Black Sheep (105) (9mm) Tobacco Pipe

Rattray's "105" is a stout, full-bodied Rhodesian, displaying a strong sense of muscularity that likens it to the classic Bullmoose shape. The "105" offers a more substantial presence in hand compared to the Nosewarmer dimensions of the Scottish marque's "131" and "140" Rhodesians, while serving as a bent alternative to the "120." The heel on this piece is forward-urging and well rounded, while the rim tapers upward from the pair of crisp beadlines circling the bowl's waist. The robust shank seamlessly continues the bowl's heartiness before meeting the tapered stem, which ends in a gentle downturn to allow for a comfortably balanced, hands-free smoking posture.

The dress-pipe aesthetic is one that typically combines a formal, ebony stain with a flashy, metallic accent. It's a color palette characterized by sophistication and elegance — pairing perfectly with a tuxedo and well-suited to a black-tie affair — and was pioneered by the introduction of Dunhill's Dress series in 1973. Since then the classy motif has been celebrated by pipe makers worldwide, and Rattray's Black Sheep line perfectly embodies the refined style, dressing this pipe in a smooth, jet-black stain and accenting the shank end with a metal band of concise texture.

-Truett Smith

Note: While all of our other pipes are photographed individually, these are not, and you may expect some reasonable cosmetic variation between the example we've photographed and the pipe you've received.