Il Duca: Partially Sandblasted Natural Pencil Shank Pot (B) Tobacco Pipe

Il Duca was started by Max Rimensi as a result of a long held passion for pipes and a fascination with their form which only grew as time passed, leading him to try his hand at making his own. With his background in woodworking in tow, he set about to carve his first, falling in love with the process and beginning a lengthy study of pipes which saw him visiting every carver, briar mill, and tobacconist that he could, absorbing information and cultivating influences. The result of this journey through the wider realm of pipes is a unique shaping style that draws inspiration from a plethora of sources, coalescing within Rimensi's vast imagination to offer some of the most distinctive profiles in pipedom, such as this Pot.

We've seen this particular shape from Max before, many times actually, so I don't think it's a stretch to call it one of his signatures, balancing an impressively broad, squat bowl on the end of a sleek, svelte, pencil shank and stem. The transition here is quite wide, leaving plenty of room to drape a digit, and subtly cheeked, the shank ebbing forth and starting its journey with an already strikingly trim girth, though it actually takes on a faint taper to its end, the stem continuing this in a more noticeable fashion as it nears the button. Affixing the stem to the shank is an extended reverse tenon made of metal, that not only merges the two components but reinforces the shank itself, lending a good bit of structural support to the slim stretch of briar, and, by extension, the strikingly broad bowl.

Said bowl sits atop a sweeping, gently lifted heel, pushing the outline of its build into further prominence, though it still maintains a balanced visual weight despite the dramatic neoclassical proportions, with much of the focus here centered at the transition and aft side of the bowl. The curvature of the bowl's walls comes to an apex at a waistline that's more mid-set than I'm used to seeing in Pots, and takes on a slight bit of taper to the rim as it rises upward, flattening out at the rim itself and showcasing the thickness of the walls which surround it. The briar is dressed in a crisp sandblast that reveals cascades of rippling growth rings flowing through the bowl at a diagonal angle, with striations visible on the shank as well, while the rim is finished smooth in a vibrant contrast stain that showcases a dense sea of birdseye. The sandblasted portion of the stummel is left without a stain, and this virgin finish gives it the unique ability to patinate with time and smoking, darkening with bespoke hues unique to you.