Mike Sebastian Bay: Smooth Rhodesian with Bamboo Tobacco Pipe

Mike Sebastian Bay's journey into the world of pipe making began by chance when, in an effort to find someone who could restore his father's pipes, he came across legendary artisan Tom Eltang. The pair began to talk and, as they did, they bonded, and Eltang took Bay in as an apprentice. There are precious few in the pipe making world who can lay claim to a start as fortunate as this, and Bay is one of them, with Tom teaching him fundamentals and techniques of artisan pipe making. This act of providence gave Bay an incredible amount of practiced skill, and this Rhodesian is a good example of his shaping style, being a piece that is quintessentially Danish, refined, and deceptively straightforward.

In addition to its fine features, this Rhodesian is the first of its kind that we've received from Bay, making it quite the alluring prospect for enthusiasts of his work, especially given how skillfully he's rendered the shape here. Standing out proudly against the briar are three knuckles of pale bamboo, the dense grass flanked on either end by a pair of black vulcanite bands that match the stem, which serves to extend the shank and offer a charming organicism to the usually structured shape. The stem itself is a sleek saddle with a gently flared base which works in concert with the shank and transition to continue the rhythm of the knuckles' flares, with the shank and stem both additionally having been carved with small divots to continue hollows in the bamboo's surface. The shank tapers gently as it ebbs out of the wide transition, its trim length seeing diminution from both the top and underside thanks to the rounded heel's slight dip as it reaches toward the fore. Said heel supports a plump, pert bowl that cants forward jauntily to proudly display its flare to a pair of beadlines before tapering to a gently chamfered rim, its visual weight balanced well by the bamboo to make the eye rest rather naturally at the transitional area, enabling one to take in all of this pipe at once. A vivid auburn stain dresses the stummel here, revealing a cross grain pattern that's not often seen on Rhodesian renditions, with birdseye peppering either flank of the bowl.