Nate King Natural Sandblasted “Racing Tomato” (New)

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.

Given Nate King’s background in the IndyCar scene, it should come as no surprise that his pipes often communicate a sense of intense forward motion in their designs. His pipes sometimes appear to “speed along,” or even “fly,” despite their still nature. This particular pipe is one of his “Racing Tomato” renditions; a squat, low-slung, scooping interpretation of the artisan staple. As is also the case with a good number of King’s pipes, this one is dressed in a natural sandblast finish, having been given only a light oiling and waxing, so as to fully capture its deep and craggy ring grain relief. With this he’s paired a fittingly dynamic, brindled ebonite mouthpiece, adding even more energy to the overall design.

Details:

Length: 5.7″ / 144.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.88 / 22.35mm

Bowl Depth: 0.94″ / 23.87mm

Weight: 1.7oz / 50g