Jody Davis (2026) Cardinal (A) Smooth Long Shank Acorn with Mammoth (Unsmoked Estate)

Jody Davis is a rockstar—literally. As a member of the Nashville rock group The Newsboys, he doesn’t have much time to make pipes these days, meaning his output is very limited. He’s also a rockstar in the pipe world, which makes the few pipes that he does put out each year extremely coveted. With mentors such as Lars Ivarsson and Jess Chonowitsch, it’s not hard to see why Davis became such an icon in his own right. In turn Davis has also left his mark on the artisan scene by, in turn, passing on his knowledge of the craft to other now-celebrated contemporary figures, such as Jeff Gracik, of J. Alan pipes, and Pete Prevost.

Jody Davis’s pipes follow an interesting grading scheme that ties closely to his Christian faith. One could sum it up by saying that, just as there is a hierarchy within the church, so too is there a hierarchy within Jody Davis’s pipes, and that the titles within the latter mirror those of the former. Fully sandblasted pipes are awarded subdivisions of the “Friar” grade, for example, whereas partially sandblasted pipes fall under the “Abbot.” Fully smooth pipes, on the other hand, make up the “Bishop,” “Cardinal,” and “Saint” grades, with grain quality ascending in that order. Aside from his extremely rare Saint-grade pieces, the finest pipes made by Jody Davis are his Cardinals, and within the Cardinal grade bracket, pipes are further subdivided between the Cardinal B and Cardinal A grades. The latter is the higher of the two, being distinguished by various ornaments, such as exotic woods or fossilized animal bone.

This particular pipe is an example of a Cardinal A grade made in 2026, with the ornamental role played by a ring of fossilized mammoth ivory. The shaping is very typical of Davis’s work, showing a strong influence from the scooping, long shank acorn designs of one of his mentors, the late, great Lars Ivarsson.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. It comes with its original leather sleeve.

Details:

Length: 6.1″ / 154.9mm

Bowl Width: 0.70 / 17.78mm

Bowl Depth: 1.44″ / 36.57mm

Weight: 1.8oz / 52g