Pipe Tristan LC Smooth Swan Neck Billiard Handmade Briar Pipe, New

Description

Pipe Tristan is the name used by French artisan Tristan Lefebvre. Lefebvre is part of a new wave of up-and-coming hand made pipe carvers from the birthplace of briar, following in the footsteps of figures such as Alain Albuisson, Paul Lanier, and Pierre Morel Sr and Jr. Lefebvre credits a wide range of influences upon his pipe-making, such as modern greats from Italy and Denmark, such as Carlo Scotti’s Castello and Tom Eltang, as well as more unique sources of inspiration, such as the centuries-old hunting pipes native to Germany’s southern Bavarian region. As such, Tristan is equally at home crafting his own spin on the ’55,’ the hawbill, or the Danish Dublin as he is reviving the Ulmer Kloben – when he isn’t inventing his own shapes, that is.

The “LC” bent billiard is a shape that has captivated pipe smokers for a century, and one that holds a particularly special place in artisan pipe-making. It is both eminently traditional, with its name coming from a Dunhill design that debuted in the early-20th century, and thoroughly modern, having become something of a way for solo carvers to hone and display their skills. This is because, despite first being a product of the factory line, the LC is a very difficult shape to make, to the extent that even Dunhill’s version was severely limited—not to mention irregular—in manufacture. In the later 20th century, the shape moved from the factory floor to the artisan’s workshop, where it has largely remained for the last few decades.

While he has become known for his renditions of more modern, Italian shapes, some of the earliest pipes from Tristan Lefebvre that really caught my attention were his renditions of English, French, and German classics. His Ulmer pipes were impressive, but just as impressive were his LC renditions (along with his take on the squat bulldog “O” shape, which I will also be listing this evening). Lefebvre perfectly captures the sleek, swan neck shank and stem of the LC, its unusually tall and subtly bulbous bowl, along with its overall magnum stature. The design is completed by a hand cut, black ebonite stem, a silver collar, and a reserved, walnut stain over plenty of natural flame grain.

 

Details:

Length: 7.2″ / 182.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.82 / 20.82mm

Bowl Depth: 2.41″ / 61.21mm

Weight: 2.7oz / 78g