Yeti: Sandblasted Skater (757) Tobacco Pipe

Montana-based carver Micah Cryder has always been fascinated by pipes. A fourth-generation pipe smoker himself, he began crafting pipes in his late teens, honing his craft over the years to become a mainstay in the American pipe-making community. Cryder draws on Danish and American style cues, imbuing them with rugged aesthetics and his own playful sensibilities. This Skater is a fine example of Cryder's penchant for reinterpreting traditional and artisan shapes. This example favors a more Dublin-like disposition, featuring clean tapered walls capped by a plateau rim, while maintaining the Skater's pointed heel, creating a forward-urging, energetic profile. Out back, an oval shank curves smoothly upward, displaying a soft ridgeline that wraps around the lower portion of the shank, lending extra emphasis to the heel, finally culminating at the conjunction. A bent vulcanite half-saddle stem completes the composition, perfectly balanced with the lower ridgeline and prompting a comfortable smoking posture. Dressed in a blonde tandblast, the stummel boasts tightly stacked ring grain that ripples up the bowl, offering a wealth of visual and tactile interest.