J. Alan: Smooth Acorn with Bamboo (1620) Tobacco Pipe

One of the most talented pipe makers in North America, and the world for that matter, Jeff Gracik of J. Alan pipes fashions expertly engineered compositions that are highly sought after and admired for their shaping, grain, and excellent smoking properties. The American artisan's stylistic range is impressively diverse as Gracik is able to craft beautiful shape-chart standards as well as more complex, organically inspired designs. This sinuous Acorn ably demonstrates Jeff's talents with organic shapes and tasteful use of accenting materials.

This Acorn rendition presents a bowl with bulbous, tapered flanks that travel downwards to a crisp ridgeline that wraps along the heel. It's a remarkable shaping feat and continuously puzzles me, as that ridgeline seemingly emerges from out of nowhere but has been used perfectly in regard to the stummel's grain orientation. Streaks of cross grain ride along the flanks, framing the beautifully hypnotic birdseye that saturates the bowl's near and far sides. The warm, glossy contrast finish Jeff applied to the stummel makes the grain even more impressive. I also admire the slight backward tilt exhibited by the rim, which enhances the implied forward movement the bowl displays. The sense of active motion is emphasized further by the shank-and-stem combination's sinuous S-curve. The curved bamboo displays remarkably neat and uniform knuckles, and rise upward to meet the gracefully bent saddle stem. The base of the mouthpiece has been meticulously shaped in accordance with the bamboo, continuing the upward trajectory of the organic medium before stepping down to a flattened configuration and arching toward the comfortable lip button.