La Biota, Sandblasted Bent Acorn Morta Pipe, Handmade In Italy [SOLD OUT]

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 acorn from la Biota has been crafted from morta, a type of hardwood that is harvested after being fossilized for thousands of years. Morta is then seasoned for at least two more years before being turned into pipes, for which it is known to provide a clean and dry smoking experience. This particular example has been lightly sandblasted in order to bring out the morta’s strong, vertical grain, before being paired with a shank ring made from the African Thika nut. Finally, the pipe has been finished off with a swirling red and black Cumberland stem. With its comfortable Cumberland stem and 40 gram (1.4 ounce) weight, this acorn is light enough to clench, though its sandblasted morta bowl is also irresistibly tactile.

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″

Bowl Width: 18.7mm

Bowl Depth: 1.41″

Weight: 1.4oz / 40g