Jody Davis: Sandblasted Billiard with Ox Horn (Friar) (C20) (26) Tobacco Pipe

Not only is Jody Davis a supremely talented artisan pipe maker, he's also a full-time, professional musician who tours regularly. When he's somehow able to find some free time, that's when he'll create exceptional smoking instruments, often while on the road via a rather impressive mobile set-up of his own devising. For Jody, pipe making is a creative outlet and that creativity is readily apparent in the free nature of his work. The American carver's designs often draw significant inspiration from Danish pipe design, with this compact Billiard being a solid example.

While Jody is exceptionally skilled at crafting complex and organically inclined compositions, his more traditional forms are also stunning. The proportional balance that this piece possesses is stellar, making it pleasing to the eye and extremely agreeable in hand. It's a conveniently sized Billiard, measuring just over four-and-a-half inches in length and containing a chamber that will provide sufficiently long smoking sessions. I also admire the color palette Jody opted for on this piece, dressing the majority of the stummel in a dark chocolate sandblast while the smooth rim wears a walnut stain and curves gently inward toward the chamber. Accenting the shank end is an ox-horn ferrule, its creamy hue pairing well with the rest of the stummel's coloration. Jody's pipes are heralded for their meticulous engineering and exceptional smoking properties and this Billiard upholds that reputation.