Buckeye Hand Made Strawberry Briar Devil Anse (New)

About this pipe:

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.

The Devil Anse has undergone a surprisingly popular revival in high-grade artisan briars of late. Not unlike the cutty or the poker, it’s an old, storied design, but one whose simple, easy-going nature has found it a welcome home in carvers of a functionalist bent.

This rendition from Buckeye Pipes is a little different from the norm, however. Instead of tree heather, its bowl has been carved from the root mass of the strawberry tree, which is commonly known as “strawberyr briar,” or “arbutus briar.” The latter is a wood with near-identical smoking properties to the former, but its density means that it reacts to sandblasting in a uniquely rich and craggy fashion, which has led to its status as minor staple among modern artisans.

Details:

Length: 5.8″ / 147.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.79 / 20.06mm

Bowl Depth: 1.61″ / 40.89mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 40g