Description
This is a one-of-a-kind pipe by our in-house pipe maker Todd Brugman. This “Acorn” pipe is a classic English shape chart pipe rendered in Brugman’s unique “Americana” style with perfect grain. This “Acorn” is 1/2″ bent, making it a perfect pipe for clenching as the weight is balanced perfectly plus it has been engineered to not only have all the benefits of a bent pipe, but all the benefits of a straight pipe, such as easily taking a pipe cleaner from the stem to the bowl due to its perfect drilling which in turn has the lack of turbulence one would expect in a straight pipe but rarely get in a bent pipe.
Brugman clearly works to revel the grain at every part of the pipe. The shank starts out slightly ovals and transitions to perfectly round while tapering from the bowl to the stem connection. This shank would be long for a straight pipe, but is rarely seen on a bent pipe, let along a 1/2 bent. The long shank and proportionally long stem (shorter than the shank, but on the medium to long end for the bowl) gives this pipe a unique elegance despite the bowl being quite muscular. This is truly an exceptional pipe with perfect shaping, silhouette, engineering, and proportions.
Brugman is know for his unique style that is highly influenced by neo-classical Italian shaping cues and a Danish Minimalist approach to interpreting “English Shape Chart” pipes. Both the Italian and Danish influences can be seen equality here, yet aren’t overly loud, they create their own shape that is balanced and elegant.
Brugman has studied the classic shaping conventions, but clearly does not confine himself to them, he just makes what he feels will look and smoke nicely. With near perfect straight grain orientation on all his work, and clearly seen here, he harkens a highly contemporary look yet also a highly classic and timeless aesthetic: it all comes together as his own style, with, in his own words “contemporary Americana shaping cues.”
This pipe has clear continuity in its design and it has a balanced visual (and physical) weight. It is rendered with precision minimalism; shaped and stained just enough to bring out the intrinsic beauty of the briar.
This pipe has a stem made from a limited edition SEM German Ebonite of various browns, a little black, with light-sand/tan swirls (It reminds one of the literal colors of an acorn). Despite the contemporary nature of this stem, it balanced with the stummel perfectly, as the stummel/the briar is the star of the show, yet perfect harmony between the start of the show and its supporting cast, the briar and the vulcanite. Therefore, as one should expect, the totality of the pipe and its composition is timeless, beautiful, and sophisticated.
Brugman states, that what Michelangelo said regarding “reveling” from the marble, he has appropriated that concept/approach, as it is the truth, yet he does not claim to compare himself. Brugman says:
I have spent my time learning to make pipes, and continue to spend time studying the briar before and after the pipe is made, to learn how it will be within the block. I do not carve a pipe from the block, I simply revel a straight grained pipe that is in the block of briar, and in my experience, every block has one, it just a matter of finding
Brugman was classically trained in the fine arts, and says he approaches a pipes composition in the same manner he would a painting or a relief carving. This fine-art/artistic approach is evident when viewing Brugman’s pipe portfolio, or even seeing just a handful of his works. He, himself says:
“there is no difference in aesthetic and compositional approach in an oil painting, a tobacco pipe, or a musical arraignment… beauty is beauty… the only difference is that a pipe also requires perfect engineering for it to be a good work. The engineering comes first, and then, and only then is the beauty created to function in conjunction.”
As one can see, despite Brugman’s stated and observed pipe shaping cue influences from English, neo-classical Italian, Danish minimalism and freehands, and even contemporary Japanese, he “paints with his own brush” when creating a pipe, or any work (He also states that the same fine artists that influenced him in his painting from Rembrandt to Willem de Kooning, have equally, along with a long list of pipe makers and styles, influence his pipes and all his art.)
Perfectly drilled and engineered, this pipe is as much a precision instrument as it is a work of art clearly painted with Brugman’s hand. All Brugman’s pipes are guaranteed against defects (that would prevent it from lasting for life) for life.
5 3/4″ long (from heel to the end of the stem) with a 2 3/8″ tall bowl
Weight: 46 Grams
Materials: Briar & Limited Edition German SEM Vulcanite
The nomenclature stamped into the pipe: “Todd Brugman”, “LJ Peretti Co.”, “Made In Boston”, and “dd”
(the grading system from lowest to highest grade: ‘T’, ‘O’, ‘d’, and then the highest, as is stamped into this pipe ‘dd’
