Smooth Billiard with Ivorite Tobacco Pipe

Brazilian pipe maker Luiz Lavos spent much of his childhood in his grandfather's wood working shop, and had a career in graphic arts before becoming fascinated by artisan pipe-making, drawing on both sources of inspiration to create fine smokers like this straight Billiard. It displays clear Danish design cues, with a roundly tapering bowl, cheeking at the transition, and a stout, round shank.

Luiz has turned the shape into an exhibition of precise craftsmanship and bespoke details, starting with a light, smooth finish that lets a beautiful cross grain orientation in the briar shine pure and radiant. He has oriented the shape to the block perfectly, bringing out mesmerizing fields of packed birdseye on both flanks. The shank end is crowned by a jet-black ring of vulcanite and a creamy Ivorite accent, with matching Ivorite forming the stem's base, before the hand-detailed vulcanite saddle bit stretches lithely out back. The framing affect makes the stem junction seem to disappear into the composition, evoking a sense of unity about the design that is difficult to achieve.