Michael Parks 2018 V XL Sandblasted Canadian Estate Briar Pipe, Other Estates

Description

What Canada lacks in quantity in pipe makers it most certainly makes up for in quality. From the Blatter family, to Julius Vesz, to Todd Bannard, Stephen Downie, Eugene Miscoi, and others, Canada continues to be home to a significant number of extremely talented and acclaimed artisan carvers. Among the most acclaimed is Michael Parks of Bowmanville, Ontario. As a teenager, Parks was introduced to pipe smoking by his grandfather, which also served as a gateway to a lifelong admiration for classic pipe shapes. Not long after, Parks undertook college studies in fine art, which would have a similarly formative effect on his approach to pipe design. Mentored by Lee Von Erck, Parks emerged in the early 2000s as nothing less than a pipe making sensation, equally renowned for his immaculate renditions of 20th century staples and his unique, sculptural pieces, ranging from the delicate and ornate to the bombastic and avant-garde. Parks has held onto his position in the upper echelons of artisan pipes for many years now, with no sign of this changing anytime soon.

It cannot be overstated how versatile Michael Parks is as a pipe maker—-someone who is able to craft just about any shape, from a Danish Olifant to an English bullmoose, at a level that rivals, if not flat out exceeds, even the individuals and companies that first conceived them. But another thing that cannot be overstated as regards Parks’ style is his deep fondness for the classics. One might call him a neoclassical, or neotraditional, pipe maker in that regard, with his portfolio including a vast number of Anglo-French staples and homages to the greats of that design movement. This, of course, includes many a Canadian rendition. One might joke that a Canadian pipe maker is nominatively determined to make Canadian shapes, but it would appear that the truth is much simpler: it’s a great shape with a great history behind it.

This particular pipe is one of Parks’ many Canadian renditions, one whose proportions, while being rather lengthy, nonetheless lean toward those of exemplary, 20th century English briars. It’s not too far off from a Dunhill OD 845, for example, or a Sasieni Dovercourt. As is also Parks’ style, on the other hand, the fitting and finishing is a little more contemporary. The pipe has a quite extraordinary sandblast finish, one that I originally thought could have been from a combination of rustication and sandblasting. Instead, as Parks was generous enough to share, the finish is a pure blast, but one applied to a cross-cut stummel (thus focusing on bird’s-eye in relief) from an especially receptive block of briar.

The condition is very good. Minor inner rim charring and minor tooth marks.

Details:

Length: 7.2″ / 182.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.85 / 21.59mm

Bowl Depth: 1.85″ / 46.99mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 42g