Cutty churchwardens

The shape of these long wooden pipes is inspired by the ancient clay pipes of the 16th and 17th centuries.

These pipes are characterized, among other things, by the presence of the “spur” or “boot” under the bowl, the whose original function was to reinforce the shank-bowl junction and to avoid direct contact (and therefore burns) with the hot clay material, which conducts heat much more than wood.

My cutty pipes maintain the spur as a decorative element and as a distinctive sign of design, a tribute to the clay ancestors. They can be placed and balanced on it as a demonstration of a symmetrical and balanced realization. The bowl, slightly tilted forward, can be tulip-shaped or flared toward the top.

The pipe lends itself to many variations: total olive wood pipes, briar and bog oak versions, sandblasted or smooth, barktop or plain rim, with or without rings and inserts in horn or other materials..