Sandblasted Dublin (Two Clubs) Tobacco Pipe

Becker was founded in 1974 by father-and-son duo Fritz and Paolo Becker, and is now run by third-generation artisan Federico Becker. The brand's pipes tend to eschew the extravagant flair of the Italian style, opting instead for more functional forms with a distinctive angularity, as seen in this girthy Dublin. My attention is immediately drawn to the crisp point at the fore of the heel, a common characteristic seen across much of the Becker portfolio. From this point, rippling growth rings ebb and flow through a subtle flare into the plump rim. A smooth-finished, chamfered ring encircles the moderately capacious chamber, offering a slight pop of contrast and echoing the hues of the smooth band at the junction. Moving through a sharp transition and across a muscular shank brings us to a tapered stem brindled with smoky reds and blacks.

What's cool about this pipe is how the shank's larger dimensions accentuate the shank-and-stem arrangement's taper, thus adding even more angularity to the shape. Fans of Becker's sharp, angular style will find that this pipe will make a great desktop companion with its flattened underside offering a place to rest upright and its capacious chamber promising long, thoughtful smoking sessions.