Manfred Hortig Rusticated Freehand Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked, 9mm

Description

Manfred Hortig belongs to a particular contingent of German and German-speaking artisans whose pipes are difficult to compare to just about anyone else’s—or, at least, to any pipe maker that came before them. Such figures include Roger Wallenstein, Uwe Maier, and the late Steffen Mueller who, alongside Manfred Hortig, have pursued design philosophies that are genuinely avant-garde. While there are elements in shaping that evoke the strange asymmetry of Japanese pipe making, such as is found in Kei-Ichi Gotoh, or finishing styles that sit on the borderline between smooth, sandblasted, and rusticated, not unlike Denmark’s Anne Julie, this German pipe making movement is nonetheless strikingly novel and contemporary.

This freehand (for I am unsure of what else to classify it as) from Manfred Hortig is a good example, especially as regards form. The finishing is an enjoyably textured, wire-style rustication of sorts, one reminiscent both of a good ring grain sandblast and the “Rustic” finish used by Sasieni in days gone by. But the form is the most interesting part, conjuring images of both cauldrons and other earthenware, and insects, in a manner not unlike the “wasp” or Wespe shapes of another German, Wolfgang Becker.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. The pipe is chambered to allow for the use of 9mm filters, but should also fit a reducer/adapter if one prefers unfiltered use.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.88 / 22.35mm

Bowl Depth: 1.76″ / 44.70mm

Weight: 2.8oz / 82g