Dirk Heinemann: Sandblasted Tomato with Ox Bone Tobacco Pipe

Combining plump curves and precise, tapering lines, all presented in near Nosewarmer form, this Tomato from Dirk Heinemann packs a lot of briar into a compressed length of far fewer than five inches. Those design elements hint at Grechukhin and Danish influences, the muscular, Apple-like bowl displaying a forward dynamism aided by its lifting heel, low-bulging sides and a pronounced, vertical ridgeline that favors the left flank. The mid-set transition accentuates the stockiness of both bowl and upturned, flaring shank, the latter embraced by the aforementioned, upwardly sweeping line along its left side. This piece is lent further flourish by a pale, lens-shaped adornment of ox bone at the shank end, its pale hue lightening the composition and contrasting the extra-dark sandblast covering the stummel. The German carver has beautifully shaped this pipe so that its grain is maximized, with tightly stacked, multiple ripples of growth rings seen rising from heel to the smooth, mahogany-stained inner rim. It's topped by a slender vulcanite stem that arcs upward, countering the forward cant lent the bowl. These design conventions all coagulate into a distinctive, chubby pipe imbued with excellent craftsmanship, stunning grain and an easy, comfortable fit in hand.