La Biota Sandblasted Blowfish 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.

The ‘blowfish,’ often used interchangeably with the ‘fugu,’ is one of the most striking shapes to have come out of the mid-century Danish pipe-making revolution. I have heard that Lars Ivarsson was the shape’s originator, but I have also seen Sixten Ivarsson pipes that were at least precursors to its design. It is a strikingly narrow and vertical shape, with its bowl looking like an arrowhead from above. It is also incredibly difficult to make, and even more so to make well. Hence, I was very pleased to receive this one from Michele of la Biota. Here he has opted for a natural, Tanshell-like blast, which works wonders with the bird’s-eye patterns of the briar, and paired this finish with a playful, yet tasteful, ocean-blue ebonite stem. Now that I think about it, the latter is very fitting.

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: 4.5″

Bowl Width: 18.7mm

Bowl Depth: 1.5″

Weight: 1.4oz / 42g