Virgin Chubby Tomato, White Flower Ebonite

In the line of Tomato shapes that I’m currently so fond of, here’s a model that stands out from the crowd in more ways than one: for its chunky, chubby shape (12 cm for 39 gr), for its natural finish (virgin) with no dyes, waxes or brightening agents, for the marked depth of its sandblasting (the spaced rings encourage better penetration of the sandblasting abrasive) and for the unprecedented (for me) color of its stem which is hand-cut from a bar of Limited Edition ‘White Flower’ from the renowned German company SEM (“Schönberger Ebonite Manufaktur GmbH”), a leading producer of top-quality ebonite. The stem was cut in two stages to fit the end of the bark shank, and as the air passage hole was not centered in the mortise, I deliberately chose to cut a tenon in the mass with offset drilling, so as to allow smooth air flow and easy passage of the pipe cleaner. The shank is drilled to 4.2mm and the slot of the mouthpiece (concave-cut) is open in a V-shape for optimum draw. The briar, of Italian origin, has benefited from a year and a half of drying at the supplier’s and a further eight years in my storeroom.