Chheda Sandblasted Billiard w/ Buckeye Burl Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Since at least the advent of post-war Scandinavian pipe making, budding artisans have made pilgrimages—sometimes crossing oceans and continents—to study under the most acclaimed masters of the age, all for the purposes of furthering their craft. In Scandinavia itself, for example, these masters have included Sixten Ivarsson, Hans “Former” Nielsen, Poul Ilsted, and Tom Eltang. But the manufacture of high-grade, handmade pipes would soon “go west,” as Erwin Van Hove once put it, with a number of American masters becoming highly sought after not only for their pipes, but for their teaching and mentorship. While the Internet and social media have made the exchange of tips and techniques easier than ever before, there are nonetheless a number of individuals in 21st century American pipe making whose influence surpasses all others—not least because it is their workshops that have continued to serve as veritable colleges for those who want to make great pipes. Todd Johnson would be one individual; Jeff Gracik of J. Alan Pipes would be another; and, most certainly, so would Premal Chheda.

In fact, this particular pipe is an expression of the significance of instruction and cooperation in Premal Chheda’s career. The design embodies a signature Chheda style, being a distinctly stout billiard, dressed in a crisp, denim-like sandblast, and adorned with twin rings of buckeye burl. But the pipe, having been made in 2010, comes from a time when Chheda Pipes were made together by Premal Chheda and his former student and collaborator, Bill Shalosky.

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

 

Details:

Length: 5.5″ / 139.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.89 / 22.60mm

Bowl Depth: 1.87″ / 47.49mm

Weight: 2.0oz / 58g