Smooth Peterson Tribute Bent Billiard with Bamboo (Kikuchi) (K) (043) (2025) (9mm) Tobacco Pipe

Formerly known as the American Pipe Making Exposition, our annual Global Pipe Making Exposition features contributions from some of the world's foremost artisans, all united around a central theme. One of the most exciting events of the year for carvers, smokers, and enthusiasts of briar alike, the Global Exposition acts not only as a showcase for the immense talent of these artisans, but a focus for the boundless creativity that these masters of the art possess. For 2025, the theme of our Expo is "In Memoriam," celebrating the life and works of artisans who have passed on, yet whose impact on the craft and those around them is utterly undeniable.

Peterson is a well-known name across all of pipedom. Pipe-making legend, Charles Peterson, patented one of the most famous and easily recognizable pipe designs ever made: the System Pipe. System Pipes are known for their gap between the stem base and the shank face, while Peterson pipes as a whole are easily recognizable for their thickly proportioned renditions of shape-chart classics. Now the sole carver of the Ikebana workshop, Asami Kikuchi has captured the essence of Charles Peterson's System Pipe design with this bent Billiard, but with the addition of her own Japanese inclinations.

Shape-wise, this looks like a typical Peterson-style bent Billiard. It has a deep-chambered, palm-filling bowl paired to a girthy shank. The transition begins high up on the bowl, and the shank turns up swiftly out of this tightknit space to meet a slim band of vulcanite. Above this accent, rather than the usual silver mount typically used for a System Pipe, there is an unusually large bamboo accent — the biggest I've yet to see on a pipe. It suits the Peterson style well, as the wide knuckle at its face echoes the stem's thick-shouldered base for a nice sense of symmetry, and it fits in with the muscular proportions that abound throughout the pipe. The stem's bit is short and smartly bent. Paired to the stem's high-kicking posture, this makes the pipe suitable for comfortable jaw-hanging. It is important to note that, while it looks like the stem needs to be pushed in further, the design is intentional, meant to mimic the set up of an authentic System Pipe.

The naturalistic ochre hue of the pipe complements the bamboo shank extension perfectly. The pipe's overall color scheme has an organic aura that fits in well with the rest of Kikuchi's portfolio and the Japanese aesthetic in general. The Ikebana artisan shows off her excellent eye for reading the briar with this pipe: A perfectly oriented river of cross grain flows around the pipe from the top of the shank, around the rim and heel of the bowl, and across the bottom of the shank. Thick swirls of birdseye dance elegantly around the stummel's flanks to either side of the cross grain river, their tightly curled knots bearing a resemblance to those around the bamboo's knuckle. With this tribute to Charles Peterson, Kikuchi has perfectly struck the balance between tradition and innovation, authenticity and originality, and her own style along with Peterson's. Not only will this make an addition of admirable beauty to the discerning smoker's collection, it can also be a comfortable and reliable workhorse smoker — the best of Kikuchi and Peterson together.