Yeti: Sandblasted Bent Egg (788) Tobacco Pipe

Montana native and the man behind Yeti pipes, Micah Cryder became fascinated with pipe making after smoking a pipe for the first time in high school. His passion for the craft became intense and all encompassing, and he eventually quit his barista job and left university to pursue pipe making full-time. He's now one of America's premier pipe makers, garnering considerable praise for his unique shaping style, handsome finishing work, and mind-boggling attention to detail.

Supple, curvaceous, and muscular, this piece deftly showcases Cryder's crafting prowess and is an homage to revered Japanese carver Kei-ichi Gotoh's distinctive shaping aesthetic. Unlike a traditional bent Egg, this piece boasts a vertically orientated shank-and-stem arrangement that evokes the build and character of an Oom Paul. The tightly knit transition closely aligns the bowl and shank, with the shank emerging like an outcropping of the heel before rising toward the half-saddle stem. By visually aligning the bowl and shank, Cryder emphasizes the bowl's rounded curves and bulbous waistline. In keeping with Cryder's aesthetic, the stem here is composed of a modern resin, which is similar to Bakelite and just as colorful. The stem's fiery hues immediately liven the composition, adding a splash of color to the pipe's otherwise reserved color palette. Dressed in a dark sandblast, the stummel unveils tight bands of ring grain that radiate across the flanks of the bowl.