Smooth Rhodesian with Bamboo Tobacco Pipe

While utilizing bamboo in pipe designs isn't a new trend by any stretch of the imagination (rather, it's quite the ancient technique, with entire pipes made from bamboo having been smoked throughout centuries), there is a new convention sweeping the industry; namely, the use of ferrules that previously would have been discarded due to their nonuniform shape and wild, asymmetrical shaping. Pipemakers have, now, begun to incorporate these "unwanted" pieces of bamboo in their designs, thanks in no small part to the innovative influence of Roman Kovalev of Doctor's Pipes. Here, Jerry Zenn incorporates one such craggy ferrule into the shank of this Rhodesian, applying his own take on the precedent set by Kovalev. The wildly uneven knuckles and bulbous node of the organic material contrast strikingly against the smooth-lined, classically styled bowl up front — the Rhodesian bowl marked by a strong upward taper from out of the low-set, beadlined waist. It's beautiful work from the Taiwanese carver, showcasing a blend of organically playful and classically rigid aesthetics and fitted with a muted, mustard-hued, vulcanite stem and mount arrangement.