Scottie Piersel: Relief Contrast Road Trip Pencil Shank Two Pipe Set Tobacco Pipe

Scottie Piersel was first motivated to make a pipe by her husband, being inspired by his pipe smoking habits to make him a gift that he could use every day. After carving that first pipe from a pre-drilled kit, Piersel knew that this was something she wanted to do for the rest of her life, going on to consume as much information as she possibly could about the craft and beginning a successful career as an artisan. Her style is quite practical, comprising both classic Anglo-French shapes and sleek, pencil-shanked pieces with exaggerated proportions, such as the Billiards seen here in this two-pipe set.

The lengthier of the two pipes showcases a look which has become a signature for Scottie: a robust bowl set at the end of an extended shank and stem combination. Said bowl showcases a pronounced, rounded heel and a slight forward cant, with the outline nearly as broad as it is tall and the entire build taking on a very slight forward cant for an added sense of dynamism. The transition here is more than wide enough to drape a digit and works well with the curves of the nearly cylindrical bowl to offer a comfortable feel in hand. From here one can see the start of the shank's lengthy travel, its svelte outline pushing out toward a creamy accent at the junction before being married to a striking stem of swirling, multicolored vulcanite. Despite its slim nature, the shank is quite strong thanks to Piersel's addition of a metal bolster that runs through its length, additionally acting as the reverse tenon for the stem.

The second pipe here is much like the first one, with a full-bodied bowl that's nearly as broad as it is tall, though this pipe's bowl is a bit squatter and more Pot-like. The shank here is equally as willowy as its twin, though it's much shorter in this example and has been fitted with a stem that, while equally colorful, has a good deal more aqua in its pallet that sets it apart further from the longer Billiard. Like its compatriot, this pipe, too, utilizes a metal shank bolster that keeps it strong and mounts its stem via reverse tenon at a junction marked by a creamy accent. The two pipes here both showcase Piersel's unique Relief Contrast finish, achieved by staining the briar, sandblasting it, then sanding down the peaks of the growth rings before staining again in a lighter color, resulting in a softer feel in hand while retaining the singular look of a sandblasted pipe. The grain is excellent across both examples, as dense growth rings ripple through the bowls of both, the inward-sloping rims left smooth to showcase swirling birdseye.