Adam Davidson: Smooth Freehand (Collaboration with H. Tokutomi) Tobacco Pipe

Of the two pieces born from the collaboration between Adam Davidson and Hiroyuki Tokutomi, this freehand piece displays the most pronounced fusion of the two carvers' respective aesthetics, to my eye. The underlying profile of Adam's Fig shape is readily apparent, with its succinct spur at the heel, upward-flicking curvature of the shank, and bulbous, forward-leaning bowl. From here, Tokutomi's distinctly organic Dublin form takes over, as the Japanese master imbued the plateau-adorned rim with his signature rolling, asymmetrical crown, the which is complemented by a plateau-kissed, brass-ringed mount at the mortise. Aside from being a stable sitter (which Adam's Figs usually are not shaped to be), a particularly subtle, but no less intricate detail can be found at the stem's base: rather than a perpendicular arrangement which has been lightly downturned, the circular base actually mirrors the angle of the shank's end, resulting in a piece more perfectly unified from bit to rim. Truly wonderful work here.