The stem as a whole was oxidized, dirty and dusty with deep tooth marks on the button surface and lighter ones on the blade just ahead of the button on both sides. The vulcanite stem still had the BW Cross and Crown logo on the top sides just past the fancy turnings. The outside of the bowl and plateau portions are dirty and dusty but the grain pops through. It is hard to know the condition of the inner edge of the bowl due to the lava on the edges. This is another well-loved pipe as you can see from the thick cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top. The shank end combines smooth and plateau for a unique look. The rim top is plateau but also cut across it are also valleys coming up from the sides of the bowl. The combination of dark and medium stains highlights grain that runs like flames across both sides of the bowl culminating at the flat heel of the bowl. This one has twists and turns in the carving and valleys carved into the sides of the bowl. When Jeff showed me the photos of several of the Ben Wade pipes by Preben Holm that he had picked up I was excited to be able to work on them. This second Ben Wade pipe was no exception. There is an energy that flows through the way he carved and shaped the pipes of his making. I can’t describe adequately the feeling I have when I turn the bowl and stem over in my hands even before I start working on the pipe. There is some almost electric about handling and working on a pipe designed and carved by Preben Holm.
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