Smooth Bent Brandy with Boxwood Tobacco Pipe

A classic piece of Danish shaping from Tonni Nielsen here, this bent Brandy combines a smooth, supple bowl with plenty of active, sweeping lines, producing a muscular, substantial feel in hand while still maintaining a dynamic silhouette overall. That's, no doubt, reinforced by the twin teardrop ridges flowing down either side of the shank's underside, working not only to underline the strong arc of the profile but also lend extra visual weight to the pronounced cheeking of the bowl around the transition. Aside from the gorgeous shaping, this piece is also a great example of Tonni's penchant for composite mouthpieces, here having fashioned the stem from an amber-colored material set into a broad boxwood base. A note on the "faux amber": this material is neither amber nor acrylic, but a special, hand-cast polymer that served as an amber substitute years ago. Many Danish pipe makers, such as Tonni and Manduela to list a couple, still have a limited stock of the unique medium, and use it to great effect. Beautiful grain here as well.

- Andrew Wike