Sandblasted Canadian Tobacco Pipe

When it comes to artisan carvers fashioning versions of classic pipe chart shapes, Chris Asteriou is one of the first names on the list. It's somewhat of a surprise, then, that this is the first Canadian we've received from the Greek artisan. It's not a far cry, design-wise, from the numerous Billiards and Lovats we've seen before; however, it's still a welcomed sight and adds more variety to Chris's work. Regarding the shape, it's easily something pulled out of an old English or French catalog, with a Group 3 or 4 sized bowl poised on the end of a slender oval shank and abbreviated stem. This one, though, is imbued with Chris's expert engineering and sublime stem work, making for a pipe whose internal construction and smoking comfort matches the external beauty. And what a beauty this is — the craggy sandblast providing plenty of tactile intrigue, accented only by trim rings of smooth, walnut-stained briar at the shank-end and innermost section of the rim.