Ryan Alden: Sandblasted Stack Billiard with Bakelite (King of Clubs) Tobacco Pipe

While some more whimsical creations do appear in his portfolio, Ryan Alden of Texas tends to favor bold, precise renditions of classic shapes, a penchant clearly preset in this noble straight Stack. We have only received two Stacks from him before, a Dublin and a Cutty, this one hewing closest to English pipe charts of the the three, presenting a towering Billiard bowl with a bit of Danish rounding to its sides, and cheeking at the transition. An arrow-straight shank-and-stem combination stretch out back, lending the profile decided angularity, delivered with unabashed precision.

Ryan has given it a ruddy sandblast, the better to admire a dense cross-grain orientation in the briar, dressing both flanks in a wealth of blasted birsdeye. The stem is a carefully hand-shaped vulcanite saddle configuration, with a sunny yellow accent of Bakelite gracing its base with contrasting color. Boasting a chamber well past two inches in depth, and a length almost six, its precise shaping keeps the pipe surprisingly light, making for a delightful piece of functional art.