Kurt Balleby: Smooth Paneled Bent Billiard with Red Palm (1418) Tobacco Pipe

The precision of Kurt Balleby's panels is more than impressive, particularly in the way he demarcates different types of grain within each panel. In the case of this bent Billiard, horizontal grain fills two panels, and the next two are birdseye, and the next are horizontal again, as if each panel were a portrait of the natural beauty of briar. The rim is a study in geometry, with a rounded character up top and scalloping into the panel ridges just below. Each ridge is crisp, each curve precise, and the overall shaping itself is inspiring. So too is the finish: the subtly curved shank is capped with understated red palm, dark and well-grained, complementing the color palette of the stummel, which wears one of his warmer stains. Effortless in hand, this is a piece that will have you turning it over and over to explore. And while Kurt no longer grades his work, this piece does have a "1418" stamp — the first two digits noting the number of the pipe, while the latter refer to the year — something we only see on pieces he thinks deserve the notation.