Yeti: Sandblasted Acorn Sitter (204) Tobacco Pipe

When it comes to the sandblasted finish, American artisans tend to approach sandblasts in a very different way than the established precedent. Simply put, they place as much emphasis and import on their sandblasts as they do their smooth, contrast stains — even shaping and selecting certain blocks to produce the most impressive display of ring grain or blasted birdseye.

This muscular Acorn Sitter from Micah Cryder is a gorgeous example of this American approach — delivering not only a beautiful, active, and powerful form but one which showcases an extremely well-oriented sandblast as well. With the burl oriented at the foot, Micah has allowed the block's rippling rings to undulate out from that point of origin, neatly and concentrically, across the rest of the stummel. Climbing up the forward canted bowl, these rippling waves build and build and build before exploding into a craggy, almost sharp crown of plateau along the rim.

Would this particular shape, crafted from this particular block, have yielded a lovely smooth-finished pipe? Yes, probably. But the results Micah was able to coax out from a high-pressure mix of air and media are perhaps even more impressive. And that, dear friends, is why Americans approach sandblasting in this way: to yield the best possible results, the best possible pipe for that given block.

- Andrew Wike