Smooth Sphinx with Bamboo Tobacco Pipe

Born in Japan and residing in Germany, Ken'ichiro Dederichs-Uchida, better known as Ken Dederichs, crafts pipes that fuse elements of both Danish and Japanese design to create bold, often organic compositions with a singular aesthetic. Swedish artisan Bo Nordh originally crafted the Sphinx shape as part of the family of pipes that include the Elephant's Foot, and it's become a modern classic profile now routinely made by experienced artisans around the world. This iteration from Dederichs is a unique take on the profile that amplifies the presence of the bowl considerably, while the shank and stem display a far more willowy presence out back. The transition is wide, and it gives way to a nearly nonexistent shank that tapers swiftly to meet two knuckles of bamboo, extending its reach significantly while a divot in the surface of the dense grass is continued into the shank on the underside. A matching divot near the aft side is extended slightly into a trim band of black vulcanite, marking the junction to a sleekly tapering stem of matching black vulcanite, complete with an expansion ring at the base. Up front, the bowl comprises two halves separated by an oval-shaped ridgeline: a curved, flattened aft section and a broad, rounded fore. This arrangement creates an impressively firm presence in hand that is yet comfortable and supple when held, and the curve of the ridge lends the bowl a forward-urging dynamism in profile. Additionally, near the transition, this ridge extends down, sharply pointing the heel and keeping one's attention locked on the bowl. Dressed in a warm, rich stain, the stummel displays flame wrapping around the midsection and following the bowl's ridge, while the aft wall is covered in a dense sea of birdseye.