Scottie Piersel: Sandblasted Pencil Shank Dublin with Ivorite Tobacco Pipe

No matter the shape or design, Scottie Piersel's pipes are dynamic, eye-catching and superior in form and functionality. The American artisan traces her successful career back to a single act of love: The mother of three purchased a pipe-making kit in order to make a gift for her husband, and her passion was thus ignited. Self-taught to a degree, the Kansas City resident also worked with pipe makers George Dibos and Quinton Wells along the way. Her carving mission is to craft pipes with clean, minimalist lines and comfortable, hand-cut stems that are imbued with precise, quality engineering that will last a lifetime.

This straight Dublin features a rather stout bowl that expands in breadth ever-so-slightly from a flattened base to its flaring, plateau-laden rim. Somewhat sharp in its outer edges, it also offers a smoothly beveled, inner rim for contrast. The poised bowl seems to be plucked from the ether and affixed to what has become a signature design for the talented artisan: Her startlingly slender, pencil-thin shank that appears perilously delicate. It isn't, of course; it's lined with a stainless-steel tube, lending it strength and durability, while remaining lightweight. Scottie's compositions that feature such shanks draw as much attention to them as to the bowl, which is a unique cue considering the dramatically contrasting proportions between bowl and shank.

This Dublin is a fine Sitter, and it's dressed in one of her dark sandblasts, which also boasts ruby tones peeking from underneath and pairs nicely with the stain of the inner rim. The handsome grain seen on the bowl is a mixture of growth rings and vertical striations, with plenty of textural appeal to back it up. The dark shank is contrasted by a band of Ivorite that's then topped by a fishtail vulcanite stem of ruby, green and beige hues for a sleek, streamlined and seamless aesthetic.