Hiroyuki Tokutomi: Smooth Freehand with Horn Tobacco Pipe

Hiroyuki Tokutomi's approach of "balanced asymmetry" has no shortage of longstanding admirers, both carver and pipesmoker alike. From his wild, complex and ridge-adorned Blowfish renditions to his organically playful Dublin shapes, the Japanese carver has undoubtedly left his idiosyncratic mark on the world of briar as we know it, securing his place among the greatest pipemakers the world has ever seen. This Freehand is well on the more subtle end of the carver's approach, but benefits no less for it, as viewing it from above reveals just the lightest bit of leftward list to the succinct, pointed heel, the likes of which further emphasize the shape's inherently organic dynamism in profile. Said ridge continues at the underside and aft, giving way up top to the subtle undulation of the rim, with a slight echo of the pinched line traveling into the horn mount. The mount is quite stunning in its own right, wearing a creamy palette of dark, smoldering greys and beige, with a touch of gentle flare at the mortise, the push-style stem secured by a ring of gleaming brass. Finished in a dark walnut stain, the lively birdseye at the left flank is brought into vivid focus, too. A beautiful piece from Tokutomi.