Bruno Nuttens Mini Bing B3 Smooth Billiard w/ Silver Briar Pipe, New

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, all while mentoring students of his own, including artisans like Chris Herriot and Christophe Wolff.

After the immense success of his Bing Crosby inspired billiards, Bruno Nuttens decided to create a series of pipes of the same basic shape, but with slightly scaled down proportions. These would become Nuttens’ “Mini Bing” pipes. The Mini Bing, as seen here, is even more svelte and lightweight than its bigger brother, while still maintaining ample chamber capacity for a good bowl, especially when out on the town. Nuttens’s grading system for his Bing and Heritage pipes goes, in ascending order of quality, from 1-4, with this Mini Bing attaining a very respectable grade 3. Given the brilliant bird’s-eye patterns and light finish this one features, I’d say that’s well-earned.

Details:

Length: 6.4″ / 162.5mm

Bowl Width: 0.70 / 17.78mm

Bowl Depth: 1.27″ / 32.25mm

Weight: 0.8oz / 24g