Mike Sebastian Bay: Rusticated Lovat with Mammoth Tobacco Pipe

During the early stages of his pipe-making career, Mike Sebastian Bay apprenticed under Tom Eltang, refining his craft and learning the engineering and artistry required to fashion quality, handmade pipes. Moreover, Tom taught Mike the elder artisan's signature rustication technique and gave his blessing for Bay to use the finish on his own work. That finishing style is exemplified in this Lovat rendition. Though highly evocative of Eltang's signature rustication, Bay's version here presents a more wavy, mottled orientation that wraps the entirety of the bowl for welcome in-hand texture, all contrasted by smooth briar at the rim and a pale mammoth accent along the stem base. Shape-wise, this Lovat exemplifies the shape-chart standard — with a pert Billiard bowl, elongated shank, and abbreviated saddle stem — yet Bay's penchant for lightweight pipe designs and sleek Danish styling are well revealed, distinguishing this rendition from others. The bowl cants forward a touch, such dynamism reinforced by the shank's steady taper toward the stem, and the overall form is exceptionally lightweight and conveniently compact, making this a rugged pipe of classic design, perfectly suited to everyday use and on-the-go smoking.