Scottie Piersel: Relief Contrast Pencil Shank Billiard with Juma and Ivorite Tobacco Pipe

Scottie Piersel's interest in pipe making didn't stem from a background in industrial engineering, sculpting, architecture, or from a nearly life-long habit of smoking pipes. No, the respected American carver's introduction to pipes came about through an altruistic act: She wanted to create a gift for her husband, so she bought a pipe-making kit. Her interest piqued, she researched, learned from many great North American pipe makers and developed a mission statement: Carve pipes with an emphasis on function, engineering, comfort, and longevity, with handsome shaping and finishes not as a secondary concern but as an extension of the pipe's usefulness. She has been making pipes for years now, very successfully, and they're easily recognizable, even to the most novice of hobbyists.

The theme for Smokingpipes' 7th Annual American Pipe Making Exposition is once again accent stems, reflecting that of our 2017 expo. We asked carvers to craft pieces emphasizing their signature styles with particular attention paid to the stems, and they all came through with splendid submissions.

Scottie Piersel's Billiard is a striking, lightweight piece that exemplifies her iconic design cues. The slightly forward-canting bowl is robust and houses plenty of chamber capacity, with a softly chamfered rim that promotes the easy loading of tobacco. It's paired to one of the artisan's startlingly thin pencil shanks that's reinforced with stainless steel for durability and is fitted to the stem via a reverse-tenon configuration. The stummel here is finished in one of her Relief Contrast sandblasts, achieved by sanding the peaks of the sandblasted surface of the briar and resulting in a rugged-looking, dual-toned disposition.

Perhaps the most eye-catching aspect of Scottie's pipe and the theme of our Expo of course, is the fishtail, split-stem mouthpiece. Split stems comprise two different materials or two different sections of the same material for a distinct, often contrasting, aesthetic. Displaying beautiful teal blue and butterscotch hues, it's fashioned from Juma, a resin-based material often used in rings, knife handles, and pipe stems. The lighter color is cumberland made specially for venerated American pipe maker Lee von Erck. Both colors pop and complement the stummel wonderfully.