctuary Smooth Grey (5) (9mm) Tobacco Pipe

A hearty, fairly muscular Billiard shape, Rattray's "5" design is one of the Scottish marque's most robust straight Billiard renditions. The stoutness of the shank and transition lends the bowl a more stocky disposition and matches its thick-walled persona. It's an excellent choice for pipe smokers who appreciate classic shaping but desire a more substantial presence in hand compared to Rattray's more slender "7" and "109" straight Billiard shapes.

For many, pipe smoking is a refuge of sorts, a retreat away from life's busyness and a safe haven that encourages peacefulness, contemplation, and relaxation. Rattray's Sanctuary series honors this aspect with a line of pipes dressed in smooth finishes and accented by metal fitments along the shank end and stem base — the former etched with Rattray's ancient triskel logo. While such accoutrements mirror the aesthetic of a spigot mount, this Sanctuary pipe still maintains a standard mortise and tenon arrangement, drilled to accommodate a 9mm filter, and it's found here in the line's Grey finish, highlighting the briar's smooth grain in an alluring, smoky stain.