La Biota Sandblasted Axe Handmade Briar Pipe, New

Description

A graduate of Italy’s prestigious Academia della Pipa, Michele Sottocasa has been making pipes for over a decade under the la Biota name. Prior to becoming a pipe-maker, Sottocasa trained and worked as a designer and art director, and la Biota pipes continue this drive towards a distinct aesthetic vision. The name, ‘la Biota,’ originally derives from ecology, and symbolizes the deep connection between humans and nature – a connection well represented by the hand-made tobacco pipe.

This la Biota actually reminds me of a few Danish pipe-makers, rather than Italian ones. And that’s not a bad thing at all, as the Danish pipe-makers it reminds me of are masters such as Viggo Nielsen. The combination of the plateau-rim, jagged axe bowl and bamboo shank reminds me of Nielsen’s similar fondness for such shapes and decorative elements. Anyway, what I mean is, it’s a very nice pipe, with good stylistic precedents, while also being very much its own thing. The camouflage-hued ebonite stem is a nice extra touch of color, and the sandblasting on the bowl is masterful in its ring grained execution. The pipe is also surprisingly lightweight – though la Biota pipes often are – at a mere 38 grams. It should clench quite comfortability.

All la Biota pipes are made by hand by Michele Sottocasa in his workshop in the mountainous Northern region of Italy. Sottocasa prefers the wood lathe over the metal lathe traditionally used by pipe-makers, which he uses to painstakingly hand-shape each la Biota bowl, and hand-cut each la Biota stem. As Sottocasa strives to make each la Biota pipe unique and does not like to repeat shapes and design choices he has made in the past, every la Biota pipe is one of a kind – once it is gone, it is gone forever.

Details:

Length: 5.7″

Bowl Width: 19.4mm

Bowl Depth: 1.4″

Weight: 1.3oz / 38g