J Mouton Smooth Popera Handmade Briar Pipe, New

Description

Born and raised in the small town of Gueydan, Louisana, Jay Mouton is an American artisan who works under the moniker of J. Mouton. Having crafted duck calls since he was a teenager, Mouton’s first forays into pipe-making began with carving tampers. Mouton’s unexpected successes with these handmade tampers allowed him to purchase the equipment necessary to create the pipes themselves. Studying the works of renowned American artisans such as J. Alan, Grant Batson, and Jared Coles, Mouton gradually developed his own pipe-making craft, which was furthered by his exchanges with Greek artisan Chris Asteriou.

Like a few other contemporary artisans, J. Mouton has shown an especial affinity for the poker shape. It may well be the epitome of functionalist design, typically being lightweight and compact and, of course, a sitter, which is in part why it has undergone such a revival in the last few decades. But there is another shape that has received far less attention, despite also being of a functionalist conception: the opera. Historically employed as a way to allow easy transport in a one’s pocket, the opera’s defining feature is its oval bowl, rather than the conical bowls found in almost every other shape. J. Mouton’s latest, signature design is a hybrid of the two which, at the suggestion of one of his customers, was named the “Popera.” This one is adorned with a silver army mount and, through cross-cut shaping, utilizes the broad sides of its opera-style bowl to show off two great planes of tight bird’s-eye grain.

 

Details:

Length: 5.2″ / 132.0mm

Bowl Width: 0.98 / 24.89mm

Bowl Depth: 1.69″ / 42.92mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 40g