Mike Sebastian Bay Smooth Dublin Estate Briar Pipe, Danish Estates

Description

It is a happy irony that Mike Sebastian Bay was introduced to pipe-making by breaking one. After dropping his father’s old Peterson and searching for someone to repair it, he visited the workshop of Tom Eltang, whom Bay had briefly met as a child on a family vacation. The Peterson—sadly—could not be saved but, during the long and friendly conversation between the two during the visit, Bay wondered whether he should simply replace the pipe with a new one, and whether he could be the one to make it. Eltang was happy to supply Bay with briar and ebonite and, quickly realizing his potential, invited Bay to take a job in the Eltang workshop. Here, Bay had the opportunity to apprentice directly under Eltang, learning to craft high-grade, handmade pipes, and helping to manufacture the serially produced pipes from the Eltang make. It should be no surprise that these events have led to Bay becoming one of the most acclaimed of the latest generation of Danish artisan pipe makers.

In the new world of the truly international artisan pipe scene, figures such as Johannes “Suhr” Rasmussen and Tine Balleby, and Mike Bay continue to make the case that, if you want a high-grade pipe, you can’t go wrong with the Danes. This one, from the latter, shows exactly why. While still recognizable as a Dublin, it plays with convention just enough to keep it fresh and interesting. At the same time, it is expertly carved, resulting in a bowl that shows off 360 degrees of tight, flame grain patterns, topped by a rim in which plateau burl erupts from a sea of bird’s-eye grain. From a purely ergonomic perspective, the fact that it’s a sitter that angles its shank and stem slightly upward, keeping the button off whatever surface it is placed on, is a nice touch. The same goes for its weight, which is light enough to allow the pipe to be a clencher, especially for veteran smokers.

The condition is very good. Some rim darkening.

Details:

Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.85 / 21.59mm

Bowl Depth: 1.70″ / 43.18mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 40g