Do you have a friend that is almost like a brother or sister to you? And isn’t it true that siblings often compete with one another? I guess it’s no surprise that Dustin and I, who call each other “brother”, are a tad competitive with our pipes. Both of us are collectors and we have very similar tastes: American artisans, Russian pipes, reverse and regular calabashes.

Maybe it was this competitiveness that spurred me into action upon seeing one of Dustin’s recent acquisitions, or maybe it was just a phenomenal pipe by a phenomenal artist.

I remember quite clearly that it was a Wednesday evening when I was scrolling through Facebook on my phone, waiting for Lauren to get done writing a paper. Suddenly, a bizarre calabash popped across my screen: enormous of proportions, distinctive wood choice for the bowl, fantastic bamboo, beautiful sanding.

I instantly pulled up the artisan’s number on my phone and sent him a text message.

“Hey, Steve. I know it’s probably pointless, but is that calabash available?”

Mr. Liskey quickly replied, “Sorry, dude. That one is going to Dustin. ”

Of course! My old adversary, Big D. Babitzke, had struck again! Quickly, I made my move:

“Think you can make its twin?”

“Yeah! We can even do a few things to outdo Dustin’s!”

Well, Big D., prepare to meet your match!

The pipe that Steve Liskey created as the twin to Dustin’s “ice cream cone calabash” takes the calabash system to a level that has been experimented with by only a few people. I recently wrote a piece all about reverse calabashes, a technique that is growing in popularity because of its cool and tasty smoke. The regular calabash system has been around for much longer and delivers similar – though, I would argue, slightly lesser – results.

Dustin’s ice cream cone is a conventional calabash with an enormous frontal expansion chamber. What arrived in the post for me, however, truly lived up to Steve’s promise. Not only does this piece feature the conventional frontal calabash system, adorned with a fashionable cap of spalted tamarind, but the rear area has also been hallowed out, making this pipe both a traditional and reverse calabash: a double calabash.

I know that few people have messed around with this concept, but it hasn’t really caught on as of yet. However, I see no reason why a double calabash should not deliver increased results. Let’s look at the reasons behind the success of the calabash. A conventional calabash features a front chamber where the smoke can expand, mix, and, most importantly, cool before traveling to the mouth. The reverse calabash system does the same thing, just closer to the stem of the pipe. Theoretically, a double calabash should cool the smoke in the front (like a conventional calabash) and then further cool the smoke in the rear (like a reverse calabash), allowing for the coolest, driest possible smoke. And let me tell you, this pipe smokes like a dream: low maintenance, flavorful, cool, dry…perfect.

Another upside of this system is that is damned near impossible for any dottle to make it to the stem. If it somehow made it through the front system, it would surely be caught in the rear. That means one should never have to fear smoking a bowl down to the very bottom, even before the pipe is broken in.

With the recent explosion of reverse calabash pipes, from artisans to factories, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see this type of experimentation start to flourish. People often think that something as old as the pipe has been perfected already. Surely Einstein, Twain, and Russell couldn’t have been wrong. Well, they might not have been wrong, but they might not have been perfect. The reverse calabash is proof of that.

I am inspired to see young artisans continue to push the boundaries of the pipe, from engineering to shaping. Much like in nature, when an organism is threatened with extinction, it evolves or it dies. Though the pipe is no longer as close to extinction as it once was, it is still an endangered species. With no pipe-zoos to keep it thriving and protected, we must rely on evolution. Thank you, Steve, for pushing us one step further away from going extinct and one closer to flourishing once more.

It’s everywhere now, though it started off as a rarity: reverse calabashes.

I remember seeing my first reverse calabash: a bee by Michail Revyagin, one of the forerunners of the design. It was bizarre in appearance, but somehow entrancing at the same time. Then I read the description and saw a term that I hadn’t seen before – reverse calabash. What the heck is that?

Well, I knew what a calabash was, aside from the shape. Strictly speaking, a calabash is a vine which produces a remarkable fruit. This can be harvested young and eaten, or it can be aged and dried and used as a utensil or even a pipe.

When turned into a pipe, it is hollowed out and fitted with a bowl insert, typically meerschaum. What makes the calabash so remarkable is the empty space between the bowl and the stem. There is a large, hollow space where the smoke travels before passing through the stem. This space is called an expansion chamber and allows the smoke to cool, an effect that many believe enhances the flavor and experience of the smoke.

So, that’s a calabash. What’s a reverse calabash? I’m glad you asked!

It takes the principle of the calabash – ie. Having a built in expansion chamber – and simply moves the chamber towards the back of the pipe, immediately in front of the bit and stem. Thus, the smoke is still cooled without the restriction of designing a pipe fitted with a removable bowl. As Rolando Negoita says on his website, “This is the new generation of pipes… I have engineered these pipes so that the smoke from the tobacco chamber will pass through the cooling chamber in the shank before being delivered to the stem. In addition to cooling, this chamber will act to decant and filter the smoke as well.”

Rick Newcombe is a popular figure in the world of pipe-writings. One of his claims-to-fame is his contention that widening up the air-flow will increase the enjoyment of one’s smoke. Rick encourages opening it a couple of millimeters; a reverse calabash design takes that to much greater magnitudes.

Now that you know what it is, let’s dig a little deeper into why exactly this style has exploded in popularity. And it has. Over two years ago, a well-known blogger predicted that this design would spark great interest in the pipe world. I cannot describe how right he was.

It used to be that only a few people, such as Rolando Negoita, Michail Revyagin, and Tom Eltang used this technique. Now, however, it’s getting more and more common. To prove this, Radice recently introduced a billiard that features a reverse calabash system. As far as I know, this is the first company with such a large annual production (around 1,200 pipes) to try their hand at a reverse calabash in such numbers.

In terms of why they’re growing in popularity, a reverse calabash allows for more variety in terms of aesthetics than does a typical calabash. You can tell this simply by looking at the great conglomeration of pipes pictured in this piece. With that freedom that it allows, however, is one difficulty that sometimes proves too much for carvers. In order to put the expansion chamber in the shank, you need a fatter shank than most pipes. To account for this, most artisans avoid the shapes that require a skinny shank, like a Canadian or a Prince. But difficulty breeds invention. Revyagin, for example, created a brand new shape for with the Bee calabash. Negoita and Eltang went with a shape that looks more like a piece of plumbing, but they make it beautiful. The similarity in their design makes sense, as the two are good friends.

Many collectors have flocked to the shape because it delivers the same, high-quality smoke as a true calabash, without the visual restrictions. Let me tell you from first-hand experience, a reverse calabash gives a truly incredible experience, whether it is the bee from Revyagin or the Conducta by Negoita. I have found that the design works well with every type of tobacco, but it is particularly effective with blends that typically burn hot or wet, as the expansion chamber mitigates these effects. For example, straight Virginia blends and Burleys. A reverse calabash helps to emphasize the sweetness of a given blend.

Personally, I see little to no downside to this design. Sure, there are aesthetic difficulties to get around and some shapes will never work with the reverse calabash, without looking bloated. Despite this, I would not be surprised if we still have only seen the tip of the iceberg with this design. I, for one, will be continuing my appreciation of this design and hope to see more and more artisans applying this technique.

If you want to see more beautiful examples of the reverse calabash, check out this story’s incarnation over at www.thebriarportraitgallery.com