Design Berlin Rugen Green 9mm Bent Rhodesian 85045B

• Overall Length: 142mm
• Overall Height: 47mm
• Bowl Height: 47mm
• Bowl Diameter: 38mm
• Bore: 19mm
• Weight: 38g
• Filter: 9mm

Design Berlin Rügen Green 9mm Bent Rhodesian 85045B There's a certain pleasure in seeing an old pipe shape given a new coat of paint. The Rhodesian has been around for generations, and it's a shape I've always had a soft spot for. A good, rounded bowl, a couple of neatly cut lines around the top and a character all of its own.

The Design Berlin Rügen Green 85045B takes that familiar design and dresses it in a particularly handsome emerald-green finish. The briar has been polished to a fine sheen, with darker grain showing through the green stain. Look closely and you'll find some lovely variations in the wood, especially around the lower bowl where the grain follows its rounded contours.

What identifies this as a Rhodesian is the bowl itself. Rather than the upright cylinder of a Billiard, it has a fuller, rounded body that tapers towards the rim, with two decorative grooves encircling the upper section. It's a distinctive shape, and one that's been popular among pipe smokers for well over a century.

The shank sweeps gently upwards into a curved black mouthpiece, separated by a narrow silver-coloured ring. A small gold DB emblem sits on the stem, providing a neat contrast against the black.

Design Berlin is a German pipe manufacturer, originally established in Berlin and now producing its pipes in Schweina, Thuringia. The Rügen collection takes its name from Germany's largest island, situated in the Baltic Sea.

This particular model accepts 9mm filters, a familiar feature of German pipe making. I rather like the combination of the traditional Rhodesian shape and that striking green finish. There's enough colour to make it stand out in a pipe rack, while the shape itself has all the familiar appeal of a classic briar.