Smooth Wasp with Boxwood (Signature) (3.17) Tobacco Pipe

As far as Wasp shapes go Wolfgang Becker's is one of the more readily evocative, of its namesake insect, that I've encountered. Characterized by a bulbous, forward ebbing bowl, a lifting and well-defined transition, and a pronounced, flaring, and upward-flicking shank, it can essentially be divided into two distinct shapes in profile, one leading gracefully into the other, and here framed between a pale boxwood accent and a crisp plateau rim. Further reinforcing the zoomorphic aesthetic, a slim saddle stem sporting a neat domed base plays well with some negative space past the shank's end. As a Signature grade briar, lively, windswept flame can be found in spades, accentuated by one of Wolfgang's dramatic contrasts. An excellent example of the carver's work here.

- Daniel Bumgardner