Sandblasted Billiard (Fukuda) (G) (124) (2014) Tobacco Pipe

The Tsuge Ikebana workshop was established by Tsuge after several of the marque's artisans traveled to Denmark in the '60s and '70s to learn from the revered carvers there. On his return from Denmark, Tsuge artisan Kazuhiro Fukuda was appointed supervisor of the Ikebana workshop, having learned pipe-making techniques from esteemed carvers such as Sixten Ivarsson and Jørgen Larsen. This Billiard interpretation hearkens to classic Danish shaping cues, the lines having been softened in profile and the overall form made more slender, the bowl slightly canted and subtly tapering. It presents a style one would expect to see from classic Danish marques such as Stanwell, but was fashioned and finished with the hands-on attention, care, and skill of an artisan carver with several decades of experience. It's even more appealing if you're a fan of textured finishes, especially expertly executed sandblasts. Rippling waves of undulating grain surround the bowl's flanks, with the meticulously crafted, tapering stem completing the classy, all-black color palette.