Jack Howell 2020 Sandblasted Panel Estate Briar Pipe [SOLD OUT]

Description

Jack Howell is an American artisan pipe-maker based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Beginning his pipe-making profession in 1999, Howell balances making high-grade pipes with his other career as a musician in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. While the latter is Howell’s self-admitted primary vocation, Howell’s pipes are a cult favorite among pipe-smokers and are renowned for their artistic vision and technical skill. As such, Howell’s pipes can be particularly hard to come by, much to the chagrin of his many admirers.

When I say that Jack Howell’s pipes are a cult favorite, I do mean it. I once knew someone who owned around a dozen or so, and was still annoyed when Howell was too busy in his musical career to take commissions. It’s easy to see why people feel this way, though. This is a really well made pipe. It’s a saddle foursquare of sorts, though I’ve called it a panel billiard for simplicity. It is for the majority sandblasted, with ring grain so tight and uniform it looks almost like denim, and the rim has been left polished smooth, showing off a health amount of bird’s-eye grain. What I really like, though, is the color matching that’s been applied; the rim is a red-brown stain, the bowl exterior is a dark red-burgundy contrast, and the stem is hand cut cumberland, i.e., black-red swirl ebonite.

The condition is excellent. There’s a touch of inner rim darkening, but it’s superficial. The pipe has been well cared for.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.87 / 22.09mm

Bowl Depth: 1.8″ / 45.72mm

Weight: 1.9oz / 54g