Scottie Piersel: Relief Contrast Pencil Shank Dublin Tobacco Pipe

American artisan Scottie Piersel has developed one of the most unique styles in the pipe world, her singular oeuvre centered around, robust, full-size pipes with remarkably thin shank-and-stem combinations. Though she does craft pipes of a more timeless style, her pencil-shank pieces often manifest a distinctly neoclassical character thanks to their impressive bowls. This particular Dublin stands out, even among others of her Pencil shank variety, for having a bowl even more strikingly large than many of those we've seen in the past. While many others within this same style of hers maintain a fairly light weight, this piece is hefty, with ample substance in the hand, all of which is focused at the fore. The bowl itself stands on a tilted heel that angles down very slightly toward the fore, and it grows massively thick walls that flare out expressively to a broad, plateau-crowned rim, boasting more breadth than height. The thickness of these walls easily insulates the chamber, and their dynamic forward cant creates a defined sense of momentum, which immediately drags the eye to the bowl and holds it. The transition is wide and subtly cheeked, giving way to an extended, willowy shank that reaches out toward a slim saddle stem of swirling, multicolored vulcanite: meeting at the junction's pale accent band. The stem pairs to the shank via a stainless steel reverse tenon that lines most of the shank's aft side, smartly reinforcing the stem fitment and providing more stability for such a gracile shank. Dressed in Scottie's unique Relief Contrast finish, this pipe has been stained and sandblasted to reveal its rippling growth rings before being sanded down and stained a lighter color, adding plenty of definition to the grain and color contrast to the stummel while keeping the feel in hand quite soft.