Askwith: Sandblasted Morta Cavalier Tobacco Pipe

Hearkening to days of more traditional forms, this Cavalier from Chris Askwith presents a classically inclined, Billiard-shaped bowl perched on top of a geometrically precise shank, its Cavalier history on display in English style. The morta is oriented for horizontal grain circling the bowl in riveting regularity, promising untold hours of admiration and appeal.

The dark palette is supported by the subtly contrasting cumberland tones of the polyester mouthpiece and shank cap, and that shank cap is a fully workable and functional element, permitting the smoker to drain moisture from the pipe at any time during a smoke, as it should, being the primary engineering feature of the Cavalier shape. While the bowl may appear to be forward canted, that disposition is entirely dependent on what angle the pipe is held for smoking, and in most cases the bowl will be situated in a fully upright posture.

Askwith is among the few independent artisans carving classic English shapes as traditionally dedicated as found in this piece, and while he's eminently capable of creative flights into unexplored realms of design, it's comforting to know the classic shapes are so well understood by a modern carver of Askwith's stature.