Lars Ivarsson: Partially Sandblasted Bent Ball with Boxwood (0516) Tobacco Pipe

Stopping in at the office on the weekend to catch up on other work, I found at my desk two pipes, in two separate trays. Accompanying them was a note asking that I write descriptions for them "ASAP". Even had I been walking in with a case of amnesia certain things would have been obvious.

The first of these things would have been that these pipes were special, not just on account of the note, but in that self-evident way that, say, finding two Duesenberg Model Js parked next to each other would be special. The second thing was that they were clearly related.

Not having amnesia, their identities were obvious: This pipe was a Lars, the other a Nanna.

I doubt I would have been terribly more surprised if there had been a pair of Duesenberg automobiles, somehow slipped into, and then left parked inside of, the marketing department. Even after six-plus years at Smokingpipes I don't think I've seen two dozen pipes from Lars and his daughter combined, and usually their appearances are preceded by a couple weeks of overheard conversation regarding an imminent arrival. I only heard mention of Ivarssons inbound a few days ago - quite a shorter notice than usual.

So here we have one, and what can I say about it? In basic form and shaping essence, this is classic Lars. In detail, it's something a little different. Though I know dual-finish pieces are nothing new for Lars, I don't recall ever having seen one in the flesh before.

Judging by the very few others I can find at least photographs of, one obvious theme for Lars is that the line of division between sandblast and smooth briar does not strictly revolve around the transition between bowl and shank. Lars overlaps, bringing the dark sandblast forward in a cupping, embracing effect, as if the bowl were a jewel and Lars had been out to create a novel setting for it; a feature that would hold it in place as much as present it pleasingly. The "overlap" is taken even farther by actually having the sandblast raised, rather than recessed, a detail that calls for extra attention and control, to preserve that slender ribbon of smooth polish that steps down to the rest of the bowl.

A final note I would make would be to point out the nod this finish makes to that most well-known of artisanal pipe design flourishes, the "Ivarsson teardrop". At this point I suspect just about every independent pipe maker who's been in the game long has tried their hand at creating a teardrop shank, whether trying to capture something of Lars's own or to develop their own particular twist on it. Lars does not use his signature shank cross-section here, yet the distinct shape of that sandblasted "setting" where it cups the bowl is hard to miss.