Sandblasted Captain's Hawkbill Tobacco Pipe

If you're familiar with Silver Gray's work, you have no doubt seen many a Hawkbill design come from her, making this one an unsurprising, yet not unwelcome sight. One of the few carvers to readily and regularly render this shape that originally came from the Castello workshop years ago, Gray has mastered the art of producing this piece and delivers some of the best renditions in the industry. To me what makes her versions so attractive and appealing is the way in which she makes such a staunch, imposing design come across as elegant and approachable, She achieves this by scaling down the overall proportions and giving the bowl a slight forward cant, as seen here in this piece. Even more alluring is her use of stain and stem pairing, as this one wears an almost tiger-esque stain underneath a crisp sandblast and is topped with a smoky, mossy vulcanite stem. If Silver Gray's work has caught your eye in the past but you have yet to add one to your collection, this Hawkbill would make a perfect introduction.