Above can be seen the entire set of components in this first Pfeifenigma - the 2006 Halloween pipe, the story printed off on high-quality parchment paper, and the original watercolor painting.  The tamper prize can also be seen, but note that this does NOT include my wonderful humidor of chopped Cob Plug!

The Pfeifenigma #1 set (Halloween pipe, story, and watercolor painting) is currently  SOLD Selling price is  1500 € for the complete package.

This year's Halloween pipe, the "Korrigan" (It's real name, of course, won't be known until someone solves the riddles) is very much a throwback to some of my earlier pipes.  For instance, I didn't use my customary bowl pre-carbonizing, but instead finished the bowl interior as glossy smooth as I did all of my pipes in the late nineties - the grain of the chamber interior is very visible and it's every bit as beautiful as the exterior of the pipe! Note that most of these photos are clickable - click them to see a larger, more detailed version.

The pipe features a hand-cut horn stem with beautiful graining, and (as seen) will balance perfectly on its rounded base!  Just be careful not to rock it... Functionally, it draws easily, passes a pipecleaner with no problem, and benefits from a perfectly-centered airhole.  The entire pipe weighs 66 grams, and it is 17 cm long from the tip of the front point to the bit.  The chamber itself is probably group 4-5 in size, and is 4 cm deep.

The pipe is unstained and showcases a beautiful display of bird's-eye across both sides, with the form of the pipe curving with the grain in a sort of cross between my typical "curled tail" pipes and a flat-paneled blowfish, keeping the sides as broad and expansive as possible for grain viewing.  The bird's-eye is quite tight - so tight, in fact, that it's difficult to see well without stain to enhance it, but the contrast should improve markedly as the pipe darkens with smoking.

Of course, being briar, it isn't absolutely perfect - a close examination will reveal a tiny speck here and there, but nothing that should disturb anyone, and the wood was far too beautiful to disguise its small deficits with staining.  Personally, I think it will be a fantastic smoker - It's cut from some extremely old briar that's had decades to dry and I've also applied a light oil treatment to the bowl to enrich the flavors of tobacco.  Given the smoothness of the chamber interior, building a cake will probably be a slow process, so smoke carefully during break-in.   Finally, here is a photo of the story pages that accompany the pipe (The watercolor drawing can be seen elsewhere, over on the Story & Riddle page.