Sebastian Heck Natural Sandblasted Long Shank Brandy w/ Mammoth Handmade Briar Pipe, New

Sebastian Heck is part of younger generation of highly skilled artisans to have emerged from Germany in recent years. Based in Heidelberg, Heck took up pipe smoking—and, ultimately, pipe-making—as part of a conscious effort toward slowing down in an otherwise constantly accelerating modern world. Like many pipe makers, Heck took his first steps into the craft as a restorer of estate and heirloom pieces, which in time brought with it an expansion of his workshop and the tools housed within it. With this as a base, creating new pipes of his own was a natural progression. Heck’s development has been greatly influenced by the Danish and German schools of pipe design, and has included time spent learning directly from fellow German artisans, such as Dirk Heinemann. Germany’s Sebastian Heck has included two quite interesting natural sandblast pipes in his latest batch for us, though while they share a similar, light and craggy finishing approach, their shaping is very different. This one is a very contemporary, slightly long-shanked brandy rendition, one that I imagine will have been at least partly influenced by Heck’s Danish heroes Lars Ivarsson and Jess Chonowitsch. Accented by a narrow band of fossilized mammoth bone, the pipe uses its minimalist finish to foreground a crisp, ring grain relief that circles its broad-bottomed bowl.   Details: Length: 6″ / 152.4mm Bowl Width: 0.80 / 20.32mm Bowl Depth: 1.35″ / 34.29mm Weight: 1.8oz / 52g