Smooth Long Shank Tomato with Moose Antler Tobacco Pipe

Chris Asteriou has quite a unique approach to design, something undoubtedly informed by his formal education as an architect, his following career in that field, and his experience in industrial design. Chris began his craft with a great admiration for classic Anglo-French marques and the tradition of Old World pipe design. As he continued, however, his awareness of the Danish and Japanese schools grew, as did his fascination with them, leading to pieces with more implied momentum, more softness, and more organicism about their builds. This Tomato is an impressive display of that influence, displaying a distinctly Danish aesthetic.

Chris has made a number of Tomatoes in his over many years of pipe making, though his long-shanked renderings are undoubtedly my favorite of them all, as the extra substance afforded by its lengthening gives him ample room to showcase his talent for shaping. This particular example does just that, with its trim saddle stem meeting the shank face at a pale, shapely ring of moose antler which adds some visual intrigue out back while retaining the sweeping undercurve of the stummel. The shank is flared to the end, tapering to the transition and lent some extra height as well, accentuating the vertical presence of the piece. The broad, squat bowl sits atop a lifted heel with a gently chamfered rim leading into a thickly-walled chamber for added insulation while smoking. The bowl is large enough to shoulder the vast majority of the visual weight, though the extended shank's slight upturn and gradual flare ensure that it, too, is given attention, promoting a natural path for the eye to travel from button to rim. A wonderful rendition of a modern classic profile, this pipe from Asteriou embodies the plump curvature which defines the shape, though does so while maintaining a fantastically refined sense of line. Dressed in a warm, mahogany-toned contrast stain, the stummel is framed on either flank by dense swathes of birdseye, while cross grain wraps around the top and through the underside.