Partially Rusticated Bulldog Tobacco Pipe

In the years since his mentorship under Tom Eltang, Mike Bay has blossomed into one of Denmark's most esteemed and prolific young artisans. His shaping style, while influenced by Eltang, reveals Bay's own creative vision across myriad finishes and an eclectic array of accent materials. Tastefully toeing the line between classic and individual, Bay's portfolio delights with distinctive renditions of favorite shapes, each singular, captivating, and imbued with world-class engineering.

Other Bulldogs we've received from Bay were of a more slender, traditional variety, but more recently he's been experimenting with this stout version. It offers a more compact and chubby aesthetic —— a Bulldog of more pocket-pipe, Nosewarmer proportions. Such dimensions suit the Bulldog shape well: The diamond shank and beadlined bowl take well to increased muscularity for a more hearty disposition in hand. For the finish, Bay contrasts his signature rustication style against a smooth-polished upper bowl that's stained a rich, ruby hue. Moreover, the black-and-ruby tones of the stummel are tastefully accented by the brindled vulcanite stem, revealing striated tones of green and black.

-Truett Smith