Gabriele: Smooth Blowfish (Whale) Tobacco Pipe

While Gabriele dal Fiume is an Italian pipe maker, his sensibilities fuse certain aspects of both the Italian and Danish schools, resulting in pipes that are equal parts supple and plump. The Italian artisan has been crafting pipes since the 1980s, inspired in part by his father and uncle's smoking. His decades of experience and technical skill are evident in every shape he crafts, with this fetching take on the Blowfish shape being no exception.

The Blowfish has become something of a staple shape for artisan carvers who wish to flex their creative muscles. Unlike a Billiard or Dublin, the Blowfish lacks an archetypal standard, meaning it can be produced in a number of ways. Garbriele, for instance, has maintained the shape's playful asymmetry while imbuing it with a gestural curvature that immediately captures the eye. As is traditional for the form, pronounced ridgelines unevenly bisect the stummel and intersect at discrete points, fostering a playful, lopsided appearance and adding a touch of structure to the shape's supple curves. The bowl's lifted heel and forward-ebbing rim work in concert to keep the shape looking dynamic and active in profile, while the stem's subtle arc encourages a comfortable smoking posture. A warm, traditional smooth finish dresses the stummel and highlights stunning birdseye and cross grain throughout the briar, while a touch of plateau along the shank's underside offers some tactile diversity to the composition.