Sandblasted and Rusticated Cutty Tobacco Pipe

English artisan Chris Askwith is one of few artisan pipe makers in the country, and his personal style often hews close to classic Anglo-French design, with sleek, precise shaping and balanced proportions displayed throughout his portfolio. Chart-standard pipes have remained a constant within Askwith's work, their presence and expert shaping expressing Askwith's deeply held appreciation for the classic shape chart. This Cutty is certainly one of those traditional shapes, hearkening back to the clay pipes used in taverns before the advent of briar pipes, and boasting a remarkably sleek silhouette. The bowl here is tall and pert, taking on a slightly Egg-like outline as it cants forward dynamically out of the wide transition, its chamfered rim leading to a respectable chamber. A wide transition pairs the bowl to a consistently tapering combination of shank and stem, with the stem here rendered from an extended portion of coffee-and-caramel-toned acrylic. This svelte build through the aft side places a great deal of visual emphasis on the bowl, but this is balanced by the shank and stem's appreciable length, pushing the reach of this pipe to nearly six-and-a-half inches. Despite its length, the weight here is still extremely light, which should make clenching this piece easy and comfortable. Askwith has dressed this pipe with a unique finish, combining a ring-style rustication with a low-depth sandblast to create the look of perfectly concentric ring grain cascading down the bowl. The confluence of textures makes for a thoroughly engaging pipe with a striking aesthetic, especially as the stummel's tan stain harmonizes with the stem's own palette.