If I was a carver who wished to introduce a new interpretation of a shape that fell into the Danish esoteric milieu, this would certainly be one of the very last shapes that I would attempt. The form's creator is no less than Sixten Ivarsson, the "sun source" of the Danish revolution and it was dubbed a "Ukulele". Tom Eltang's "Eskimo" followed, to great acclaim, and we have Tod Johnson's formidable "Sarcophagus" to consider. Aside from the inherent difficulties of walking in such talented footsteps and placing your interpretation nose-to-nose with the few iterations that have succeeded, this is one shape whose proportions does not lend itself well to drastic changes. Unlike, say...the elephant's foot, whose lines can be radically curled, elongated, compacted (etc) and still stand defiantly as a pachyderm's paw, taking that sort of compositional liberty with this form will cause its very spirit to evanesce, leaving the carver (if he's lucky) with a briar that has everyone saying "pretty cool...erm, what is it?".

As you can clearly see in this Slonim Grade Eskimo, Alex Florov's talents not only match his bravery, but more than lived up to the challenge! The rise of bowl itself follows a bit closer to the Eltang interpretation, with a more limited rise from the side view than in the Sarcophagus that I have encountered, but maintains a width of shank from the top view that equals, maybe even subtly excels the latter. It's upon moving back to the lateral view that the show really starts. From the juncture with the bowl, the shank starts from a wafer thickness and begins a flare on the top that continues into the bit, eventually forming surfboard/wing. When placed against the unwavering travel of the underside and emphasized by a poignantly beautiful bevel, an undeniable sense of "speed" reveals itself (just look at it!). The very idea of an Eskimo/Uke speeder would not have even occurred to me. Moreover, even if it had, I couldn't fathom how it could be done and still stay utterly faithful to the spirit of the original. Then again, I am not master pipe carver Alex Nicholas Florov. A fact that I have little doubt that the pipe aficionados of the world (not to mention Vera Florov) are quite grateful for.

--Bear Graves