Partially Sandblasted Shield with Oak Burl Tobacco Pipe

Jason Mouton is a Louisiana-based artisan whose work, with its compact and muscular proportions, are based in the American style of pipe making. This Shield is a lightweight and rather airy rendition of the shape, a contrast to Mouton's usual muscular style. With a stately heel that juts below the shank, it bears a resemblance to the Pickaxe. Thanks to the shape's defining ridgelines that bifurcate the bowl, viewing the pipe aerially reveals that the bowl possesses a lenticular cross-section. The ridgeline is especially pronounced thanks to the contrasting finishes dressing the stummel. The bowl's front panel is smooth and auburn hued, and the aft is black and sandblasted. While the shank grows out of the seamless transition and flares out to its aft, the bowl surges forward, thus creating two opposing directions of motion that lend a sense of balance to the pipe. A gorgeous oak burl ferrule marks the junction. It does a fantastic job to link the colors of the contrasting finishes together and create a pleasant harmony in colors. To top it all off, the pipe's outstretched posture places the bowl at a comfortable position for holding in the hand.