Sandblasted Bent Billiard with Rope Finish Silver (S5) (2681) Tobacco Pipe

Larry Roush has always worked with his hands; before carving pipes, Roush found a career as a silversmith and jeweler, and those skills came in handy when he affixed metal accents to his personal collection of pipes. Eventually, Larry began to carve briar as well, and learned the ins and outs of pipe making from Mike Butera. Roush describes himself as his own worst critic — if he would not keep the pipe for himself, it's not good enough for anyone else. Other than his exquisite silver and gold accents, Roush is known for his brindled vulcanite stems, perfectly engineered airways, exquisite sandblasts, and muscular shaping style.

This bent Billiard by Larry Roush features an impressive sandblast that exposes thick, craggy growth rings that radiate upwards along the bowl's walls, creating an incredibly defined surface that provides an organic tactility for one's fingers to explore. The rim is dressed in a dark walnut stain, highlighting freckles of birdseye. Additionally, the shank face also features a light chestnut stain, and although it is not visible when the pipe is assembled, it shows that Roush cares about every element of his pipes, even the unseen ones. Furthermore, a silver band adds a detailed flourish to the composition, and the purple vulcanite stem offers a modern counterpart to the classic black sandblast on the stummel.

Moving onto the shaping: Larry Roush employs his exceptionally muscular aesthetic to great effect here. The hand-filling, towering bowl is a near-perfect cylinder, and if looked at from the fore, the flanks look completely vertical. With the addition of a crisp ridgeline on the underside, the defined flanks feel like they are paneled, with the round, smooth-finished rim providing a head-scratching, illusory contrast. Out back, a broad, tapering transition blurs the line between where it ends and the shank begins before giving way to the stem. Said stem is thick, and tapers as it rises to a significant downturn at the bit, promoting a comfortable smoking posture for this sturdy pipe.