Larry Roush: Sandblasted Bent Billiard with Rope Finish Silver (S5) (2593) Tobacco Pipe

An accomplished machinist, jeweler, and silversmith, Larry Roush's foray into pipe making was born from his love for pipe smoking. Even before hand-making pipes, he incorporated his craftsmanship acumen into his pipe-smoking hobby, embellishing pipes in his rotation with accents of precious metals to elevate them with his own personal touches. Roush received instruction from fellow American artisan Mike Butera throughout the early stages of his career, and his prior experience in jewelry and machining aptly complemented his pipe making: Much of artisan pipe making involves fashioning tools and adapting machines to suit the carving, engineering, and finishing processes as much as it involves actually accomplishing said processes, and Roush's excellence in those areas has benefited his pipes over decades of artisan carving. His work is renowned for extra-craggy sandblasts, intricate silverwork, and hand-cut stems from brindled vulcanite, and all three of those elements are exemplified in this bent Billiard rendition.

Many of Roush's pipes display bold, exaggerated proportions, evocative of the Italian-inspired era of American pipe design that had gained prominence in the '80s and the early days of Roush's career. He's since championed that design style, and it's the perfect canvas on which to showcase his signature sandblasting. This Billiard reveals stacks of growth rings across its tall, cylindrical bowl, with the smooth-polished rim acting as a crown of sorts, and the base terminates in a firm, stolid heel to promote sturdy upright balance when seated. The shank is likewise robust but is comparatively more slender, further emphasizing the bowl's regal stature, and the stummel itself resembles that of a straight pipe. As such, this piece's bend is wholly inherent to the stem, but even so, it's minimal and reserved, almost Prince-like in its demonstration. The tapered stem has been hand-cut from a vulcanite rod of brindled emerald hues, and the bend is something of an optical illusion: The underside of the stem is completely straight, with just a slight downturn at the bit, but the topside reveals a stronger, curving taper that emulates the posture of a bent pipe. The choice creates a bent posture more from the stem's taper rather than actually bending the entire form.

The overall color palette exudes traditional style, with colorful stem adding hints of modernist vibrancy, and Roush has further elevated the presentation with one of his wedding band-style silver accents. Adorning the shank end, the silver bears the artisan's signature rope finish: Crisp, slanted grooves wrap the band and bespeak Roush's deft metalwork, each groove hand cut with exacting precision. The motif adds further textural intrigue to the overall composition, aligning naturally with the parallel ring grain of the stummel while also contrasting vibrantly against the stummel's dark stain.