HS Studio Sandblasted Blowfish Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

If you’ve been keeping up with the world of Chinese pipe making, their artisan scene has been really taking off over the last decade. Like the great Danish institutions of old, many of these pipes are produced in artisan workshops such as Zhiputang, Qi Studio, and GH Zhang. Hong Kong’s HS Studio follows a similar model, with a team of expert in-house carvers crafting high-quality briars in a variety of styles.

The blowfish is a shape that appears to have originated with the veritable first family of Scandinavian, or “Danish style” pipe making, the Ivarssons. Namely, its conception arose in the workshop shared by Sixten Ivarsson, his son Lars Ivarsson, and Sixten’s other apprentices, with Lars typically getting the credit for that innovation. But, as with most artisan shapes, it is one that has evolved and diverged in form not unlike its marine namesake. This one from HS Studio leans closer to a certain species of blowfish, or Fugu, more “native” to Japanese and American pipe making, incorporating elements of both organic asymmetry and cubist folds and facets—a little Gotoh, a liberal sprinkling of David Huber, and so on. It’s impressively executed, including its slight contrast sandblast that hits all the right notes.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.78 / 19.81mm

Bowl Depth: 1.39″ / 35.30mm

Weight: 2.3oz / 66g