HS Studio XL Smooth Asymmetric Freehand Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

If you’ve been keeping up with the world of Chinese pipe making, their artisan scene has been really taking off over the last decade. Like the great Danish institutions of old, many of these pipes are produced in artisan workshops such as Zhiputang, Qi Studio, and GH Zhang. Hong Kong’s HS Studio follows a similar model, with a team of expert in-house carvers crafting high-quality briars in a variety of styles.

The thing I’ve enjoyed most about going through this box of new old stock HS Studio pipes is that I’m rarely not surprised by what I pull out next. This one is a highly organic, asymmetric freehand, with an almost insect-like quality to its proportions (especially by way of its bulbous “abdominal” region). There are certain precedents, such as in the work of Lasse Skovgaard, Wolfgang Becker, and perhaps Japanese carvers such as Gotoh and Tokutomi, but for the most part it seems simply to be capturing the spirit of imagination and experimentation, chasing impressive flame grain patterns all the while.

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

 

Details:

Length: 7.4″ / 187.9mm

Bowl Width: 0.78 / 19.81mm

Bowl Depth: 1.48″ / 37.59mm

Weight: 2.6oz / 76g