Smooth Light Lumberman (Two Jellyfish) Tobacco Pipe

Ser Jacopo alum Simone Gaudenzi is well-trained in the Pesaro school of pipe making, which emphasizes clean lines and panache in design. Today, Gaudenzi crafts Valbruna pipes in the small town of Gabicce Mare on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, which plays an important role in the company's nomenclature: per Adriatic legend, Valbruna is a lost, sunken city like Atlantis. Gaudenzi ages the briar for his pipes, which are produced in limited quantities. True to his maritime roots, he uses jellyfish stamps to identify levels of quality.

This Lumberman from Valbruna is a unique take on the classic shape — the walls of the bowl are straight at the fore but slope similarly to a Brandy from rim to shank at the aft. The shank of a typical Lumberman is ovoid, but this one has a rounded top and three flat faces on the underside. Flame grain loosely decorates the bowl and sides of the shank, with birdseye on the rim of the bowl and the top of the shank. The stain is a pale blonde hue and the finish very smooth. The shank stretches considerably long to push this piece past seven inches in length, finished with a straight saddle stem of black acrylic ending in a very wide bit. The flat faces of the underside of the shank offer a new touch for this classic shape, but the pale stain and gentle finish make it even more attractive to the fingers.