Askwith: Rusticated Stack Tobacco Pipe

An artisan pipe maker from Plymouth, English, Chris Askwith has developed a considerable reputation over the years. He's known for modernizing classic English shapes through a mixture of stylish finishes and colorful polyester stems, as evidenced by this striking Stack. As is typical for the form, the bowl here towers over the rest of the composition and houses a respectable chamber capacity, especially given its slender build. The arrow-straight shank-and-stem arrangements ebbs from the low-set transition and keeps the overall design fairly lightweight and svelte, both in profile and in hand. The proportions on display are fairly well-balanced, the shank about as long as the bowl is tall. A crisp, dark rustication dresses the stummel and provides ample texture for the fingers to explore, save for the slightly flared rim, which is left smooth and stained a ruddy hue for contrast. The dark blue polyster stem adds a dose of color to the pipe's otherwise subdued palette for further visual appeal.