Yang Kun Partially Sandblasted Rhodesian Handmade Briar Pipe, New

Description

Over the past few decades, the world of pipes has grown exponentially, with artisans from ever more diverse backgrounds and locales emerging and thriving. But despite the differences in cultures that this expansion implicates, some things, it seems, are universal. Chinese pipe maker Yang Kun was an artist working in film and television until, one day, a friend showed him a book detailing the life and pipes of Sixten Ivarsson. In that moment, something clicked for Yang, in much the same way that countless individuals have been “awakened” upon an encounter with Ivarsson’s work. And, like so many others over the past 8 decades, Yang’s encounter moved him toward pipe making as a vocation.

In the years that followed, Yang immersed himself in artisan pipe making. He undertook an apprenticeship with Chinese master Hongjian Qiu, built a workshop of his own, and carefully studied the greats of pipe making, past and present. Sixten Ivarsson, Bo Nordh, Jorn Micke, Lars Ivarsson, S. Bang, and Jess Chonowitsch were sources of inspiration, but so too were Yang’s contemporaries in China, such as Ping Zhan, John He, and Sam Cui. In 2012, Yang took on a full-time career as a pipe maker, which he has remained for nearly 15 years, crafting high-grade briars in a shop overlooked by the mountains of Liuzhou.

While Yang Kun has made a name for himself alongside major compatriots like Ping Zhan, John He, and Sam Cui, and while these artisans have influenced Yang’s work, his style is nonetheless very different to each of them. And, in fact, his style is very different to most of the legendary Scandinavian artisans who first inspired him, even to that of Sixten Ivarsson. Instead, his style is somewhere between that of Jess Chonowitsch and Jorn Micke, typically being closer to that of the latter. Micke is a comparatively “minor legend,” if there ever was such a thing, being both an undisputed master, yet also spoken of far less than the household names of his generation. But Micke was extremely popular in Asia, with his presence being most strongly felt in the pipes of Japan’s Tsuge and in the works of the Tsuge Ikebana workshop.

In the case of this pipe, there’s certainly a little Chonowitsch to it, as there are with many of Yang’s designs, though, as is also the case with many of Yang’s pipes, it still comes back to Micke in the end. This Rhodesian’s short, broad, and slightly squat stature match Micke’s penchant for more compact, organic forms, as does its minimalist, iron-gray sandblast finishing, reminiscent of Micke’s own sandblasted pieces. Nevertheless it is its own thing, especially given the thoroughness and consistency of the blast, the addition of a deep contrast, smooth polished rim, and the choice of a simple, functionalist saddle mouthpiece.

Details:

Length: 5.5″ / 139.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.76 / 19.30mm

Bowl Depth: 1.48″ / 37.59mm

Weight: 2.5oz / 72g