Scott Thile: Partially Sandblasted Bent Bulldog (OP2) (279) Tobacco Pipe

To borrow from the masterful poetry of Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar, "SCHWING, SCHWING, SCHWING." There is actually supposed to be one more of that iconic accolade, but I'm only allowed three a month. Having said, I have no problem with using this month's allotment on this stunning Thile bent Bulldog. An Opus pipe (in this case an "O2" or "Opus 2") denotes a select few shapes that Scott feels a special fondness for/affinity to. One glance at the totality of this bountiful, beatific bull-pup, and "affinity" feels like a gross understatement.

A wise carver once noted that, when working briar with template forms/proportionality, the propensity for a foul up shifts from an arithmetical to a near geometric progression as the length increases. Working within the playful proportion milieu, a ton of that is ameliorated. When creating a classic Billiard or (say) bent Bulldog, where is the wriggle room? The BB on your monitor is roughly six inches long, superbly balanced and boasts perfect symmetry; common with the machine made, quite rare in the 100% handmade. The main course of the feast (overly) addressed, what about the side dishes? Accompaniments such as the blast, the grain, the quality of the dual stain and the bit work? In my opinion, as well as Eric's, they are as perfect as the execution. Highly recommended.

--R. 'Bear' Graves