Mike Sebastian Bay: Smooth Acorn with Horn Tobacco Pipe

Mike Sebastian Bay's Shaping style is influenced by the Danish greats, his portfolio typified by its consistently excellent output of classic shapes steeped in Danish sensibilities. This Acorn is an excellent example of that classic style, with an easy sense of fluidity about its silhouette that lends it a charming gesture and belies its impressive brevity at less than five inches long. Likewise, this pipe is also quite light, making it a potent choice for a travel companion should one desire the company of a refined, elegant smoker. The transition is wide and cinched, being almost cheeked without the fully "tucked," inset lines around the bowl: effectively enhancing the plump look of the bowl without drawing more of the visual weight to the transitional area. From out of the transition, the shank curls out, paired to the bowl quite low and slowly lifting as it makes an easy taper to the stem. The shank's low-set placement on the bowl underscores the effectiveness of the cinched transition, and it allows the shank to carry a bit of visual emphasis toward the aft, naturally guiding the eye to a sleek saddle stem of black vulcanite and its broad band of horm. There's an easy downturn to the stem's saddle that naturally continues the lines of the shank and completes this pipe's gracile arc while also balancing the bowl. Said bowl stands on a sweeping heel and boasts thick, flaring walls that expand expressively toward a high-set waist and plump, rounded rim, making for a firm, but comfortable feel in hand. The ample substance at the bowl also lends it ample space to display the briar's warm, smooth finish, revealing wrapping vertical and flame grain surrounding the stummel.