Scott Thile: Smooth Bent Dublin (FH) (555) Tobacco Pipe

Scott Thile is a creative artisan bursting with artistic ability, both carving fine pipes and enjoying a career in music. 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 stem.

The briar shows some excellent flame grain around the bowl, 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 complements the jet-black vulcanite of the half-saddle stem. The overall profile is quite smooth here, working in concert, rather than in contention, with the crisp ridgelines about the rim and lower flanks of the shank. A fine piece from a talented artisan, soon to be the new centerpiece in a lucky collector's rotation.