Chris Asteriou Contast Sandblasted Apple w/ Bamboo Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Originally coming from a background in architecture and industrial design, Greece’s Chris Asteriou’s talents as an artisan pipe maker are perhaps only exceeded by the impact he has made on other pipe makers in the time since he took up the craft. Beginning in 2007, Asteriou’s career as a pipe maker was solely guided—at least on a formal level—by his prior vocations. Yet despite being an autodidact from a country more known for its briar than its briar carvers, Asteriou quickly cemented himself as one of the 21st century’s premier artisans. This is something patently clear from his pipes, but it is also something that has been felt through the mentorship and guidance he has provided to the generations of pipe makers that have followed his own. This includes figures such as fellow Greek carver Michail Kyriazanos, Brazil’s Gustavo Cunha (marTelo) and Luiz Lavos, and America’s J. Mouton. One could further list the pipe makers who have been influenced by Asteriou’s works but, given constraints on space and time, it would be far better to simply state that they are many.

I think this is the first estate (though unsmoked) Chris Asteriou we’ve had come through since MBSD Pipes was founded, though we’ve had plenty of pipes from individuals who’ve been inspired by him. When you look at a pipe like this one, it’s not difficult to see why he’s such a force in the artisan scene. There’s an incredible sense of balance to this bamboo apple of his, and not just because it’s barely over an ounce in weight. The proportions, from bowl, to bamboo shank extension, to stem, are perfectly aligned, with none being too long in comparison to any other. There are other, subtler, correspondences in the pipe’s constitutive parts, as well. The uppermost part of the bamboo, for example, aligns neatly with the rim of the bowl; similarly, the base of the stem is almost perfectly parallel with the heel of the bowl. It is simply really well executed, and reminds me a little of the Da Divina Proportione project of Ser Jacopo. The ring grain sandblasting and subtle tan contrast staining of the bowl is the cherry on top, but even without that, the pipe would remain quite impressive.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. It comes with its original leather sleeve.

 

Details:

Length: 5.2″ / 132.0mm

Bowl Width: 0.81 / 20.57mm

Bowl Depth: 1.22″ / 30.98mm

Weight: 1.1oz / 34g