Scott Thile: Partially Sandblasted Bent Apple with Ivorite (FH) (451) Tobacco Pipe

In addition to being a musician and a piano tuner, Scott Thile is also a talented American carver that taught himself how to fashion pipes by studying the work of artisans like Todd Johnson and Adam Davidson. Though mostly self taught, Thile has been smoking pipes since the age of 16, so it's a hobby and fascination that has been ingrained in the fabric of his life for many years. He describes his style as being influenced by "The Danish neoclassics as interpreted by the North American greats," and that makes sense when considering the bent Apple presented here.

Thile certainly has a penchant for muscular, organic forms, and while this piece is more svelte and flowing of line than some of his other shapes, it still possesses the same gracile proportions and soft, Danish-inspired features that tend to show up in his work. This piece pairs a pert, neatly rounded bowl to curling paneled shank and an arcing vulcanite mouthpiece. The facets of the shank provide a sense of structural soundness to the design, but they are softened subtly at the edges to harmonize more with the rotund aspects of the bowl. The domed base of the stem is a design cue that Thile often employs, and in this composition, it perfectly mirrors the bowl and draws attention to the Ivorite accent along the shank end. The stummel wears a dual finish, with the bowl dressed in an earthy sandblast and the shank left smooth and stained a lighter color for contrast.