Smooth Nautilus with Bakelite Tobacco Pipe

Nosewarmer Nautilus could've readily been the title for this gorgeous freehand shape from Micah Cryder. Its tight-knit sense of compactness from bowl to shank, paired with the overall orientation and bend of the stem, leaves the design at just a hair over four inches in overall length — while still showcasing Micah's expert eye for precise, complex lines and planes. Suffice to say, this isn't a simple or even minimalist interpretation of the Nautilus, though it is a tiny one.

Breaking it down, the bowl is quite upright, with very little forward cant and a surprising depth of chamber. The soft taper of the fore of the bowl flows seamlessly into the transition and across that curling gesture of the underside, guiding the eye to the fin-like ridges to either side of the shank. Though quite subtle, there is a sense of organic asymmetry at play as well, namely in the various sweeping lines found all around the stummel. Despite how that might sound, the piece is quite comfortable in hand overall, as Micah did well to smooth out those aforementioned lines as they reach their end, seemingly dissolving them into the plump curves of the upper bowl for a softer grip.

Aside from the expert shaping, Micah's also done an excellent job of accentuating the block's natural grain patterns, using the previously mentioned lines, as subtle as they are, to frame the piece's stunning birdseye and cross grain patterns — all brought out by a fiery contrast stain. Continuing his signature use of accent stems, Cryder smartly paired this arrangement with a pale creamy stem adornment, crafted from an antique Bakelite backgammon piece — again bringing a non-pipe related object of Americana onto the modern American pipe-making stage.