Doctor’s Pipes Flash Grade Sandblasted Acorn Handmade Briar Pipe, New

Description

Doctor’s Pipes are made by artisan pipe-maker Roman Kovalev. Based in Saint Petersburg, Kovalev’s pipe-making moniker derives from his sixteen years spent as a pediatric neurologist, and the consequent nickname of ‘Doc’ given by his friends. Taking up pipe-making in the early 2010s, and with a great deal of inspiration from Japanese masters such as Hiroyuki Tokutomi, Kovalev’s career underwent a meteoric rise that most artisans can only dream of. As one might expect from their maker’s background, Doctor’s Pipes are truly precision instruments; they are also highly inventive, however, with one of Kovalev’s innovations being the sandblasting machine that he designed and built as tailored to his own personal specifications.

As I’ve mentioned in previous listings, the acorn shape, while a relatively traditional French staple, has come a long way in the last 70-or-so years. This transformation was initiated by Sixten Ivarsson, who married the delicate, conical form of the acorn’s bowl with the long and slender side profile of the lapwing, creating the Peewit shapes seen prominently in Danish (though Ivarsson was a Swede) and Danish-inspired pipe design. Subsequent artisans in this new Danish tradition had their own ways of rethinking the acorn, including Sixten’s son Lars Ivarsson, whose acorn shapes were broader and more muscular; and Lars’ daughter Nanna Ivarsson, whose acorns were shorter and “chubbier.” The Ivarssons were, of course, far from the only ones to make acorn shapes during this time; what is notable instead is that, even within that one family, the acorn shapes were very different across its generations. Outside of the Ivarssons, acorns have been even more different. This one, from Roman Kovalev, shows some similarities with the Danish greats when it comes to the basic shaping of the bowl, but beyond that it would be difficult to compare it to others made in Denmark, or indeed anywhere else. The bowl is as plump and organic as its namesake, but Kovalev’s signature use of a compact stature coupled with a drastic curvature introduced by way of bamboo, have as their effect a departure from the acorn shape that may well be as steep as Sixten’s own.

 

Details:

Length: 4.5″ / 114.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.80 / 20.32mm

Bowl Depth: 1.29″ / 32.76mm

Weight: 1.8oz / 53g