Bennie Joe Pipes Smooth Ballerina Handmade Briar Pipe, New

Description

Bennie Joe Pipes are made by Bennie Joe, an Indonesian artisan based in Jakarta. A trained architect and part-time pipe-maker for much of his life, he took on the latter full-time after a downturn in the property market during the dark days of 2020 and after. An interesting aspect of Bennie Joe pipes is that they are made primarily with hand tools, rather than many of the woodworking machines pipe-makers employ. While the chambers and draft holes are drilled, the body of the pipe is formed using hand tools, creating genuinely freehand shapes reminiscent of those made in mid-century Denmark. It should come as no surprise that one of Bennie Joe’s heroes is the late, great, Bo Nordh.

When the latest pipes arrived from Bennie Joe, I could see more than ever how much he’s been influenced by Bo Nordh. This one is clearly an interpretation of Bo Nordh’s ‘Ballerina,’ which takes its name from the en pointe – the ballet position where the dancer stands on their tiptoes with raised heels. It’s not an easy move to pull off (I certainly can’t), and carving the shape is just as difficult, as it requires an immense amount of skill to hand-shape its foot-like bowl. Bennie’s version has gone even further, and added thick, Indonesian bamboo to the design, making it a very striking pipe indeed. Completing the pipe is high-grade, hand-cut ebonite for the stem.

 

Details:

Length: 5.4″

Bowl Width: 19.8mm

Bowl Depth: 1.6″

Weight: 2.1oz / 62g