Description
This is a one-of-a-kind pipe by our in-house pipe maker Todd Brugman, it is a rendition of the classic English “Cutty” shape. This is one of Brugman’s many unique interpretations of English shape chart pipes.
The “Cutty” is the oldest western pipe shape, and a shape Brugman is know for. He typically makes them in a more traditional fashion with a much smaller bowl. This one is quite large, a group 5 or group 6 size, and has contains many of Brugman’s unique shaping cues and attributes.
This is an exceptional pipe with perfect shaping and proportions. Brugman says it one of his personal favorites he has made this year “easily in the top 3”
Brugman is know for his unique style that is highly influenced by neo-classical Italian shaping cues and Danish Minimalism interpreting “English Shape Chart” pipes. With near perfect straight grain orientation on all his work, Brugman 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.”
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.
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 a gray and sand swirl, plus it has a genuine wooly mammoth tusk ivory stem inlay yet. Despite the contemporary nature of this stem, it carries the aesthetic that he is known for, therefore, as one should expect, the totality of the pipe and its composition is timeless and sophisticated.
Seen here, and becoming a staple of Brugman pipe shaping cues, and a unique attribute only found on his work is his use of a beveled heel transition that flows seamlessly into the shank. This particular beveled heel Brugman calls a “spoon heel,” it creates the same sharp geometric transition line as his classic bevel yet is contrasted by the organic spoon like heel that cups the bowl. He started using a beveled heel on panel pipes only, but as he has appropriated the geometric nature of neo-classical Italian pipes, then made it his own, he loves this attribute when used to make a minimalistic pipe, in design; minimalistic yet dynamic via the nuanced details (there are many unique and subtle elements Brugman adds to each pipe/work, the beveled heel only being one of many in this work.)
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
The original use of the “spur” on the bottom of the bowl on a Cutty was to hold. Cutty’s were originally made from clay, and clay gets hot when smoked from, so the spur was very utilitarian. Brugman makes it flow in the contours of the egg shaped bowl brilliantly and uses it in a contemporary fashion, he has is set so the pipe can sit up perfectly.
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.
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.
5 7/8″ long with a 2 1/3″ tall bowl (the height includes the spur, the spur is about 1/4″)
Weight: 42 Grams
Materials: Briar, Wooly Mammoth Tusk Ivory, Limited Edition German SEM Vulcanite
