Smooth Tomato with Bamboo Tobacco Pipe

Jerry Zenn is a talented pipe artisan from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, who grew roots in a 25-year career as an automotive mechanic. When he started smoking pipes, he became enamored with the elegant designs of Danish masters and started making pipes for himself, trying to replicate those creations. Now Zenn is one of the premier pipe makers in East Asia, well known worldwide for his organic style, precise shaping, and attention to detail.

For this rendition, Jerry has crafted a plump Tomato with a distinctly lifted heel, charming cheeking at the transition, and a broadly flaring shank. The bowl wears a glossy smooth finish and warm auburn stain, both working overtime to show us how amazing the flame grain on the bowl's sides is as it sweeps up and inward toward flecks of birdseye crowding around the chamber. The briar of the shank is abbreviated, giving way almost immediately to an incredibly gnarly section of bamboo. While most carvers would throw away this unpredictable piece, Jerry liked it. He sanded down the irregular nodules and stabilized it with clear epoxy to create a bespoke accent the likes of which I have never personally seen. The shank is crowned by a smooth dome of boxwood, from which an organic, exquisitely hand-crafted cumberland mouthpiece sprouts.