The Lovely Squash Of Low-Slung Squatters

[misterlowercase]

Ah, misterlowercase, not only deft at etymology but also indulges in epistemology with a twist of pop culture thrown in for seasoning.

:P
Since Billy Childish got brought up, might as well post one of my favorite poems by him here,

because,

poetry is good for you!
:::
::
:
gentle men of

gentle books

know this:
forgive me my dear

if my smile is cracked

ive been at war

these 30 past years
forgive me

if i

demand

atack!

demand

atack!
but when you take

up

the axe

it grows hard

to let it

down and

in the end

it cums easyer

to make war

than peace
forgive me that i

find it

hard to give

easy to take

war not love

formed me
ive been fighting

these 30 years past
fighting my family

my lovers

the fools

the heros

the teachers

the bosses

and

the unemployed
rank upon rank

of the barstards

eyes grinning

but

never falling

all

those

who know better

how others should

live their lifes
forgive me my dear

that im not a

gentle man

of gentle books
:::
::
:

 

[klause]

That Eskimo is the Husky's Doo-Dahs!!!
I would smoke that anywhere, anytime, in any company - if I had the money, I'd have a seven day set made - all exactly the same. First time I came across that pipe I was completely gob-smacked. It is painfully beautiful.
In fact, all the pipes here are. I have a weakness for squat pipes, but especially Bulldogs. Pipe I've been smoking exclusively the last two weeks is a war era, beechwood, faceted, squat bulldog - an astounding smoker, even with it's crappy plastic stem - will go for a good hour.
Great thread, Troy - you continue to educate me, and provided beauty for my eyes to behold, and mind to ponder. Hurrah!!

 

[navypipe23]

I love the becker

 

[saltedplug]

I've been admiring low-slung bulldogs and rhodesians for about a year, Becker's especially, and his morta squatters most especially. I didn't like these shapes for a long time for a reason that I don't yet really know except that they seemed excessively male, but I pushed myself into sufficient affinity such that I could admire them low-slung.
I can admire a low-slung tomato much more readily than those with a higher bowl, and in general I prefer angularity on the rim more than the soft lines curving in and down into the chamber.
The Dunhill and the Ferndown are fantastic. Though I readily like variation on a classical form, I find that variation, not a redesign, is most appealing. Thus the Parks to me is more a freehand than anything else. It pushes the form so far away from the classical shape that in the end it is an oddity; which isn't to say that it is unappealing.
The appeal of a low-slung pipe would appear to be it's sleek design; Oxford online dictionaries defines the word as "having an elegant, streamlined shape or design." (I love it when the dictionary vindicates my word choice. . .all hail to the speed of online dictionaries.) These designs have such motion and are smokeable to boot. I don't at all mind that the chamber is necessarily small/smaller as cobs have taught me to appreciate a quicker smoke. If I want to smoke more of the same blend, reload; if I want something else, I get to choose another. Like everyone else I've been trained by the pipe market to smoke group 4s, or an hour or an hour and a half smoke. A jazz tune that I listened to long ago, whose title was "It Ain't Necessarily So," would seem applicable to that prejudice.

 

[misterlowercase]

Excellent commentary Mike,

thanks for your contribution!

::

 

[saltedplug]

thanks mlc!

 

[layinpipe]

MLC my hat's off to you for your tasty title riff on The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys.

Ahhh Traffic and Steve Winwood, thought i was the only one that noticed the word play there!
I agree with Harris on this one, i'm not a big fan of the squatters, for basically the same reasons. They are usually too heavy to clench and feel awkward in the mouth if they are clencheable. I got rid of an Ardor chubby squat rhodesian for this reason. I still have a blasted Tinsky Eskimo shape that rarely sees use, which i will probably get rid of as well eventually.
Tinsky:

Ardor:

 

[brass]

OP, the ODB 838 may be first shape by Dunhill that spoke to me.
I like the squats but I've become adverse to exotic or extreme shapes. In general, I've found that these shapes, while looking good, usually have practical drawbacks - don't clench well, aren't balanced, smoke gets in your eyes, etc. Classic shapes and sizes are classic because they are the result of centuries of experimentation and design - anthropological evolution, if you will.
But, I suspect a squat is in my future. Not all my pipes have to be clinchers.

 

[mso489]

Love the looks of squatty pipes but feel insecure with so little depth. Small pipes I like for flake and short smokes, but I like a little depth to stretch the smoke a little. A Group 1 like the Peterson Belgique can go for 30-40 minutes with the right flake. But I might come around to the shallow bowl -- I discovered small bowls on the advice of fish' and never looked back -- not most of my pipes, but an honored cohort.

 

[misterlowercase]

Was lucky enough and quick enough yesterday to grab a new Gamboni from Smoking Pipes:
http://smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/gamboni/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=183834
I have become enthralled by his work,

nothing else like it.
:!:

 

[ssjones]

That new Gamboni is gorgeous, he does channel a lot of Becker.
The thread title remind me of another low treasure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8M8R835Ck4

 

[beefeater33]

Missed this the first time around and just stumbled upon it............ Some nice eye-candy here folks!! :clap:

I really dig that Gamboni-- what a stunning pipe! Great thread idea.

