Werner Mummert: Sandblasted Reverse Calabash Billiard Tobacco Pipe

When I think of Werner Mummert, his reverse Calabash pipes are often the first thing that springs to mind. The reverse Calabash is a relatively rare design in general, and Mummert takes it a step, really several steps, further into bespoke territory, with not one but several signature renditions to his credit. His steampunk Poker variant with springs is unforgettable, as is his unique Barrel, but here we have yet another iteration: a firm-heeled straight Billiard with a cylindrical bowl and shank.

The bowl and shank are nearly the same proportions, the bowl gaining an edge in diameter and the shank just a bit longer, but the pipe bears a certain symmetry and convergence of right angles and shaping that is difficult to stop looking at, in a good way. One of Werner's sublime, craggy sandblasts dresses the bowl in texture, but the shank, which is expanded to contain the reverse Calabash chamber for cooling and drying smoke, is made of a rod of brindled black and green vulcanite. It's a stunning aesthetic, with a matching vulcanite saddle stem and a green stain on the briar working in concert to create a striking pipe sure to start a lot of conversations.