C-Pipe Smooth Oom Paul w/ Olivewood Handmade Briar Pipe, New

Description

Not unlike certain 20th century Western pipe making institutions, such as Charatan, Pibe-Dan, or WO Larsen, a number of workshops in China have emerged in the 21st century filled with artisans working under a single banner. This includes GH Zhang, Qi Pipe Studio, and C-Pipe. With C-Pipe, however, there is something of a difference. Founded by former architect and lifelong pipe collector YiGang Wang, C-Pipe is a workshop of around a dozen artisans, most of whom originally came to pipe making from fields such as fine art and industrial design. While there are clear influences on C-Pipe’s output from various post-war schools, the workshop’s style is as varied as the individuals who work there. The resulting pipes reflect a synthesis of collective and individual creative endeavors, following a model closer to the ones pursued by Scandinavian post-war institutions, and which made artisan pipes what they are today.

I have noticed that the artisans at C-Pipe have a strong affinity for full bent shapes—shapes that, were it not for the various accoutrements included in their designs, would be nigh on impossible. This very modern take on the Oom Paul, for example, has a side profile less like an S-curve and more like two 90 degree angles. But it still works, thanks to a skillfully cut olivewood accent, which stabilizes what I can only assume was a very precise drilling of the draft hole. As with the other works from the C-Pipe Studio we’ve carried, this one is beautifully finished, too, with a deep, golden contrast stain draped over its bulbous, egg-like bowl.

Details:

Length: 5.0″ / 127mm

Bowl Width: 0.71 / 18.03mm

Bowl Depth: 1.43″ / 36.32mm

Weight: 1.1oz / 32g