Christian Ruetz Sandblasted “Double Bark” Diamond Dublin Handmade Briar Pipe, New

Description

Tyrol’s Christian Ruetz may well be the most exciting and acclaimed pipe maker to have come out of Austria since Peter Matzhold. A committed pipe smoker since his youth, Ruetz crafted his first pipe in 2014, using a carving knife gifted by his father-in-law and wood from a cherry tree. Ruetz was, from then on, hooked and soon moved onto briar, though he has maintained a relatively low-tech approach to pipe construction throughout his career.
Though Ruetz’s experiments with briar began a decade ago, in recent years his exercises in style have coalesced into an instantly recognizable identity, which has coincided with a no less than meteoric rise within the international pipe community and industry.
As is something of a tradition for today’s artisans, Ruetz would eventually make his pilgrimage to the workshop of Tom Eltang in Copenhagen, where he was invited to spend a day observing the old master at work. Yet it must also be stressed that Ruetz’s design philosophy is distinct from—and, to an extent, contrary to—that of much of modern Scandinavian pipe making.
Against the functionalism of Eltang et al., Ruetz is far more of a Romantik. In his own words, his style is encompassed by three words: Natur, Rauheit, and Imperfektion, (roughly, “nature,” “ruggedness/rawness,” and “imperfection”). This style and underlying ethos comes from a life spent recognizing the natural world for what it is—including the sublime, towering ranges of the Eastern Alps visible from his workshop windows.

As I mentioned in last week’s newsletter, Christian Ruetz’s style is difficult to compare to any one particular precedent, though I did say that, if I had to pick out a likeness, it would be Age Bogelund, of Bari Piber, and/or Micah Cryder, of Yeti. If you’ve seen some of the other listings from this batch of Ruetz pipes, you’ll have seen me note that some pieces appear to lean closer to Bogelund, and others to Cryder. And then there’s this one, which is equal parts either, and more than any other cemented those comparisons in my mind. On the one hand, you have the expression of a tendency running from figures such as Poul Ilsted, Rainer Barbi, Manduela, and perhaps reaching its apex in Cryder, of what the latter has described as “art deco.” This is expressed, at least in large part, through a heavy emphasis on panels and facets in the shaping of the bowl. On the other there’s still an underlying organicism that softens what would otherwise be a highly angular design. I’ve said that this counter-tendency is best captured in a comparison to Age Bogelund, especially given Ruetz’s own, signature doppelte Borke (“double bark”) stem inlays. It should be said, however that the interplay of each element makes the overall design irreducible to whatever comparisons those elements alone might conjure. This isn’t a Yeti or a Bogelund. It’s a Ruetz, through and through.

Details:

Length: 5″ / 127.0mm

Bowl Width: 0.78 / 19.81mm

Bowl Depth: 1.16″ / 29.46mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 42g