Kai Nielsen: Smooth Bent Billiard (Jewel of Denmark) (A) Tobacco Pipe

A second-generation Danish pipe maker, Kai Nielsen is the son of Viggo Nielsen, who helped found the marque Bari in 1948. Kai Nielsen often spent time around the workshop in his childhood, and began working there at 21 years of age. Over 50 years later, Kai Nielsen is still making pipes. Nielsen makes traditional shapes with a classic Danish style, evidenced by many of his pipe's gestural profiles and supple bowls. Few pipe makers have more experience than Kai Nielsen, and his lifelong skill is evident in each pipe he crafts.

This bent Billiard by Kai Nielsen displays a sublime flow from bit to rim. The shank-and-stem arrangement is especially sinuous, smoothly undulating from the cheeked transition to the substantial bit, creating a relaxed smoking posture in the process. The bowl is upright, but the significant taper on the aft and supple heel urge the pipe forward as the walls taper to the rim. Moreover, this Jewel of Denmark pipe received Nielsen's esteemed A-grade, indicative of stunning grain on the stummel, and this pipe certainly lives up to the appellation. Thick strands of vertical grain wrap around the bowl, while whorls of birdseye swirl on the underside, all dressed in a vibrant auburn stain that handsomely highlights the entire pattern.