Hiroyuki Tokutomi: Smooth Horn (Hiro) (with Stand and Tamper) Tobacco Pipe

It seems simple to say that great minds within a given craft tend to shift the paradigm of understanding through their exploration of ideas. This much is clear, but it's those truly exceptional minds who push the form forward so often that their stylistic approach is practically impossible to succinctly pin down. Such is the case with the genius of Hiroyuki Tokutomi.

With this Horn, Toku opted to once more fashion something undeniably unique, making use of his exquisite ridge and channel work, the likes of which serve to emphasize its sweeping profile while adhering to an organically elegant dynamic. It combines those characteristically organic cues (subtle asymmetry, gently implied forward motion) with a striking, spaceship-like form, made apparent through his employment of a broad, sculptural accent stem, serving to mirror the leftward-inclined list of the shank face.

The Japanese master is elevating the accent stem on a conceptual level here, fashioning the base from a special selection of double-dyed, stabilized birch, a hardwood more difficult to shape than even ebonite. The explosion of hues practically demand the eye's focus, but it all serves as an accompaniment to an already stellar briar. So stellar, in fact, that Toku opted to fashion a stand from the same magnificent block of briar that the pipe was carved from, along with a tamper of light, honey-blonde boxwood. The stand has been sandblasted to reveal a rippling display of growth rings, and when juxtaposed against the artful showcase of its smooth-polished star at center stage, the resulting look is truly out of this world.