Peter Heding: Smooth Dublin with Boxwood (Gold) Tobacco Pipe

While freehands and more eccentric variations on classic shapes are a test of an artisan's chops, so are simpler shapes in their own way. The cleaner the shape, the fewer the number of major elements it possesses, the more important every detail of a particular angle, taper, or proportion becomes to producing a balanced and beautiful effect. And so it is no surprise when we see something like a straight Dublin from an artisan like Peter Heding. Even Hiroyuki Tokutomi, whose mainstay is organic asymmetry, produces a straight classic now and then; given that Peter's own freehand work still places a focus on symmetry, however artistic the profile might be, a shape like this from him is if anything less of a stretch.

More importantly, it's successful. The shape is clean and simple, and everything is right, from the balance of the Lovat-like shank and stem to the subtle dip just before the heel and the smooth rise up to the rim. And as you can see, Peter also knows how to make just such a clean, smooth shape work as a canvas as well, handling the briar so as to bring out the very best sort of grain.

- Eric N. Squires