Smooth Elephant's Foot (Four Hearts Collection) Tobacco Pipe

The Becker grading system tops out at the Royal Flush, which then is further divided by the Elite sub-grades A, B, and C, a "Royal Flush Elite C" being the top-of-the-top. There is one stamping, however, which can trump this when it comes to rarity, and that's the Collection. Unlike the Club, Spade, Diamond, Heart, Royal Flush, and Royal Flush Elite, the Collection is not judged according to finish or by grain quality — it designates instead a shape that is rare and especially difficult. True to that, we only ever received a single other Elephant's Foot from the late Paolo Becker, and that five years ago.

That other Elephant's Foot was quite a different animal, rendered in something akin to Paolo's stocky, wasp-waisted, flared-shank Cherrywoods and Tomatoes' style; with this one, he was clearly focused on creating something much closer to the Bo Nordh original. And he pulled it off, beautifully.

- Eric N. Squires