Bennie Joe Smooth Mushroom Handmade Briar Pipe, New

Description

Bennie Joe Pipes are made by Bennie Joe, an Indonesian artisan based in Jakarta. A trained architect and part-time pipe-maker for much of his life, he took on the latter full-time after a downturn in the property market during the dark days of 2020 and after. An interesting aspect of Bennie Joe pipes is that they are made primarily with hand tools, rather than many of the woodworking machines pipe-makers employ. While the chambers and draft holes are drilled, the body of the pipe is formed using hand tools, creating genuinely freehand shapes reminiscent of those made in mid-century Denmark. It should come as no surprise that one of Bennie Joe’s heroes is the late, great, Bo Nordh.

Many pipes take inspiration from the natural world. Some take inspiration from flora (plants), and some take inspiration from fauna (animals). But what about that seldom remembered other kingdom, funga? In other words, what about mushrooms? Mushrooms are ripe, so to speak, for influence in pipe design. This pipe from Bennie Joe, for example, reminded me of the way that varieties of oyster mushrooms grow out of tree stumps. It also strongly reminded me of certain styles in Japanese pipe-making, where asymmetry and organicism are king – not least in its use of bamboo.

 

Details:

Length: 4.7″ / 119.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.75 / 19.05mm

Bowl Depth: 0.9″ / 22.86mm

Weight: 1.1oz / 34g