American Estates: Jerry Crawford Partially Sandblasted Apple with Horn Tobacco Pipe

Based in southern Oregon, American artisan Jerry Crawford has been crafting pipes for over a decade, creating pieces with a distinctive style that favors rounded edges and supple curves, something reflected by this Apple. The transition is wide, with plenty of room to drape a digit, and it gives way to a short shank that tapers gently to meet a broad fitment of genuine horn that nicely envelops the junction: its hollowed face allowing the black vulcanite stem to nestle into the horn very slightly. The aft side of this pipe is quite sleek, especially in comparison to the bowl, something that draws the eye to the fore and to said bowl's impressively rotund outline. Comprising a wide arc from the underside, the heel supports the bowl as it grows stout, broad walls that flare out to a low-set waist situated almost directly at the transition. Admirably insulating the chamber, these walls make a comfortable arc to the domed rim, canting forward to imbue the composition with a sense of dynamism. Dressed in a warm tanblast, the stummel showcases rippling bands of growth rings flowing down the bowl, its palette nicely complemented by the horn accent.