Kurt Balleby: Smooth Acorn with Boxwood Tobacco Pipe

With a pipe career spanning over 40 years, Danish pipe artisan Kurt Balleby has a wide portfolio of elegant and expressive designs. After studying under iconic pipe makers like Kai Nielsen and Preben Holm, Balleby would eventually go on to craft pipes under his own name in 1983. Balleby's approach to pipe making consists of an intensive quality control process, ensuring every design is created with incredible detail and care. A more compact design from Kurt Balleby, this Acorn measures just over five inches long and showcases a variety of stunning hues to create a unique piece that will appeal to pipe enthusiasts and collectors alike. Up front, the bowl is plump as its walls rise from a lifted heel and balloon to the rim. Cheeking around the transition gives way to an oval shank that begins the aft's bend to the bit as it connects to an accent of boxwood at its base, adding a light color contrast to the stummel. A softly bent vulcanite stem protrudes from the boxwood, completing the silhouette of the pipe. The auburn-stained stummel displays remarkable flame grain across all sides of the bowl while dense and impressive patches of birdseye compete for attention on the rim and underside.