Smooth Bent Apple with Mammoth Tobacco Pipe

Tine Balleby wasn't initially sure that she wanted to follow in the footsteps of her father, Kurt, and become a pipe maker. He encouraged her to at least give it a try, though, and eventually, Tine fell in love with the craft. Her father has been an invaluable help in forming her own style, but Tine has also drawn inspiration from Bo Nordh in her shaping and she is constantly finding inspiration in the works of other artisans. Attention to detail is a particular trait that elevates her work, and she uses a wide variety of materials as accents to take her pieces beyond mere briar and vulcanite.

This bent Apple of Tine's, for instance, uses mammoth shaped into a rounded, concave triangle as an accent at the end of an unbelievably handsome shank, on which the flame grain manages to stand remarkably straight at every juncture of the round arc of the briar. Tight flame grain decorates the top of the bowl, with a transition to birdseye on the underside. Birdseye further decorates the underside of the shank, the ridgelines of which denote the heel. The bowl is very round for an Apple and topped with a deflated rim ringed with birdseye, stained — as is the entire stummel — a rich mahogany and finished with a high gloss. The shank is finished with the aforementioned mammoth accent before a short, bent vulcanite stem finishes the piece. Tine's use of color through the rich stain is a grand example of her expertise, but the intense attention she gave to shaping the shank and bowl of this pipe is what truly sets it apart.