Former: Smooth Bent Dublin 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 eventually 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 bent Dublin design.

This bent Dublin is an angular, full-bodied interpretation of the classic form. Up front, a stocky bowl stands atop a firm, narrow heel and grows thick walls that flare upward into a splayed, plateau-crowned rim. A tight-knit transition follows said bowl and marks the start of a thick shank punctuated with a cumberland saddle stem. The shank-and-stem arrangement, with its steeply slopped posture, imbues the shape with a check mark-like silhouette, evoking the look of old Pipe Dan designs. The complexion of the vulcanite complements the stummel's finish, a warm, glossy polish that accentuates a wealth of flame grain across the bowl's flanks.