Fachen (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.

Described by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, a four-volume compilation of fairy tales and Scottish folklore, the Fachen is a giant of singular features, displaying a single eye in the middle of its face, a single tuft of hair atop its head, a single hand protruding from its chest, and a single leg supporting it from below. Oddly enough, that description fits in quite well with the characteristics of a pipe: a single shank emerging from the side of a single bowl (like an arm from out of the chest), within which lies a single chamber (a myopic eye), and after issuing a charring light, such loose leaves of tobacco could very well resemble a tuft of hair. Such uncanny similarities have prompted the Scottish marque to devote a whole series to the mythical beast, offering pipes marked by a dark green color palette and a sandblasted finish.

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.