Partially Sandblasted Faux Calabash with Cocobolo (Friar) (A22) (48) Tobacco Pipe

Jody Davis is among the most renowned American artisans active today, and certainly one of the most well-respected. Davis is a man of many talents, that goes without saying, but his journey as an artisan began as many do: with a passion for pipes and smoking. After Davis made his first piece and showed it to one Keith Moore, Moore realized the potential that Davis had and put him into contact with legendary Danish artisan Jess Chonowitsch who showed him some of his methods and shared his sources for materials. At this point Jody began to immerse himself in carving, dedicating himself to the craft and later working with J.T. Cooke in his Vermont workshop for a week, all of which contributed to his incredible depth of knowledge and refined his eye for detail.

This faux Calabash is a pipe unlike any we've seen from Davis before, though it bears some striking resemblance to some of the American artisan's bent Dublin renditions we've encountered in the past. There's a good bit more curvature here, though, especially with regard to the stem, and the angles which comprise much of the stummel have been softened considerably. The latter is most evident at the heel and the transition, with the transition maintaining an almost parabolic shape that accepts a digit easily, while the heel sweeps forward with an outline that nearly mirrors that of the transition, creating an outline rife with both easy contours and striking curves. The stem marries the shank at a junction marked by a rounded ring of cocobolo, its base stylized to flare out in a domed shape before pinching in, flaring again, and falling into saddle orientation as it makes a languid arc through the air. Not only is the shaping impressive, but the stem's arrestingly vibrant pattern of brindled salmon and black vulcanite serves to make it a standout portion of this composition. That being said, the bowl still holds the majority of the visual weight, flaring out of the sweeping heel to meet a solidly affixed rim cap of cocobolo, revealing the rare wood's lovely grain and drawing the eye forward. Dressed in a crisp auburn sandblast, the stummel here reveals some wonderfully oriented ripples of growth rings, with the cocobolo accents providing rich contrast, while the stem complements the stain.