Pipeau or Mini-pipe

This pipe was inspired by Rich.  He made himself a little pipe half the size of his pinky out of a leftover piece of maple for traveling and sneak-toking, and named it 'Pipo' (French word for a type of small flute) but his was so small it was near impossible to use without losing a few nose hairs to the flame, so I built a small pipe with the 'Sneak-Toke' aspect while trying to remain usable.

This piece is carved out of a tiny piece of maple that was quickly carved down to a cylindrical shape more typical of a pipe, and the bowl was carved as a classic tobacco pipe style.  Sadly, the bowl was drilled a little too wide, and not much was left to work with, making it very thin, which causes over-heating when used for too long without breaks.  The advantage of Maple over other types of fruitier woods (such as Cherry wood or Apple tree) is that the grain is much denser, which makes it harder to burn.  With such qualities, I felt lucky that I decided to make this piece out of Maple, since the bowl turned out so thin.  Had I used another type of softer wood, this pipe would've probably been discarded, being unusable.  

Like the majority of my pipes so far, this one is also finished in Tung oil with a hand rub finish.  This one has 3 coats but doesn't shine that much, but who would want a Sneak Pipe that shines?  This is really made with the purpose of being hidden and smoking in a non-smoking environment, such as a concert or just outside a bar.