Werner Mummert: Rust Reverse Calabash Paneled Poker Tobacco Pipe

Known for his eclectic, experimental, and modernist designs in addition to crisp, bespoke sandblasts, Werner Mummert's intriguing renditions boast superb engineering and craftsmanship, with this Poker being a great testament to those talents.

Designed in a tall, rectangular configuration, the bowl sits sturdily upright, thanks to the flattened heel. It's wearing a rusty brown finish that's certainly texturally pleasing. Rather than a wooden shank, this Poker boasts a long reverse Calabash chamber consisting of tempered glass, allowing one to watch the wisps of smoke. A far smaller little box of briar matches the bowl and holds steel springs in place on either side of the glass for an industrial aesthetic and it's all topped by a hand-cut, jet-black saddle stem. An eye-catching, conversation-starting piece, this pipe functions equally well as a work of art and as a great smoker. It's dressed in Mummert's Rust finish, which involves coating the briar with acrylic paint containing very fine iron particles. The German artisan, then, treats the finish with a liquid that catalyzes the oxidation process, causing the iron in the paint to corrode for a distinctly rust-hued motif that Werner then coats with oil to stop further oxidizing and preserve the striking aesthetic.