Dave Neeb Smooth Long Shank Apple Handmade Briar Pipe, New

Dave Neeb had been a pipe smoker for longer than many contemporary artisans have been alive before he too decided to pursue a vocation in pipes. After decades spent working as an attorney, Neeb finally had the time to fully invest himself in his favorite pastime. And invest he did: first, Neeb established himself as a pipe seller; then he learned the art of pipe restoration, which helped increase his sale inventory even more; and then, finally, under the mentorship of Lee Von Erck and Rad Davis, he started making pipes for himself. Soon enough, Neeb had become a major player in the estate pipe ecosystem and a well-regarded pipe maker in his own right. In more recent years, Neeb has stepped away from estates restoration and sales to concentrate solely on his own handmade briars—though he is known, on occasion, to collaborate on a pipe with his old mentor, Von Erck. “Long shank” shapes in the modern, rather than the traditional, context are typically thought of in terms of the pipes of Lars Ivarsson and his many students, both literal and spiritual. Another genre of long shank designs, however, belongs to Germany, as found in the pipes of Otto Pollner and Karlheinz Joura, for example. In the case of this Neeb, it’s far closer to the latter. Modest in dress, with just a light brown stain and short cumberland stem, it nonetheless has a lot of character by way of its distinctive shaping, taking a middle ground between the more extravagant forms of Scandi-American handmades and the classic, Anglo-French shapes from which all pipes ultimately flow. Details: Length: 6″ / 152.4mm Bowl Width: 0.81 / 20.57mm Bowl Depth: 1.59″ / 40.38mm Weight: 2.1oz / 62g