Sandblasted Long Shank Bent Dublin with Boxwood Tobacco Pipe

Wang Tieyuan, the artisan behind Madao3000 pipes, finds endless inspiration in nature. "Nature is never repetitive," he says, and he hopes the same can be said for the pipes he creates. Wang strives to imbue every single one of his smoking instruments with its own unique personality — a goal he has certainly achieved with this highly distinctive bent Dublin.

While most pipes get their sense of momentum and visual movement from the overall positioning of the bowl and shank and their relationship to one another, this pipe features a microcosm of movement just within the bowl: The undulating rim works in tandem with the briar's sandblasted waves of ring grain to create a mesmerizing effect. Not only is the rim informed by a crisp yet undulating ridgeline; it's also quite thick, with an inflated look that is strongly juxtaposed with the bowl's narrow, gracefully rounded heel. Said heel melds seamlessly into the protracted shank, which flares out ever so slightly toward the stem and offers ample room to comfortably drape a finger. A concise saddle stem tops off the composition, its gentle downturn working in tandem with the lengthy shank to promote a relaxed smoking posture in hand. A dark, ruby-tinged sandblast dresses the stummel, imbuing the piece with a sense of smoldering warmth and providing a fetching backdrop for the pale band of boxwood at the junction. Altogether, this is a handsome offering from Wang, and it presents an exciting opportunity to be one of the first to try his pipes, as he is brand new to the Smokingpipes site.