Nate King Natural Sandblasted “Dan Shape Conic” Dublin Handmade Briar Pipe, New

Description

It is very likely that Indiana’s Nate King had something of a “head start” when he first took up pipe making, by virtue of his previous careers. First employed as a transmission specialist in an IndyCar pit crew, before moving on to work as an aeronautical engineer, King came to pipes already having a wealth of experience working with industrial machinery and an acute understanding of fluid dynamics. On the side, King enjoyed restoring estate pipes and, in the 2000s, he began making pipes of his own, after being taken under the wing (if you’ll excuse the pun) of fellow Indiana artisan Wayne Teipen. In the years since, King has emerged as one of North America’s premier artisans and has received numerous awards for his work, including a Master of Pipes from the Chicagoland Pipe Collectors Club and a fellowship at France’s Confrérie des Maîtres-Pipiers de Saint-Claude. He is also a frequent collaborator with G.L. Pease, with whom he designs yearly, limited runs of novel pipe shapes.

Much of Nate King’s designs have a classical bent to them, though typically with a modern twist here and there. And among the most notable precedents for this kind of approach to pipe design was a Danish workshop by the name of Pibe-Dan (or Pipe Dan, as it was later known). Naturally, King is a great fan of Pibe-Dan, and in his debut batch for MBSD Pipes, I was happy to see that the Indiana artisan had included not one, but two pipes inspired by the legendary post-war workshop.

In the case of this one, it is a “Dan Shape”—the name Pibe-Dan used for their signature, “checkmark” shaped briars—but the more specific precedent behind it is one of the lesser-seen variations on the original Dan Shape, a series known as the “Conic.” Like the original Dan Shapes, it is distinguished by its slender profile, “checkmark” figure, and tall, narrow, stacked chamber, but rather than a simple chimney, the bowl is much closer to a Dublin—hence the conical appellation. This homage by King is furthermore distinguished by an especially craggy sandblast, something seldom seen on Pibe-Dan’s wares, and is dressed in a near-naked, natural finish.

Details:

Length: 6.9″ / 175.2mm

Bowl Width: 0.69 / 17.52mm

Bowl Depth: 1.83″ / 46.48mm

Weight: 1.3oz / 38g