If you missed the first five pipes, you can find them through links 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
While this pipe may not be for everyone, when it comes to this set it means a lot to me. A huge part of Alaskan culture involves the harvesting of wild fish and game to provide the winters sustenance. It has been a part of my life since before I was born (my mother actually discovered she was pregnant with me on a Caribou hunt). By far the most regular and essential part of this lifestyle for us, is the hunting of moose. Not only do moose provide a delicious, sustainable, and ethical food source, but they provide A LOT of it, with a harvest of between 450 and 650 lbs of meat for the freezer from each animal. I have been pursuing moose religiously every year since I was 12 years old, and have not missed a season yet. My family has hunted out of the same camp for nearly 45 years now, with three different generations having harvested moose in the area. Two of those generations have attained pilot's licenses in order for us to continue to hunt out of our beloved lake. To me, it is THE most beautiful place in the world.
Moose are a very interesting creature, somehow constantly toeing the line between majestic beauty and brutish utilitarianism. They adorn countless pieces of Alaskan artwork, but also have earned themselves the nickname of "Swamp Donkey." They can be very graceful, sprinting across swamp or through thick brush silently, or quite loud and obnoxious, bellowing deep cattle-like moans or hard repetitive brutish grunts when rutting, or barbarically stomping any threat to death.
So when choosing a shape for my Moose pipe, I was confronted with the obvious shape choice of a Bull Moose, but I have never really liked the shape. So I decided to go with another shape that to me gives off both a utilitarian, but somehow graceful appearance, that of the slanted poker. The grade 1 Mimmo briar Stummel full of swirling birdseye is stained with a deep russet brown that evokes the color of moose antler as well as the flat brown hide of the animal. The long thin shank with a heavy fat paddle at the end is reminiscent of the general outline of a moose antler as well. Speaking of antler, the white shank mount on this pipe is crafted from the antler of a moose I harvested last fall, turned by hand by the pipe maker. The brass colored accent ring between that and the shank, is taken from the shell casing of the .300 win mag I used to kill the animal. I chose a black and red Cumberland stem for this pipe to be symbolic of the epic amount of blood involved in the field dressing of a moose. It is not uncommon to get blood on your hands when field dressing an animal, but due to the size of moose, by the end of the process you will be stepping in puddles of it, be elbows deep in it, and have it covering nearly every piece of clothing on your body. It is a bloody process, but also one of joy, sorrow, reassurance, and the deep satisfaction of working hard and providing for your family. This pipe is made from pieces of, and will always remind me of, the most beautiful place in the world. Moose Camp.
Bonus! The pipe maker used the remainder of the antler tip and shell casing I sent him to create a custom tamper to go along with this pipe, also pictured below. As with all pipes in the series, this pipe also carries the 49 stamp in addition to the maker's nomenclature to mark it as part of the series.
Ladies and Gents, The Moose Poker, by Josh Ronish:
While this pipe may not be for everyone, when it comes to this set it means a lot to me. A huge part of Alaskan culture involves the harvesting of wild fish and game to provide the winters sustenance. It has been a part of my life since before I was born (my mother actually discovered she was pregnant with me on a Caribou hunt). By far the most regular and essential part of this lifestyle for us, is the hunting of moose. Not only do moose provide a delicious, sustainable, and ethical food source, but they provide A LOT of it, with a harvest of between 450 and 650 lbs of meat for the freezer from each animal. I have been pursuing moose religiously every year since I was 12 years old, and have not missed a season yet. My family has hunted out of the same camp for nearly 45 years now, with three different generations having harvested moose in the area. Two of those generations have attained pilot's licenses in order for us to continue to hunt out of our beloved lake. To me, it is THE most beautiful place in the world.
Moose are a very interesting creature, somehow constantly toeing the line between majestic beauty and brutish utilitarianism. They adorn countless pieces of Alaskan artwork, but also have earned themselves the nickname of "Swamp Donkey." They can be very graceful, sprinting across swamp or through thick brush silently, or quite loud and obnoxious, bellowing deep cattle-like moans or hard repetitive brutish grunts when rutting, or barbarically stomping any threat to death.
So when choosing a shape for my Moose pipe, I was confronted with the obvious shape choice of a Bull Moose, but I have never really liked the shape. So I decided to go with another shape that to me gives off both a utilitarian, but somehow graceful appearance, that of the slanted poker. The grade 1 Mimmo briar Stummel full of swirling birdseye is stained with a deep russet brown that evokes the color of moose antler as well as the flat brown hide of the animal. The long thin shank with a heavy fat paddle at the end is reminiscent of the general outline of a moose antler as well. Speaking of antler, the white shank mount on this pipe is crafted from the antler of a moose I harvested last fall, turned by hand by the pipe maker. The brass colored accent ring between that and the shank, is taken from the shell casing of the .300 win mag I used to kill the animal. I chose a black and red Cumberland stem for this pipe to be symbolic of the epic amount of blood involved in the field dressing of a moose. It is not uncommon to get blood on your hands when field dressing an animal, but due to the size of moose, by the end of the process you will be stepping in puddles of it, be elbows deep in it, and have it covering nearly every piece of clothing on your body. It is a bloody process, but also one of joy, sorrow, reassurance, and the deep satisfaction of working hard and providing for your family. This pipe is made from pieces of, and will always remind me of, the most beautiful place in the world. Moose Camp.
Bonus! The pipe maker used the remainder of the antler tip and shell casing I sent him to create a custom tamper to go along with this pipe, also pictured below. As with all pipes in the series, this pipe also carries the 49 stamp in addition to the maker's nomenclature to mark it as part of the series.
Ladies and Gents, The Moose Poker, by Josh Ronish:
