Dirk Heinemann: Sandblasted Architect with Mahogany Tobacco Pipe

German carver Dirk Heinemann crafts truly distinctive pipes. His work showcases a penchant for experimentation with form, but he never loses sight of the functionality and quality engineering needed to make a pipe truly excel. Aptly named, the Architect is one of the artisan's signature shapes, and it's defined by firm, sculptural lines and compact dimensions. This particular rendition measures less than four inches from end to end, making it quite demure, and the shape manages to still be rather expressive and attention-grabbing, even given its abbreviated length. Like a Poker, this piece boasts a flattened heel that enables it to sit sturdily without the aid of a stand, and from that sitting position, the stummel dramatically cants forward. The totality of the design seemingly reduces from the bowl and flows into the tapered mouthpiece of jet-black vulcanite, and as it does, a subtle curvature emerges along the flanks of the stummel. A ruby-tinged sandblast dresses this piece and coaxes out rippling waves of growth rings that radiate across the surface of the briar. A band of mahogany wood accents the base of the mouthpiece and offers a nice bit of contrast against the smoldering hues of the stummel.

--Davin Hylton