Here's my Sextet of Squatters, 3 Brits and 3 Danes, they play nice together, don't Squabble much...... all factory pipes.

The Dunhill "O" bulldog- 1 3/8 High Bowl, from 1948

The Dunhill Tanshell Quaint- 1-1/8" high bowl, from 2002

The Dunhill Shell Quaint -1-1/8" high bowl, from 2003

The 2 Smooth Stanwells are model 92's, "Selected Briar" 1-1/4" bowl height, Regd era

The remaining blast is a Scandia model 91R, 1-3/8 bowl height, I suspect this one is 1960's era
I think they look great all grouped together............. ::

 

[ssjones]

That is a beautiful collection Beef, you have great taste!

 

[iamn8]

The "low slung squat" has been my favorite shape as well. Great thread I apparently missed during its first iteration. The "low slung squat" take on pipes looks great on dogs, authors... well pretty much all shapes now that I think about it. It was this aesthetic that attracted me to my Kent Rasumssen ***

 

[misterlowercase]

Neat necrobump Beefeater,

I had forgot about this thread.

It saddens me to see the broken image links from when I posted Rad squats for Cigrmaster, I had hotlinked directly to Rad's site and now it's gone --- I wish I had somehow saved the whole gallery and made a little booklet complete with dimension specs, it was a comprehensive portfolio that had nearly all of his later work --- I wonder if there's be any interest among collectors for a publisher to put out little books of pipemaker portfolios? I'd buy such books!
There's a good quote from an interview with Rad in the P&T 17/2 issue which displays what a wonderful sense of humor he had:

"I envision shapes I like, mainly the flow of the shape, and I try to re-create that flow with my own style. I don't usually copy shapes unless they're a classic, like a billiard or a Castello 55, or it's a commission. What I really like is coming up with a variant on my own of a classic or a recognizable shape.
Occasionally, I'll come up with my own shapes (at least I think they're my own - one never really knows). I was very surprised to learn that Dunhill was copying my Squashed Tomato shape as early as the 1920's."

...and a roundabout way to getting to your Dunhills,

wow!

:!:

Both are tremendous and I love that shape, I'm so glad that they still make it, how often do the quaints like that come around?
The TanShell is quite scarce I'd imagine as they've released relatively few in the modern era, you're a lucky duck!
The Stanwells are killer too, especially the one w/ straightgrain - it is exceptional!

I've always loved Stanwell and I'm sad to see that they've been diluted into a "bargain bin" brand because they used to be a true giant, I think I'd like it better if they had just been allowed to die out instead of having their legacy dampened with a glut of cheap stuff.
The Scandia I dig because it's blasted and I the Stanwell sub-brands have always been of interest, I have a Santana shape 19 with a similar great blast and it is a very fine smoker.
Thanks for the lovely group shots, you're right, they look wonderful all gathered together like that and the series of photographs are really alluring eye candy making my heart-rate tick up a good bit.
Thanks for the adds!

::

 

[misterlowercase]

Nate.

8O
Jawdropper.
Like a stungun to my head, frozen, eyes wide, drool slithering from my lips, like a deer transfixed in headlights.
Me,

looking at your Rasmussen.
My God.
That thing is *perfect*.
I would make an exception for a smooth in the case of that pipe!
Thanks for including the SP description too, goodstuff.
That is the sort of pipe that could drive me toward a life of crime!
::

 

[iamn8]

MLC: Thank you! I had that exact same reaction to the pipe. It appeared in smokingpipes estate section and I grabbed it the second I saw it without hesitation. It's one of the coolest pieces I've ever seen.

 

[iamn8]

Was just reading an article, an interview with Alex Florev in pipesantobacco magazine. Very cool to see Rasmussen mentioned among the greats...

 

[misterlowercase]

Here's another pair 'o mine...
David Enrique

squashed rhodesian.

Gamboni

...this is my favorite Condor pipe.

Gamboni

squat rhodesian

On Monday at SmokingPipes, a sort of Holy Grail of mine popped up, a sandblasted Geiger BoDog,

like this:

https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/geiger/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=118323

...I can't find the estate listing from Mon., it was like $500 and some change, and of course it showed up at a time that my wallet is thin! Maybe worked out for the best though y'know? The Geiger BoDog might better be a ghostly avatar hovering in my mind as an ultimate archetype of an iconic shape.
Or something.

::

 

[beefeater33]

MLC- That nekkid Enrique is SWEEEEEEEEEET!!!..........All the right lines in all the right places.....WoW... 8O

Those Gambonis are so cool too, I'd call them organic just because I can't think of another word right now---- very pleasing to the eye. Patience. Another Geiger will show up, at another time.............. ::
Nate- that Rasmussen is absolute perfection!!!!......... That grain is to die for, you are a lucky man!......... :clap: