Chris Asteriou: Sandblasted Bulldog (1043/21) Tobacco Pipe

Chris Asteriou is a talented Greek carver equally adept at fashioning artisan renditions of shape-chart standards and gestural, Freehand designs. Here he has crafted a bold Bulldog, a rare shape from him that, according to our archives, we have only received once before. Squat, broad, and palm-filling, this crisp iteration is based on Dunhill's ODA "838" shape, paying homage to the English marque's leadership in the craft, and offers a diameter of almost two-and-a-half inches and a length pushing toward seven.

Chris has employed a deep ruby, nearly black stain and a craggy, sandblasted finish for this piece, his skill in the blasting cabinet working to bring out ring grain climbing the bowl and blasted birdseye on the conical rim. Twin beadlines surround the Saucer-like waist, while the sharply defined diamond shank endemic to the shape shoots arrow-straight out back. The heel, often pointy on Bulldogs, is more discretely tapered here, letting the stummel rest in hand with a stimulating but comfortable presence. A hand-cut vulcanite stem translates the shank's profile with a clean taper to the lip button, maintaining the angular muscular aesthetic the pipe exudes.