Il Duca: Sandblasted Apple (B) Tobacco Pipe

Max Rimensi of Il Duca pipes possesses an incredibly unique shaping style that incorporates his appreciation for classic Anglo-French designs with his Italian heritage and love for the Danish and Japanese schools. Such aspects are seen in this straight Apple, its trim stem ebbing out of a flared shank end adorned with a fitment of green and black vulcanite, which adds a healthy dose of contrast. From there we see a gradual diminishing of the briar until it reaches the wide transition, leaving plenty of room to drape a thumb and creating ample negative space in concert with the plump, mid-set waistline of the bowl, effectively placing the focal point of this piece right at the transition, as the bowl's breadth and the wide shank end balance each other out. Said bowl is wonderfully rounded, with plenty of curves for the fingers to appreciate and a slow, arcing taper to the rim. Compared to much of Rimensi's portfolio, this is actually a remarkably understated piece, and I find that it is all the better for it, as it is able to showcase his control over subtle line work and soft edges, namely at the shank end and the waistline. This subtlety extends to the finish: a dark, inky sandblast revealing handsome grain all the way around, with growth rings rippling around the bowl, while the fore sees blasted birdseye.