Former: Sandblasted Bulldog Tobacco Pipe

Danish carver Hans "Former" Nielsen is a venerated master of the craft, with 60 years of pipe-making experience. Like many pipe makers of his generation, he learned and worked in the prestigious W.Ø. Larsen workshop. He quickly advanced to management before traveling to Germany to establish and supervise a factory there. Afterwards, he returned to Denmark and began making pipes under his own name from his home studio. His work is defined by sleek, graceful line work, a keen sense for balance, and a stunning attention to detail, as evidenced by this Bulldog design.

This piece boasts a tall, upright bowl that's poised at the fore of a protracted diamond shank and a sleek saddle stem. As is usual for the form, a pair of beadlines encircle the bowl, demarcating the tapered rim from the rest of the stummel. Said bowl houses a capacious chamber within its muscular frame, ensuring plenty of long, leisurely smoking sessions. The shank's firm, structural lines further emphasize the shape's brawny construction, and lend a sharp definition to the overall form in profile. Sturdy and palm-filling, this piece is dressed in a ruby-hued sandblast that draws out beautiful ring grain across the flanks of the bowl.