Partially Sandblasted Cobra with Bronze and Bakelite (645) Tobacco Pipe

American carver Micah "Yeti" Cryder is not afraid to push the boundaries of the craft, in both shaping and use of materials, and this Cobra rendition is a fine example of his progression. Having received personal instruction from Premal Chheda, Yeti embraces the American school of shaping interpretation, and brings the Cobra to life here in a diminutive, squat presentation. The bowl is shorter than most Cobras, with a pronounced bulge on the aft aspect, and the sweeping fore end provides a smooth, snake-like arc all the way from rim to shank end.

I love Yeti's sandblasts, and he does not let me down here, bringing out stimulating ripples of growth rings on the flanks to accentuate the outward radiation of the grain. The fore is left smooth to showcase densely packed birdseye, and he has employed a vibrant contrast stain to ensure I can miss none of it. The overall dark hue of the stummel is contrasted by a bright brass ring at the shank end, and one of Yeti's hand-shaped Bakelite stems adds cream and caramel hues in gently bent saddle configuration for a comfortable smoke.