Micoli (Robert Burns) Smooth Freehand Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Of all the artisans to have come out of the first, great wave of American freehand carvers in the post-war decades, Robert “Micoli” Burns is by far one of the most unique—which is saying something, considering his close contemporaries are individuals such as Michael Kabik, Randy Wiley, and Joe Mariner. He also remains one of the most celebrated, which is equally impressive given the number of high-grade American artisans who have taken up the craft across the course of Burns’ long career.

As mentioned in another of our listings, the majority of Robert Burns’ Micoli pipes are distinguished by their deep and highly unorthodox rustication, which Burns famously applies using a Dremel. And, as also mentioned in the other listing, it’s very rare to come across a completely smooth Micoli. I myself have only encountered a handful before, with this being among the handful I’ve come across in person. But, among those uncommon Micolis, the unifying thread was grain; as is often the case with pipe makers, I’d expect that Burns uses rustication both as a means of artistic expression and as a means of excising natural flaws in the briar he works with. This pipe is certainly a Micoli, embodying the fluidly freeform aesthetics found on most of his pipes (as well as one of his highly unusual, rusticated stems), but it is nonetheless a very uncommon one. Then again, it looks like he was working with uncommonly well-mannered briar in this instance and, as every good pipe maker knows, that’s a kind of briar worth listening to.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. It comes with its original presentation box.

Details:

Length: 5.9″ / 149.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.88 / 22.35mm

Bowl Depth: 1.55″ / 39.37mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 62g