Nathan Armentrout Asteroid Bent Apple Handmade Briar Pipe, New [SOLD OUT]

Description

Originally a science teacher in California, Nathan Armentrout began making pipes in 2009 and has since emerged as one of North America’s most talented, high-grade artisan pipe-makers. Inspired by Denmark’s legendary carvers, Nathan’s designs continue the legacy of the Danish pipe-making movement into the present day and expand that legacy through his own unique interpretations of the masters of old.

I was really excited to receive this pipe from Nathan. This year, he debuted a new, signature finish he had been working on, and this is the result. It’s an approach to sandblasting and staining, but one that is a little different from the norm. While most pipe-makers will try to craft and finish a sandblasted pipe so that the natural patterns of the briar wrap around the bowl in tight, horizontal rings – what’s commonly known as ring grain – Nathan has instead focused on what can be done with both grain rings and bird’s-eye figures, which are often neglected or avoided in sandblasted pipes. This way, in Nathan’s words, the blast looks like the ‘cratered terrain of an asteroid,’ which, fittingly, Nathan pairs with unconventionally stony stains. I think it’s fantastic. The choice of stain color on its own is really novel, but combined with the blasting approach it creates a really striking effect.

Anyway, aside from the finish, the pipe comes with the bells and whistles that we expect from a high-grade talent like Armentrout. The shank ring is mammoth, while the stem is high quality black ebonite. The pipe is very portable and wonderfully lightweight, but it also has a capacious chamber, which Nathan always ensures is as full as possible while having suitably thick bowl walls.

 

Details:

Length: 4.7″

Bowl Width: .75″ / 19.2mm

Bowl Depth: 1.2″

Weight: 1.1oz / 34g