Jody Davis: Smooth Freehand Sitter (Saint) (B17) (12) Tobacco Pipe

When it comes to Jody Davis's overall body of work, I tend to think of modified classics rendered in a charmingly pastoral palette — all focused on bringing the natural beauty of the briar to the center stage. That said, the American artisan/musician can also produce a range of unique and stunning freehand shapes when the fancy strikes as well. This handsome sitter is as great example of that latter style, offering something far more sculptural and complex than his usual fare — with its concave taper of the bowl and shank creating an "H" shape in profile. Its rounded panels really drive that aesthetic home, outlining the overall silhouette with hard, well-defined ridges at the panels' edges. While those panels serve the shape well, they also work to highlight the briar's grain pattern — framing the briar's dense crossgrain along either flank with seas of birdseye whirling along the concave fore of the bowl and aft of the shank. It sits resolutely on a flat surface, making for an excellent desk pipe, yet it's still lightweight and generously bent enough to allow for a comfortable clench in the jaw. Stellar piece from Jody here, folks.