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COMMENT: If you have been following my site for some time, you may have noticed certain things about me. One of those things is that I seem to manage to write so much (sometimes too much) about a shape that most people would not take a second look at, not because it's not a beautiful pipe, but because often people don't know what it is exactly that they like (or dislike) about the pipe. You would think that the more beautiful, unique, and complex the shape is, the more I write. True, but not always. Sometimes, when I'm so impressed with a pipe, I kind of "freeze". I feel that no matter how much I write, I will never do the pipe justice. This pipe here is one of those pipes. However, I intend to mention a few things anyway (just keep in mind that I'm totally flabbergasted by the beauty, the uniqueness, and the complexity of this pipe). First I have to repeat part of a comment I made about a pipe on a different page. We have all seen pipes with a spiral motif around the bowl. Usually those pipes have the spiral pattern go all the way around the bowl, which is quite difficult, from a technical point of view. In the case of this pipe, the spiral pattern is only limited to a little more than halfway around the bowl, which is, in my humble opinion, a whole lot more challenging. There are four lines that mark the spiral motif here, and they start at the bowl rim on one side of the bowl, run around while swerving a little downwards and then upwards, and then they slowly but surely come to a halt, just before finding their way around the other half of the bowl. The uppermost of those lines actually manages to go around the bowl, creating a half moon shape at the bowl rim. You notice also that the distance between this line and the one right below is quite large, which means that that half moon shape seems to be protruding from the bowl. Quite a beautiful, visual effect. On the other side of the bowl, there is a different line that marks at the bowl base (creating a V-shape with one of the lowest line on the other side), and it goes in a circular movement up the bowl, all the way to the bowl rim. Another important fact about the bowl is that it is clearly canted forward, making the shape even more unique and intriguing. The shank is extra, extra long, measuring a staggering 100mm (almost 4 inches); it is also tapered in shape, starting at a diameter of 12mm (pencil shank) at the bowl and ending at 23mm at the mouthpiece. There is more. The shank moves from being round at the bowl and to being oval at the mouthpiece. All this is complemented by an Army Mount mouthpiece that is tapered, in the Fishtail style. I won't comment about the grain, since my hope is that it will manage to impress you though you're only examining it in pictures. Considering all the work that went into the making of this pipe and the impressive, final product, I strongly and sincerely believe this pipe is seriously under-graded! |
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