Smooth Acorn Tobacco Pipe

We love the combination of softly rounded features paired with comparatively smaller forms: Think of a small puppy who has yet to grow into his long, floppy ears or a tiny kitten whose wide eyes dominate her face. It's for these same reasons we love this Acorn from Micah Redmond. Like the puppy's ears and kitten's eyes, the bowl here is seemingly "too big" for the abbreviated shank and trim saddle stem. It makes for a compact piece that remains impressively substantial in hand and, dare I say, cute in profile.

While not even five inches in length, this smoker houses a generous chamber, and Micah has pinched the rotund bowl's flanks to ensure the bulbous form can be comfortably and solidly held, thumb rested securely at the transition and palm supporting the smooth-flowing heel. The plump curves of the bowl are contrasted by a subtle dose of crisp line work at the shank end — Redmond has inset the base of the stem slightly into the shank, resulting in a hard-lined tier between the briar and vulcanite in silhouette. Adding to the gorgeous form, then, is equally beautiful grain: The stummel is covered in symmetrical straight grain across the flanks, brought out by one of the American carver's reserved yet vividly detail-highlighting contrast stains.