Ropp: Vintage Superior Bent Apple Tobacco Pipe

With its compact proportions and light weight, this bent Apple fits in well with Ropp's portfolio of classic, pocket-friendly designs. The bowl is squat and low-slung in orientation, prioritizing its breadth over height with the short, stout shank echoing the bowl's chubby disposition. Said shank gradually arches upward to the downturned horn stem that was bent using a vintage stem-bending machine from the Chapuis-Comoy pipe museum. Unlike vulcanite and acrylic mouthpiece that require only heat to bend, horn is much more difficult to work with, needing both heat and prolonged pressure to ensure the bent shape holds. It all culminates in a shape that caters to those who prefer easily pocketable shapes or ones that can be clenched effortlessly.

Sourced from old stummels found at the Chapuis-Comoy factory, Ropp's Vintage line presents old-school, classic designs that were turned decades ago but never finished. This Superior piece is commended further, having been fashioned from select-quality, fill-free briar and is here dressed in a smooth, auburn stain. It's fitted with a stem of genuine horn, hearkening back to the style of mouthpieces from the early 1900s and accentuating the vintage motif to make for a thoroughly retro aesthetic.