Sandblasted Bent Dublin Tobacco Pipe

Adam Davidson is constantly experimenting with new shapes, new techniques, and new lenses with which to view the possibilities of briar. This bent Dublin is proof of that. There's an air of Japanese-style organicism about the overall look of this piece, with fluidity present through the shank and stem's bare arc, continued through the bowl via the heel, the pipe's slim frame cultivating its reminiscence to a leaf held aloft on a branch. Simultaneously, this pipe appears as if the fusion of two disparate signature shapes as imagined by Davidson: his own Almond, and Wolfgang Becker's Stetson.

The bowl here is supported by an incredibly gradual, Horn-like heel whose curvature is in lockstep with the shank's, reaching its lowest point almost as far back as the transition. This heel provides the bowl with a trumpeting, blossoming look through its expansion out of the shank, and one that's taken full advantage of, as the fore wall of the bowl pushes out to make a long curve to the rim. The aft wall features a similar expansion outward, though not as pronounced, and the two create a pair of distinct peaks at either end of the bowl. From these two peaks, the flanks of the rim dip down, gradually arcing toward the middle and creating an inner basin for the most striking aspect of this pipe's construction to rise from. The aforementioned basin features an understated hollow carving at the edges, highlighting the structure of the outer rim and giving room for the edges of the chamber to push out from the surrounding briar like a volcano standing proud in the distance. The compressed, ovoid shape of the bowl as a whole makes this shaping a feat indeed, and one that consistently draws the eye toward the fore, especially given the symmetry of the entire composition. The transition is wide and slightly acute, giving the shank the slightest bit of lift, which, given that it extends this piece to more than seven inches long, results in an appreciably high-set face. At the face, Davidson has expanded the shank a bit, with a sharp flare that terminates in a soft, domed shape for the stem to marry. This stem is a slim saddle of bare curvature that features a slim expansion ring, mirroring the look of the shank end for a cohesive junction, lending the area an appropriate visual emphasis through the negative space between both expansions and the stem's base. A crisp, inky sandblast dresses the briar and matches excellently with the stem's jet-black, cultivating a reserved and refined palette that makes the shape the star of the veritable show, with ring grain flowing down the walls of the bowl and framing the shank's rise to the stem. This pipe is a delightfully conceptualized piece that displays Davidson's shaping acumen with unflinching grace.