Sandblasted Pierced Dragon's Claw with African Blackwood (0857) Tobacco Pipe

From his Witch's Hat design to his whimsical Groot, Wojtek Pastuch is not stranger to elaborate shaping and playfully creative pipes. This Pierced Dragon's Claw, though, takes that out-of-the-box thinking and expert craftsmanship to a whole new level. The bowl is perhaps the most standard aspect of this piece, presenting a forward-urging posture and shape that hews closely toward an angled Egg or, even, Scoop design. From the transition, then, sweeps a tail that is anything but standard — it curls in a perfect arc back up toward the bowl, terminating just above the aft of the rim in a three-clawed appendage to make it look as though a beastly dragon has just deposited something within the chamber. Running through the middle of this tail (or arm) is a slender shank fashioned into a rod from African blackwood, marked by smoky, ever-so-subtle grain.

It's a piece that in and of itself is a feat of masterful shaping and design, yet the Polish artisan has neglected no detail. The rim is neatly chamfered and stained a warm walnut hue to accent, and the sandblast is as impressive as the shaping, ringlets of coiled grain emanating from the junction of the blackwood shank and bowl. Fitted to an army mounted stem of vulcanite, this piece is deceptively lightweight, easily slung from the jaw, while remaining equally as comfortable in hand. It's clear that while Pastuch definitely focused on unique shaping, he spared no expense when it came to making this a smoker also defined by comfort and smoking quality.