Wolfgang Becker: Smooth Wasp with Boxwood (Double Wolf Paw) Tobacco Pipe

Though we tend to use the word "classic" as a substitute for a replication of an older aesthetic, which is perfectly acceptable, other definitions of the word include: "A work that is honored as definitive in its field," "Work of the first rank, especially one of demonstrably enduring quality," and "Something noteworthy of its kind and worth remembering." Though Wolfgang Becker's signature shape, the Wesp (wasp) isn't — by a long shot — a replication of an older aesthetic, it is universally applauded, noteworthy, worth remembering, and has amply demonstrated an enduring popularity. In short, the Becker Wesp is a classic, and this Double Wolf-Paw Grade is a classic worthy of being the spotlight of most any serious collection.

While, invariably, a Wesp will demonstrate a clear definition of bowl, shank and stem, and do so in an amazingly seamless manner, the shank-to-bowl ratios can vary a bit as well as (naturally) the resulting visual impact of the pinch, or waist. While I can personally enjoy Becker's longer executions, with their enhanced sleekness, I feel there is something quite special about his interpretations which seem to revel in their boisterous, bulbaceous nature, forms that are emphatically. well, Wasps. This is one hunky hymenoptera, an amiable apocrita with a form that is almost as pleasing in the hand as it is delightful to the eye. What can one say about the grain? It didn't garner a Double Wolf-Paw grade by making a great strudel. Highly recommended.

R. Bear Graves