Mark Tinsky: Bengal Bent Bulldog with Snakewood and Morta Cap (5) (One Star) Tobacco Pipe

Snakewood is a phenomenally beautiful wood with a shimmering, snake-skin patterning. When I special ordered a pipe cabinet years ago I had it constructed of snakewood, and I still admire it daily for its grain qualities. Here we see it joining a dramatic bent Bulldog from Mark Tinsky, who has constructed a tall, broad cap with it and with morta around the rim and at the beadlines. I've always believed that Mark is particularly talented at rendering the Bulldog shape, and here in conjunction with snakewood, it's irresistible. In Mark's Bengal finish, it offers crisp and precise line work, its ridgelines carrying into the downturned stem for excellent balance to accompany the excellent grain of the stummel and the creatively constructed cap. In my research of snakewood I found that it tends to darken with repeated heat, so you may expect that here it will take on even richer tones with repeated smoking.