Mutcat Smooth Bent Ball Handmade Briar Pipe, New

Description

Mutcat pipes are made by Mutcat Cat, an Indonesian artisan residing in its northeastern Java province. A pipe-maker for many years, and a pipe-smoker for even longer, Mutcat’s pipes are frequently innovative in their use of alternative, home-grown materials and elaborate forms and finishes. This is not only because of a desire to offer pipe-smokers something new and unique, but because of Mutcat’s own experiences as one. Living in a tropical climate, Mutcat seeks to find novel approaches to pipe construction that can provide a cool, dry smoke whatever the weather.

The ball is a shape largely associated with Danish artisan pipe-making. It has a lot in common with the traditional apple, but is also far rounder than the former, while also typically being shaped so as to emphasize this roundness. This pipe from Mutcat shows how this emphasis is achieved; the shank is either raised or lowered (in this case, lowered) so that the curvature of the bowl carries on underneath the pipe further than it normally would. Small adjustments to a design can do odd – and more importantly, visually appealing – things like that, which is part of why I myself find pipe design so fascinating. This Mutcat has some extra decorative elements that make the pipe even more interesting, one being a hand cut, black and tan swirl ebonite stem, and the other being a ferrule made from Indonesian black palm wood.

 

Details:

Length: 5.8″ / 147.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.81 / 20.57mm

Bowl Depth: 1.18″ / 29.97mm

Weight: 1.5oz / 44g