Yeti: Smooth Dublin with Bamboo (513) Tobacco Pipe

Micah "Yeti" Cryder's entry into the 2019 American Pipe Making Exposition is this dynamic Dublin. Though rather "simple" (as in traditional) in silhouette, there's actually a significant amount of complexity at work here — just subtly implemented in typical Cryder fashion. When viewed in profile, a slight upward bend is evident in the three knuckles of bamboo; Micah has done well, then, to balance this out with a diminutive recurve in the mouthpiece. Such a lithe curvature and use of visual momentum draws the eyes forward where the energy is fully realized at the bowl's dramatically canted fore.

The bowl itself is deceptively robust, being soft of line but quite thick-walled for plenty of insulation around the chamber. The rim is delineated by a subtly undulating ridgeline below, drawing focus to the ring of plateau surrounding the top of the chamber. Said plateau is incredibly detailed and well-defined, Yeti having dark-stained it to contrast, yet topping the taller peaks with the same, lighter stain of the stummel to more fully incorporate the plateau into the overall piece. The texture, then, dissipates seamlessly into tight whorls of birdseye at the innermost portion of the rim.

Out back, Cryder has extended the shank with three knuckles of clean-lined bamboo. The organic material flares slightly toward the stem, echoing the bowl's taper, and the transition is wrapped with a crisp ridgeline, reminiscent of a design element championed by Lars Ivarsson — the hard line every-so-slightly breaking up the implied lines of the bamboo and continuing the rhythm of the knuckles. Said knuckles aren't completely parallel, adding a dose of asymmetry to the piece, and Micah has leaned into this aspect, shaping the base of the saddle stem to align beautifully with the uneven face of the bamboo. Well crafted and gorgeously shaped, the whole piece maintains an organically dynamic motif, furthered by the immaculate flame grain that conforms exactingly to the lines of the bowl.