Bill Shalosky: Sandblasted Bent Apple with Mammoth (530) Tobacco Pipe

Bill Shalosky is quite the talented pipe maker, and with his background in Fine Arts and experience in woodworking, this is no surprise. He began his journey into the world of pipe making at the Smoker's Haven workshop where he repaired and restore pipes, and also crafted the shop's handmade pieces. In addition to this, he worked alongside Premal Chheda to make Chheda pipes, this early introduction to high quality artisan work formative to his later making, and the experience it afforded him a deciding factor in him being taken in by BriarWorks, joining their team of pipe makers in 2015, a position he still holds while also fashioning handmade pipes such as this demurely bent Apple.

The bent Apple is a shape that's defined by its curves, and such design cues are something Shalosky understands quite well, as this piece features a degree of gentle, easy-flowing line work that accentuates the supple plumpness of the bowl. A low-set waistline ensures that this plumpness is distributed to the hand in just the right way, bowing out the sides of the bowl so that the taper to the rim is smooth, even, and gradual. The shank arcs out in a sweeping curve that places its end near to the rim, taking its time to get there so that the undercurve of this piece is consistent and allows for the heel to lift more readily, further placing prominence on the bowl. A band of mammoth bone adorns the shank end, contrasting the dark sandblast that dresses the stummel and leading to an expansion ring-bedecked cumberland saddle stem which is given its own slight arc. The cross grain orientation of the stummel showcases blasted birdseye on both flanks of the bowl with growth rings climbing up the fore and aft ends, the palette here reserved and elegant, matching this pipe quite well and sure to make it a favored smoker in any rotation.