Pete Prevost: Partially Sandblasted Calabash with Juma Tobacco Pipe

Since 2015, Smokingpipes has hosted an annual American Pipe-Making Exposition that showcases work from some of the United States' premier carvers. While each Expo is centralized around a particular theme, the artisans are able to fashion pipes that fully reflect their personal creative vision. For 2022, the theme was Calabash engineering, either traditional or reverse, and Pete Prevost has taken that concept and fashioned a rather striking piece.

Inspired by mid-century Danish pipes, this piece boasts a tall, slightly canted bowl that rapidly flares from its firm, narrow heel to its broad, domed chamber cap. Like a traditional Calabash, the rim cap is removable and conceals a cavity within the stummel. Said cavity collects excess moisture and ensures a cooler, drier smoking experience. The arrow-straight shank-and-stem arrangement provides balance to the bowl and keeps the overall form sleek and streamlined, allowing the shaping and finishing of the piece to take center stage. The tapered mouthpiece is composed of creamy Juma, a high-quality resin-based material that's incredibly durable, and it lends handsome contrast to the warm ruby stain of the stummel. A crisp sandblast dresses most of the stummel and coaxes out waves of rippling grain that radiate upward along the bowl's flanks to the partially smooth and plateau-freckled rim.