Sandblasted Dancing Volcano with Liana Wood Tobacco Pipe

A trained carpenter and long-time pipe smoker, Dirk Heinemann leverages his background in furniture design and carpentry to craft smoking instruments that are revered for both their deft engineering and their fine finish work. The artisan describes his style as simple, clear, and uncomplicated, yet his portfolio is filled with sculptural, avant-garde offerings, including this Dancing Volcano.

This piece is replete with organic asymmetry, with the stummel bounded by a continuous, free-flowing ridgeline from fore to aft. Along the left flank, the stummel takes on slightly more conventional Volcano shaping, but along the right flank, the transition becomes much more angular, and the bowl and shank are slightly torqued, lending the piece its "dancing" form. A short, smooth, flat spur similar to that of a Cutty emerges from the fore of the bowl, offering a fixed point on which the pipe can stand when not in use. When the pipe is oriented this way — almost like a dancer en pointe — it takes on a more sculptural role, allowing its lucky owner to admire it in a whole new light.

The finish work on this Volcano is every bit as thoughtful and striking as its shaping: A soft, shallow sandblast adorns the underside of the piece, showcasing subtle birdseye, while the upper portion features tightly stacked ring grain rendered in vivid, craggy detail. Only the rim and short spur of the bowl remain smooth for a subtle pop of contrast. The stummel has also been treated to a rich chestnut stain, and it's accented by a generous piece of liana wood along the shank face. All in all, this piece offers a pleasing medley of tones and textures, from the assorted grain and stain of the two different woods, to the elegantly asymmetrical contours that inform the highly sculptural composition.