Bennie Joe Smooth Strawberry 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.

What I really like about Bennie Joe’s pipes is how organic their designs are. They capture an approach to form that emerged in the early creations of post-war Scandinavian pipes, such as those of Bo Nordh, but which disappeared for a while until being reinvigorated by high-grade Japanese carvers. True to its namesake, this strawberry is plump and almost “ripe” looking but, also like its namesake, incorporates elements of asymmetry and chance through its “growth” from briar block to smoking instrument. The inclusion of a horn ferrule is an excellent touch, serving as a mediator between the bowl and the clean lines of the pipe’s ebonite stem.

 

Details:

Length: 5.2″ / 132.0mm

Bowl Width: 0.77 / 19.55mm

Bowl Depth: 1.53″ / 38.86mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 42g