Rattray's: Newcastle Smooth Grey (178) (9mm) Tobacco Pipe

Rattray's "178" shape is a muscular Rhodesian with a sweeping silhouette. It features a tall, playfully canted bowl that stands proudly at the fore of a sinuously bent shank-and-stem arrangement. The deep bend of the shank and stem encourages a comfortable smoking posture and subtly offsets the bowl's brawny build and stoic posture. It's also a delightful pipe in hand, with plenty of space above the transition to drape a digit and more than enough stoutness around the bowl to grip.

Rattray's Newcastle line honors Newcastle upon Tyne, a cathedral city in England known for its industrial might and storied history. The defining trait of the Newcastle series is a shiny metallic accent, a nod to to its namesake's sophisticated architecture. Each pipe in the series is presented in one of three finishes: a dark sandblast, a terracotta smooth finish, or a grey smooth finish. This particular examples wears the grey smooth finish.