Sabina Santos: Smooth Paneled Bent Dublin Tobacco Pipe

While the lines of this paneled bent Dublin from Sabina Santos aren't the crisp, Foursquare-style lines one might expect from the shape, the difference works in its favor. The softer, more subtle lines of this piece help maintain its shape, while dividing the grain of the piece into clean sections — flame framed at the flank of the shank, birdseye at the fore — in a style that brings to mind the careful consideration of the Blowfish's shape. In this case, the result is a bent Dublin that is ever-so-slightly asymmetrical, while still tucking into the hand with ease.

The most interesting detail, though, is one I think shows Sabina's careful eye: a small area of rugged plateau at the underside of the shank, edging against the stem base. Here, not only has the briar been left to its natural state, rather than sanded smooth, but the stem base has been carefully tooled to match, allowing the two materials to exist seemingly as one. It's something that would be very easy to get wrong, or to overlook entirely. But instead, Sabina visualized it a specific way, and through some skilled tooling, brought it to reality. Excellent work.