Micah Redmond: Sandblasted Tomato with Bamboo and Bakelite Tobacco Pipe

Since 2015, Smokingpipes has held the American Pipe Making Exposition, a celebration of America's finest artisans who gather together a bespoke selection of their best work, all revolving around a central theme. For 2024, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Expo, Smokingpipes has expanded participation to include entrants from around the world in what will henceforth be known as the Global Pipe Making Exposition. Fittingly, 2024's theme is bamboo, the same as the first Expo, and it's an opportunity for carvers worldwide to show off their most inventive, innovative compositions.

Micah Redmond's penchant for crafting pipes possessed of supple, rounded silhouettes is evidenced throughout his entire portfolio, with his renditions of the Tomato shape being among his most numerous. The profile has become a signature shape from the artisan, and this particular example showcases his remarkable precision in crafting the shape, alongside his facility for rendering pipes in stout, overtly muscular proportions. Though measuring in at just over five inches long, the tight-knit thickness of this pipe's build contributes to a much more compact look, with the enhanced substance of both the shank and bowl maintaining a sense of balance. The transition is wide, and it gives way to a short, robust shank that lifts to meet an equally hearty length of bamboo that comprises three densely packed knuckles of the sturdy grass. The bamboo is subtly curved, naturally continuing the trajectory of the shank and meeting a slim saddle stem made from warm, swirling, caramel-toned Bakelite whose base stylistically continues the bamboo's rhythm while remaining low-profile and slender. Up front, the bowl stands on a lifting heel, pushing its walls upward and emphasizing the impressive roundness that defines its outline. These walls boast the Tomato shape's iconic curves, full with supple contours that make it a pleasure to hold, expanding softly to a mid-set waist before making an arcing taper to the rim. Dressed in a crisp, ruddy, Cumberland-style sandblast, the stummel reveals delightful grain, with wrapping bands of growth rings surrounding the bowl, while the entire underside is awash with blasted birdseye. What's more, the tones of the stem harmonize beautifully with the stummel's stain, creating a cohesive palette that's contrasted wonderfully by the pale hue of the bamboo.