Wojtek Pastuch: Sandblasted Strawberry Wood Bent Billiard (1412) Tobacco Pipe

Known for his skillful craftsmanship and carefully rendered designs, Wojtek Pastuch is a talented Polish carver who crafts a wide range of unique shapes, from fairly traditional designs to more eccentric compositions, with this bent Billiard being something of a middle ground between the two ends of his shaping spectrum. Instead of traditional briar, this piece is crafted from strawberry wood, a medium that's similar to briar and possesses familiar grain. Shape-wise, this piece boasts a towering, full-bodied bowl that stands atop a wide, Brandy-esque heel and grows trim walls that taper to a taut, smoothly polished rim. A wide transition follows this bowl and marks the start of a trim shank-and-stem arrangement that balances the totality of the shape with its deep S-curve. A crisp, inky sandblast completes the ensemble and highlights a stunning of showing of grain throughout the stummel, with waves of blasted grain rippling across the briar's surface.