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

Max Rimensi, the skilled carver behind Il Duca pipes, enjoys a reputation for being able to easily shift between the various schools of design, imbuing classic shapes with a re-imagined, more contemporaneous aesthetic, be it through stem material, design, or accent. This Billiard is a handsomely Danish-styled interpretation of the shape, presenting with an impressively light weight and a remarkably willowy build. This style of Billiard is something of a signature from Rimensi, and he's quite talented in rendering its clean lines and easy curves consistently. The transition is wide and very subtly cheeked, with a defined cinching into the bowl near the middle, which dissipates into the sides as it reaches out. This transition gives way to a lengthy, tapering shank that's met by a sleek, similarly tapering stem of black vulcanite, the pair's slenderness keeping the visual focus on the bowl while stretching this piece to over six inches long. Up front, the bowl stands on a rounded heel and expands to a low-set waist before its walls make an arcing taper to the rim, canting forward as they do. The curves of the bowl are supple and comfortable in hand, and they're slightly more emphasized compared to more quintessentially Danish takes on the shape: setting Rimensi's Billiards apart. This particular piece is dressed in a crisp, natural sandblast, its unstained briar showcasing rippling growth rings while being sure to acquire a bespoke patina as it's smoked.