Werner Mummert: Sandblasted Oak Bulldog Tobacco Pipe

I've not smoked a pipe made of oak, but now I'm curious. This piece from Werner Mummert of Otterbach, Germany, is precise beyond visual measurement, each side of the bowl, each panel, each angle, perfectly placed, measured and executed. It appears to be unstained, though there's a slight warm tinge that may indicate a light coat. The surface is sandblasted, and the texture is unlike anything I've encountered. It's a very light sandblast, and you can feel the grain of the oak, but it's so low-profile that it's more recognizable through touch than sight. The shank is robust, in a stretched, diamond shape, higher than it is wide, rising more than halfway up the bowl. Light, shallow beadlines follow the shape of the paneled bowl along the very outside edge of the rim. The mouthpiece work is as remarkable as that of the stummel, gently curving to saddle configuration in profile but rigidly geometric from above or below. And it will darken and deepen in tone with use, eventually turning a golden oak color as the wood patinates over time.