Scott Thile: Sandblasted Bent Apple with Ivorite (FH) (449) Tobacco Pipe

Scott Thile is a talented musician and piano tuner, and the father of Chris Thile, who is widely recognized as one of the best mandolin players in the world. An autodidactic learner and woodworker, Scott taught himself how to make pipes by studying American artisans like Todd Johnson and Adam Davidson, and progressed very quickly. He now makes his own artisan pipes, in what he describes as a Danish neoclassic style as interpreted by North American greats.

Starting in 2015, our American Pipe Making Exposition has been an annual tradition hosted by Smokingpipes, showcasing the work of U.S.-based artisan carvers, with a specific theme each year. For 2021, 2017's theme is revived, focusing on the incorporation of accent stems. Thile's contribution is a fine entry, with accents of pearlescent Ivorite gracing both the shank end and the stem base for a unified adornment comprising both angular facets and curvaceous line work.

The overarching design is a bent Apple, with a quite plump bowl perched on an upswept shank with gently inflated panels. The chamber is canted inside the bowl, placing an emphasis on insulating walls around the fore and heel, with rather crisply defined cheeking at the sides of the transition and a discretely reaching aft aspect of the bowl. The slightly expanded section at the bowl's near side informs the angle of the shank face, evoking a sense of unity, and the Ivorite at the shank end replicates the inflated paneling of the shank perfectly. Scott has employed a smoldering contrast stain and low-profile sandblast to accentuate the briar's grain, with tight growth rings climbing the bowl and shank sides. A delrin tenon joins the stem to the stummel, nestled inside a sleek taper of cumberland stem, with an elegant expansion ring of Ivorite and a hand-funneled lip button completing the arrangement. A fine piece with plenty for the eye and fingertips to admire, this pipe will make an excellent addition to any distinguished pipe collection.