Sandblasted Square Poker with Bamboo Tobacco Pipe

Tom Eltang's many talents speak to a man of great experience, one who has worked with some of the foremost names in Danish pipe making, all of which is exactly the case with the respected artisan. At 16, Eltang apprenticed under Anne Julie before repairing pipes for Pipe-Dan, and then touring Europe for Stanwell, demonstrating pipe making at events in tobacco shops. During this time, Eltang's eye for shaping, sense of pipe function, and his own personal style evolved, and, when he finally decided to make pipes on his own, he attained a reputation for crafting fine smoking instruments, such as this Poker. One of his "smoking machine" Pokers, the design is a signature for him, meant to champion practicality and excellent, consistent smoking. This particular piece, however, embodies a more firm, muscular aesthetic thanks to its paneled bowl.

Eltang is no stranger to fitting his pipes with bamboo extensions and, in fact, this addition to his Pokers is undoubtedly the most prevalent in his usage of the dense grass. The saddle stem that begins this piece is attached to the grass with an extended tenon, the organic material flanked by two trim bands of black vulcanite at both ends, with either side continuing divots in the bamboo's surface for a further melding of the natural with the man made. The shank is petite, transitioning swiftly into the bowl, its sharply-lined shape resting on a slanted, flattened heel which allows stable sitting and gently cants the composition forward, imbuing it with a gentle momentum and palpable dynamism. A quartet of imposing panels frame the bowl and create a square shaped tower of briar at the fore of this composition, its pronounced presence made the center of the visual weight without exaggerating or inflating the proportions. What impresses me quite a bit here is the rim, having been shaped expertly by Eltang to curve smoothly as it rises from the sharply-lined walls and offering a slightly softer shaping detail to temper this pipe's more structured elements. An inky sandblast dresses the stummel here, unveiling twin plains of blasted birdseye on ether flank of the bowl, the fore and aft walls showcasing some rippling growth rings as the smooth rim presides above the bowl's panels.