Buckeye Hand Made Sandblasted Olivewood Stack Billiard, New

Premal Chheda’s Buckeye Pipes have undergone several significant changes since their debut in the mid-2000s. Chheda himself was one of the first major players in 21st century American artisan briars, having been taught the fundamentals of high-grade pipe making by Mike Butera, and having had plenty of students of his own in the time since. Though Buckeye started out as an sub-brand for pipes that did not quite meet the standard of a pipe stamped with the Chheda name, the two would ultimately become different projects entirely. Today’s Buckeye Pipes are, instead, high-quality briars produced by Premal Chheda and his apprentices. The difference between a Chheda Pipe, or one of the pipes made by Chheda’s apprentices under their own name, and a Buckeye pipe boils down to the level of detailing involved: Buckeye Pipes are precision engineered and expertly finished, while being more minimalist in design and less labor-intensive in execution than their counterparts.

One interesting development in the Buckeye workshop of late has been an expansion into the realms of alternative materials, specifically the woods used to craft Buckeye pipes. In addition to briar, some Buckeye pipes are now made from olivewood, and others from strawberry briar, also known as Arbutus. Both have, historically, been used to make pipes for about as long as briar has, and both remain minor staples of the artisan scene. This persistence is partly thanks to their similarity to tree heather briar, as they share its heat resistant properties and flavor neutrality, but it’s also thanks to how different they are aesthetically.

Olivewood, for example, is certainly not lacking in the grain department, as can be seen on this Buckeye stacked billiard. But this grain also possesses a marbled quality, in the form of alternating layers of blacks and tans. It also sandblasts exquisitely, adding an even richer texture to the bowl.

Details:

Length: 5.4″ / 137.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.70 / 17.78mm

Bowl Depth: 1.97″ / 50.03mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 42g