Ryan Alden: Sandblasted Nautilus (King of Clubs) Tobacco Pipe

A deep, craggy sandblast almost overshadows the shape of this Nautilus from Ryan Alden. Almost. This piece maintains a curvature around the bowl that is ridged on the far side for a long, curved panel that rides down past the heel and up to the curling aspect of the end of the shank. I have no idea how Ryan was able to sandblast the section between that curling overhang and the transition, but there's no reduction in depth or quality in that area. The push-style stem plugs into the end of the shank with an expansion ring quickly descending to a flat, saddle mouthpiece. The rim rises in a broad dome-like structure until meeting the inner ring of the rim, which is chamfered and sandblasted. In profile, that rim is curved in an inverse and complementary curvature to harmonize with the curve of the lower section. It's a unified composition that will have you shaking your head in admiration.