C. Kent Joyce Teardrop Acorn Sandblasted Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Kent Joyce is an American artisan from Oklahoma. Originally a collector of high-grade smoking pipes, Joyce ultimately turned to making his own, taking inspiration from the masters in and outside of his personal collection. Along the way, he has studied in the creation of handmade pipes under influential American carvers, such as Premal Chheda.

This is the third C. Kent Joyce pipe I’ve listed in the last few weeks, all of them having come via our trade-in program from the estate of a collector, and all of them being genuinely fascinating pipes. This one is, of course, no different. The side profile strikes as a kind of acorn or strawberry, a little like the kinds Lars Ivarsson made. On the other hand flared shank also reminds a little of Wolfgang Becker’s “wasp” shapes. Where this pipe comes into its own, however, is in a distinct reversal of the shaping of its bowl and shank. In artisan pipes, it is very common to see the shank shaped in a so-called “tear-drop” style, i.e., an ellipse that is rounded at one end and pointed at the other. And, in most pipes, artisan or otherwise, the rim of the bowl is circular, i.e., round and, in many shapes, possessing a conical depth. On this pipe, however, it is the rim, along with the bowl section it caps off, that is teardrop-shaped, with the shank end being the round, conical part of the design. It’s a little complicated to describe, but visually it’s intuitive and works well. The really difficult part – for me at least – is working out what to call it and categorize it as. Teardrop acorn? That might have to do.

This C. Kent Joyce is also completely unsmoked.

 

Details:

Length: 5″ / 127.0mm

Bowl Width: 0.74 / 18.79mm

Bowl Depth: 1.12″ / 28.44mm

Weight: 1.0oz / 30g