Buckeye Hand Made Sandblasted Squat Tomato Briar Pipe, New

Description

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.

I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the evolution of Buckeye pipes over the years, and it was truly very exciting to work with Premal on getting some of his recent ones in our own shop. As with a few others listed alongside it, this Buckeye is another slight departure from the make’s house style, taking the form of a very sleek, lightweight squat tomato. Rather than its traditional guise, the shaping of this tomato leans far closer to the American artisan scene, and isn’t too far removed from something you might see from Clark Layton, Micah Redmond, or indeed Chheda’s former apprentice, Bill Shalosky.

Details:

Length: 5.8″ / 147.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.77 / 19.55mm

Bowl Depth: 1.17″ / 29.71mm

Weight: 1.1oz / 34g