Sandblasted Bent Egg with Bakelite (603) Tobacco Pipe

Bent pipes are excellent for hands-free smoking, and Micah "Yeti" Cryder has a soft spot for deeply bent pipes as the American artisan appreciates the inherent curvature and sinuous lines of such designs. This bent Egg fits that bill nicely then — not quite as full-bent as, say, an Oom Paul, but still compact in overall length and extremely well balanced as a jaw-hanger. Like other Yeti pipes, this piece is steeped in the Danish tradition, most notably in the succinct transition, forward-urging bowl, and angular heel, all combining to call to mind vintage Danish pipe design.

Cryder has elevated the composition, however, with artistically oriented grain and a more modern color palette: The cross-cut grain pattern is symmetrically poised along the flanks, helping to inform the bowl's rounded nature, and the sandblasted stummel is stained a deep, dark currant hue, drawing attention to the stem of lemon-swirled, antique Bakelite — a conventional material from Micah that boasts its own, unique visual texture and requires the work of a deft craftsman's hand.