Tom Eltang: Partially Sandblasted Eskimo Tobacco Pipe

Tom Eltang knew when he was a child that he wanted to be a pipe maker. At age 16, he apprenticed to Anne Julie, and his career in pipe making began. After working with Julie for three years, he moved onto the Pipe Dan workshop and later to Stanwell. Then Eltang set out on his own in 1980, and has crafted pipes under his name ever since. Based in a workshop in Copenhagen, Eltang produces around 500 high-grade pipes for year, and many more for his other series like Sara Eltang and Eltang Basic. Eltang has made nearly any shape one can think of and utilizes myriad finishes. Although Eltang's catalog of pipes is vast, they are all united by his classic Danish style.

Originally inspired by Sixten Ivarsson's Ukulele shape, the Eskimo is one of Tom Eltang's signature shapes. Instantly, the flat shank stands out, which gives the pipe a sleek profile but dominates the composition when viewed from above. Perched at the fore of the shank, a squat Rhodesian bowl gives this pipe a muscular appeal and features two finishes, a chestnut contrast stain on the tapered upper bowl and a crisp sandblast on the lower bowl and the rest of the stummel. The finishing accentuates the geometric, conical taper of the upper bowl and the shapely curves below, which are cleanly demarcated by a beadline carved into the waist. The supple heel curves evenly into the underside, while the transition is more dramatic, blending the crisp lines on the flanks of the shank into the bowl. The shank tapers horizontally as it flows toward the stem, meeting it at a smooth briar band that is dressed in the same stain as the upper bowl. The stem possesses a unique shape as well, it quickly cinches to a small cross-section before flaring to a wide bit. The jet-black color of the vulcanite stem parallels the color of the stummel's sandblast, but its sleek texture contrasts the rugged pockmarked texture of birdseye on the shank.