Lv Zelong: Sandblasted Bent Apple with Boxwood Tobacco Pipe

With over a decade of pipe-making experience to his name, Lv Zelong honed his craft under the guidance of respected artisans Ping Zhan and Lan Zhenjun, and today his work is well regarded for its artful shaping, tasteful accent work, and reliable engineering. Much of Zelong's portfolio draws inspiration from iconic Danish artisans merged with the Chinese carver's own creativity and aesthetic vision — all supported by his sterling craftsmanship and remarkable finishes.

A compact design overall, this bent Apple stretches just barely beyond five inches in length, offering pocket-pipe size but with a substantial presence in hand and generous chamber capacity. Wonderfully balanced, the bowl is perched on the end of a slender transition, while the shank flares and curls upward behind it. The shank's flaring end balances the bowl's visual weight in profile and is accented by a wedding band of boxwood before transitioning into the hand-cut saddle stem, whose gentle recurve perfectly matches the curve of the shank. Most striking, the vivid contrast-stained sandblast offers rich orange and mahogany hues, calling to mind the signature finish of Vladimir Grechukhin, and highlighting handsome grain that beautifully follows the shank's curve and covers the robust bowl.