Christian Ruetz Smooth Surfing Bulldog w/ Ivorite Handmade Briar Pipe, New

Description

Tyrol’s Christian Ruetz may well be the most exciting and acclaimed pipe maker to have come out of Austria since Peter Matzhold. A committed pipe smoker since his youth, Ruetz crafted his first pipe in 2014, using a carving knife gifted by his father-in-law and wood from a cherry tree. Ruetz was, from then on, hooked and soon moved onto briar, though he has maintained a relatively low-tech approach to pipe construction throughout his career.
Though Ruetz’s experiments with briar began a decade ago, in recent years his exercises in style have coalesced into an instantly recognizable identity, which has coincided with a no less than meteoric rise within the international pipe community and industry.
As is something of a tradition for today’s artisans, Ruetz would eventually make his pilgrimage to the workshop of Tom Eltang in Copenhagen, where he was invited to spend a day observing the old master at work. Yet it must also be stressed that Ruetz’s design philosophy is distinct from—and, to an extent, contrary to—that of much of modern Scandinavian pipe making.
Against the functionalism of Eltang et al., Ruetz is far more of a Romantik. In his own words, his style is encompassed by three words: Natur, Rauheit, and Imperfektion, (roughly, “nature,” “ruggedness/rawness,” and “imperfection”). This style and underlying ethos comes from a life spent recognizing the natural world for what it is—including the sublime, towering ranges of the Eastern Alps visible from his workshop windows.

Of all of the Ruetz pipes I’ve listed in this batch, this one stands out as a little different to the others, yet still retains Ruetz’s style and core design philosophy. There’s a definite asymmetry at play, not entirely unlike that utilized by Danish masters such as Tonni Nielsen or Lasse Skovgaard, or their counterparts in Japan, such as Takeo Arita, or even the late Hiroyuki Tokutomi. Yet as I’ve said in other listings, this kind of naturalism is baked into Ruetz’s approach. The way the bowl seems to burst forth from the shank in an almost floral manner, for example, or the slightly jaunty angle at which it does so, is a reflection of the natural world that his work recognizes. It’s a reflection of the fact that, no matter how ardently man tries to impose order upon the world around him, there is a Dionysian impulse that always manages to break free, adding a little chaos to the mix. Ruetz has done well to work both with this impulse while keeping the bowl’s stellar flame grain in check. But, having seen plenty of his pipes at the Chicago Pipe Show this year, I wouldn’t have doubted Ruetz’s abilities in that regard for a second.

Details:

Length: 4.8″ / 121.9mm

Bowl Width: 0.71 / 18.03mm

Bowl Depth: 1.00″ / 25.40mm

Weight: 1.2oz / 36g