Werner Mummert: Sandblasted Pot Tobacco Pipe

One of the most innovative pipe makers working today, Werner Mummert fashions traditional shapes with some consistency, but he's perhaps better known for his experimental, boundary-pushing designs. Even when considering his more avant-garde work, its important to point out that his style isn't simply experimentation for experimentation's sake. No, underneath his unique style is a bedrock of high-quality engineering and an understanding of what makes a pipe functional as well as handsome. This Pot, while more conservative than many of Mummert's designs, showcases the German carver's distinctive approach to pipe making, as well as his creative shaping and deft finishing work.

Measuring less than five inches from end to end, this Pot is a particularly compact take on the classic form, though one that manages to maintain a sense of muscularity, thanks to the bowl's broad, stout-walled build. Said bowl stands atop flat, sure-sitting heel and appears almost completely cylindrical, save for the rim, which rises just a touch higher at the its fore than its aft. The rim's uneven dimensions lend a subtle hint of dynamism to the otherwise static bowl, and provides just a touch of playfulness to the pipe's reserved profile. A dark, penetrating sandblast dresses the stummel and coaxes out pronounced growth rings throughout the briar, lending a wealth of visual and tactile character to this stylish piece.