Davide Iafisco: Smooth Tomato with Horn Tobacco Pipe

Among Italy's most established and experienced artisan pipe makers, Davide Iafisco hand carves pipes of remarkable artistry and paramount craftsmanship. Many recognize Italian pipe making for its dramatic proportions and evocative finishes — à la pipes from Castello, Radice, and other historic workshops — but Iafisco's portfolio prioritizes the design cues championed by Danish, Japanese, and American artisans combined with his own creative inclination. His pipes often feature dynamic gesture and soft lines, sometimes accenting by asymmetry, and always supporting by immaculate finishes and sound engineering.

Revealing Iafisco's admiration fro Danish pipe design, this Tomato exudes the elegance and refinement associated with Danish pipe making. Simple yet precise in its execution, it presents a gently sweeping form as the shank's undercurve extends through the bowl's heel and fore. The bowl is squat and broad and is clearly informed by the grain: Iafisco shaped it to highlight a band of vertical grain along the sides, prioritizing breadth to showcase dense birdseye across the rim and heel. A generous length of horn comprises much of the shank, complementing the stummel's dark stain with a hints of cream and ebony, and the face of the horn is neatly shaped to echo the base of the hand-cut vulcanite stem for complete compositional harmony.