Martin Romijn Smooth Barktop Cutty (New)

Within the modern artisan community, there are many pipe makers with backgrounds in other forms of art, manufacture, and handicraft, and who apply skills learned in their previous vocations to the creation of their pipes. Some artisans are former machinists; others were carpenters; some were even painters in their past lives. Martin Romijn, on the other hand, belongs to a small minority of pipe makers whose previous career was in stonemasonry. Like Germany’s Frank Axmacher, Romijn spent much of his adult life cutting and sculpting stone, doing so across a broad range of practical and ornamental applications. While those days are now behind him, Romijn still carries with him much of what he learned from working with granite, quartz, and marble. The skills and philosophy he cultivated as a stonemason continue to inform his pipe making endeavors, just as they did when he set his sights on briar nearly a decade ago. And, when asked about his technique regarding the latter, he cracks a wry smile, stating simply that “pipe is already inside the piece of briar, I only have to reveal it by taking away everything that doesn’t look like a pipe!”

Given that Martin Romijn’s vocation prior to becoming a pipe maker was in stonemasonry, the cutty appears as a rather fitting shape for him to turn his attention to. After all, the traditional briar cutty was a transposition from pipes made from mineral materials just like those that Romijn used to spend his days cutting and sculpting for various purposes.

Romijn’s portfolio does indeed include a fair few cutty renditions, though they are decidedly modern, as is his style. This straight grained example keeps the form’s hallmark slight and slender stature, but adds a dash of ruggedness via a live plateau rim, and a healthy dose of color by way of a psychedelic, brindled ebonite mouthpiece.

Details:

Length: 5.15″ / 130.8mm

Chamber Width: 0.78″ / 19.81mm

Chamber Depth: 1.47″ / 37.33mm

Bowl Height: 1.64″ / 41.65mm

Weight: 0.9oz / 26g