Nuttens Handmade Partially Sandblasted Rhodesian Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Starting out as a pipe restorer, Belgian artisan Bruno Nuttens moved onto producing his own pipes under the careful guidance of France’s most esteemed master pipe makers, Pierre Morel Jr. Nuttens’ first pipes creating relatively traditional pipes—often using carefully selected, decades-seasoned stummels from France’s historic Saint-Claude factories—but he would soon begin developing entirely handmade pipes in styles that seamlessly blended the old with the new. In the case of the latter, Nuttens was no doubt aided by time spent in the workshop of Danish legend Tom Eltang, where he further developed the skills and techniques behind his craft. Nuttens made such an impact in Denmark, in fact, that he’s been commissioned three times to develop the Stokkebye Pipe of the Year, a number rivaled only by Eltang himself. Today, Nuttens continues to craft high-grade pipes in a variety of styles, including his signature “Bing” and “Twiggy” shapes.

This is only the second estate Nuttens pipe we’ve had come through in the last five or so years, so I hope you’ll forgive me if I repeat what I said about the last one: I liked Bruno Nuttens before he was cool. Not that he wasn’t ever not-cool, but he’s come such a long way from his humble beginnings, crafting classic, Anglo-French shapes from repurposed stummels found in forgotten Saint-Claude warehouses. I say all of this because, despite his meteoric rise and distinctly Danish tuition, he still returns, every now and then, to traditional designs. Sometimes, these are produced using seasoned, pre-turned Saint-Claude stummels, which make up the Heritage line, and sometimes they are made from scratch from high-grade briar blocks. This is an example of the latter, taking the form of a long, slender Rhodesian that evokes the clay “tavern” pipes that pre-dated even the discovery of briar. It is almost impossibly lightweight, yet still houses a good-sized chamber, and wears a mixed finish combining ring grain sandblast and a smooth polished rim.

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

 

Details:

Length: 6.4″ / 162.5mm

Bowl Width: 0.66 / 16.76mm

Bowl Depth: 1.64″ / 41.65mm

Weight: 0.7oz / 20g