Tom Eltang: Smooth Bent Billiard with Boxwood Tobacco Pipe

Danish artisan Tom Eltang is rightly regarded as among the foremost pipe carvers working today. Eltang has honed his craft for decades, sharing his knowledge with scores of promising pipe carvers over the years. This bent Billiard is something of a rarity for Eltang, who often chooses a more plump design in his bent Billiards. This piece features a pert bowl with a narrow taper toward the rim from its gently curved midsection. The heel is soft and joins an abbreviated round shank behind a cheeked transtion. A broad boxwood ferrule serves as a shank extender and military mount, flaring slightly at its point of junction to a sleek vulcanite saddle stem, just-bent for smoking comfort. The whole design is an exercise in gracefully understatement, creating a smooth, organic silhouette that's eminently comfortable in hand. Dressed in a warm auburn stain, the stummel boasts stunning straight and flame grain around the bowl, with perfectly oriented birdseye populating the rim and heel.