Product Number: 002-600-0001

This was the very first of Konstantin's pipes that I saw. It wasn't the first one in the tray they'd been arranged into after arriving, but it was the most conspicuous. As first impressions go, one thing it made obvious right off the bat was that Konstantin is clearly both dedicated and clever. Covering a broad-bowled Tomato in under-cut Celtic knot patterns is a serious challenge. Having given this briar a good looking-over, I suspect I've spotted a pretty ingenious trick he used to set up a sort of lattice for the pattern (hence, the cleverness), but there still would have been tons of detail-work to follow - and yes, this piece does indeed feature tons of detail. Even where the weave of the briar dips underneath, each ribbon still bears the same light rustication you find along surfaces of the outermost layers. In fact, it's found on the undersides of each ribbon as well. Now that is dedication to one's craft.

- Eric N. Squires