Martin Cermak Sandblasted Wide Shank Bulldog Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

While their origins can be traced back to legendary Scandinavian pipe makers, such as Tom Eltang, Poul Ilsted, and even Sixten Ivarsson, a particular subset of bulldog and Rhodesian shapes associated with these figures has made its home in an unlikely place: the Czech Republic. Through the works of artisans such as Martin Čermák, Jiří Biftek Maczko, and Pavel Eclesias Holub, squat, wide shanked, bulldogs and Rhodesians have become something of a Czech institution, not unlike Italy and its rusticated finishes.

There are certainly parallels one can draw between a bulldog like this one, from Martin Čermák, and those of the “Svendborg school,” including Poul Ilsted and his former protégé Manduela Riger-Kusk, as well as Flemming Jakobsen. But Čermák’s is at once simpler and a little more colorful than the Svendborg-ian renditions, opting for a light, tan sandblast (with plenty of crisp ring grain, no less), and a heather-toned stem hand-cut from German ebonite. As is also often the case, Čermák’s “wide shank” bulldog is also on the shorter side, allowing it to be a genuine featherweight and easy clencher.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating.

Details:

Length: 5″ / 127.0mm

Bowl Width: 0.75 / 19.05mm

Bowl Depth: 1.02″ / 25.90mm

Weight: 0.9oz / 28g