Scott Thile: Smooth Bent Dublin (FH) (499) Tobacco Pipe

Scott Thile is a creative artisan bursting with artistic ability, both carving fine pipes and playing music professionally. This piece from the American carver is an organic, gestural bent Dublin, with a slightly oblong bowl flaring from a seamless, Horn-like transition. The shank is slightly narrower than it is tall, subtly mirroring the narrowed profile of the bowl without forming a distracting feature, and flares smoothly into the base of a demurely curved half-saddle stem of jet-back vulcanite.

The briar shows some excellent flame grain, especially resplendent on the left flank, and Scott has shaped expertly to maximize it, all the way up to a broad domed rim boasting a field of mesmerizing birdseye. A warm contrast stain and smooth finish bring the grain to life admirably, and provide a pleasant juxtaposition to the sleek black stem out back. The overall profile is quite smooth here, working in concert, rather than in contention with the crisp ridgelines about the rim and matching shoulder of the stem base. A fine piece from a talented artisan, soon to be the new centerpiece in a lucky collector's rotation.