Bruno Nuttens Hand Made XL Smooth Calabash w/ Horn Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Starting out as a pipe restorer, Belgian artisan Bruno Nuttens moved onto producing his own pipes under the careful guidance of France’s most esteemed master pipe makers, Pierre Morel Jr. Nuttens’ first pipes creating relatively traditional pipes—often using carefully selected, decades-seasoned stummels from France’s historic Saint-Claude factories—but he would soon begin developing entirely handmade pipes in styles that seamlessly blended the old with the new. In the case of the latter, Nuttens was no doubt aided by time spent in the workshop of Danish legend Tom Eltang, where he further developed the skills and techniques behind his craft. Nuttens made such an impact in Denmark, in fact, that he’s been commissioned three times to develop the Stokkebye Pipe of the Year, a number rivaled only by Eltang himself. Today, Nuttens continues to craft high-grade pipes in a variety of styles, including his signature “Bing” and “Twiggy” shapes.

Bruno Nuttens’ pipes are divided into two main categories: there are the Heritage series pipes, which are fashioned from seasoned, pre-turned Saint-Claude stummels, which Nuttens finishes, cuts stems for, and occasionally adds a little ornamentation, such as silver; and there are the Hand Made pipes, which are, made entirely from scratch, both in the carving of the bowl from briar blocks, to the cutting of the stems from ebonite rods. This impressively large calabash is an example of the latter, and though parallels can be drawn between it and certain pipes by Nuttens’ second mentor, Tom Eltang, it is more likely the case that its chief influence is Nuttens’ first, and most impactful, mentor, Pierre Morel Jr. Influence is one thing, however, and execution is another. Thankfully Bruno Nuttens is more than skilled enough to execute a shape as demanding as this one is, especially when it comes to the uniformity of the grain. The flame grain lining its sides is evenly spaced and perfectly positioned, and the bird’s-eye on its rim is tightly knit. A contrast stain accentuates these patterns, which are capped off by a horn ferrule and a long, flared, ebonite stem.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. It also comes with its original sleeve. There is some minor wear to the ferrule and a few small, cosmetic scratches, though nothing major. The price has been adjusted slightly to reflect this.

 

Details:

Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.77 / 19.55mm

Bowl Depth: 1.96″ / 49.78mm

Weight: 1.6oz / 46g