Bruno Nuttens: Heritage Smooth Belge (H3) Tobacco Pipe

Though he was born in Belgium, Bruno Nuttens calls France home, moving there after attending university to study literature. In 2012, Nuttens purchased a collection of old estate pipes with the intent to keep only one, however, he thought it would be a terrible waste to dispense with the rest. To avoid this waste, Nuttens began restoring the pipes, leading to a career as a respected and prolific pipe restorer, reviving over 7,000 pipes in the proceeding six years and becoming intimately familiar with their craftsmanship and acquiring an eye for artistic shaping. After being inducted into the Confrérie des Maîtres Pipiers de Saint-Claude in 2013, Nuttens began making pipes, inspired and assisted by fellow inductee Pierre Morel. Bruno continued to restore pipes over the next few years, making pipes as a side business until 2018, when he refocused to carve them full-time. Later bolstered by instruction from Tom Eltang, Nuttens has made a name for himself as a maker of high-quality pieces that draw inspiration from the French, Danish, and German schools of carving.

Nuttens crafts an array of fine artisan pipes made completely by hand, though he also makes more serialized pieces that align more closely with the Anglo-French shaping standard, such as those pipes in the Heritage series. Comprising pipes that boast a charming, vintage style, the pipes in the Heritage line display clean lines and a reserved, timeless style, usually in classic shapes and across several finishes. This particular Belge is a plump, dynamic take on the shape, boasting soft, curvaceous walls that curve as they flare to a mid-set waist and taper to the rim, their supple outline taking on a dynamic forward cant. A wide transition gives way to a tapering shank met by a similarly tapering stem that's demurely downturned at the bit, completing a svelte and stylish silhouette sure to please fans of archetypal pipe shapes. Dressed in a warm, smooth finish, the stummel showcases handsome grain, its stain complemented by the black acrylic stem while a bright metal band at the junction lends some handsome contrast. Graded from H1 to H4, Nuttens has given this Heritage piece the H3 grade.