Mike Sebastian Bay: Partially Sandblasted Bent Dublin Tobacco Pipe

Danish artisan Mike Sebastian Bay began carving pipes quite by chance. While seeking someone to repair his father's old pipes, he encountered a certain Tom Eltang. The two quickly bonded, and Eltang became his mentor, guiding him through the process of making his own high-quality pipes. Now a highly respected artisan in his own right, Bay puts those early lessons to use, incorporating elements of Eltang's style into his own aesthetic.

This bent Dublin is a fine example of Bay's versatility, creating a dynamic silhouette that rests effortlessly in hand or jaw. The bowl occupies most of the space in this composition, resting on a lifted heel demarcated by a crisp ridgeline that begins at the right flank before wrapping around the heel and running up the left side of the shank. Above the crisp heel, the bowl's walls are cinched in around the middle, subtly flaring as they approach the ridgeline-delineated, sleekly tapered rim cap. Out back, the shank displays a semi-lenticular cross section, with the jutting ridge on the left flank and a smooth curve on the right. Said shank curls gently upward to meet a domed face at its junction to a comfortably bent saddle stem of brindled vulcanite, offering an effortless clench. Dressed in a crisp partial sandblast, the stummel boasts fine ring grain around the bowl, with dense swirls of birdseye populating the smooth, auburn-hued rim.