Werner Mummert: Sandblasted Hawkbill with Ivorite Tobacco Pipe

Well on the conservative end for a carver as experimental as Werner Mummert, this Hawkbill design demonstrates the German artisan's broad stylistic range and the diverse influences he draws from. Although the Hawkbill originated in France sometime during the late 1800s, the iconic shape has been a mainstay of Italian pipe making for decades, with workshops such as Castello and Radice being particularly renowned for their renditions. Mummert has done an excellent job of staying true to the archetypal form with this piece, pairing a chubby Apple bowl to a gracefully arching aquiline shank and abbreviated saddle stem. A pair of lines along the shank's underside continue to the bowl's heel, eventually coming together at a crisp point while cheeking around the transition further accentuates the bowl's curvaceous disposition.

However, my favorite aspect about this example is the sandblast. If there's one thing in particular I feel Werner doesn't get enough recognition for, it's his expert skill in the blasting cabinet. Rippling waves of ring grain undulate across the bowl's surface, working in tandem with the bowl's rotundness to make this pipe incredibly difficult to put down. A pale Ivorite band adorns the stem base, standing out in stark contrast without distracting from the sublime shaping and stellar sandblast. If you've been waiting for something more classically inclined to come along from Mummert, this could very well be the one.