Vitale Sandblasted Ball w/ Galalith (Two Star) Handmade Briar Pipe, New

As a child, Piero Vitale spent many an afternoon in the workshop of his grandfather, who was a carpenter and luthier. This proclivity for working with his hands translated into a number of artistic pursuits as he grew up, including painting and wood carving. Then Vitale was introduced to the world of handmade pipes by a friend and was immediately fascinated. The work of masters such as Tom Eltang and Kent Rasmussen showed that pipes could be true works of art while also being precisely engineered smoking instruments. For over a decade, Vitale has crafted his own hand made pipes, developing a distinct style that expertly balances form and function. This has led to partnerships with several Italian pipe companies, for which Vitale has provided designs, but his greatest achievements continue to be those pipes that he makes by hand alone in his workshop, in a small village in Lombardy. Like its taller older sibling, the ball is a shape whose roots can be traced to post-war Danish pipe making, perhaps most notably in the works of Nanna Ivarsson, Jens Tao Nielsen, and Kurt Balleby. Yet as with his other designs, the ball shapes of Piero Vitale are so distinctive as to become something else entirely. Ironically, how Vitale often achieves this is by creating pipes that are even more “Danish” than the Danes. Their bowls are rounder and fuller, while their shanks are narrowed as much as preserving the pipe’s functionality and structural integrity will allow for. Juxtaposing the two only serves to heighten the visual effect of either. Of course, this signature motif would not be nearly as enjoyable without Vitale’s expert finishing and ornamentation—in this instance, a crisp, ring grain sandblast and an inlay of Galalith, banding a black ebonite stem.   Details: Length: 4.5″ / 114.3mm Bowl Width: 0.75 / 19.05mm Bowl Depth: 1.54″ / 39.11mm Weight: 1.1oz / 34g