Becker: Sandblasted Morta Apple Tobacco Pipe

A bold Apple with low waistline for a look that lends most of the visual weight to the base, this is a charming straight Apple from Frederico Becker. Morta is a wonderful material, and here the criss-crossing lines of the tight grain are particularly highlighted by the sandblast. We see again the forward-jutting heel that Becker so often favors us with, and the pipe has a flattened ridge along the bottom. It isn't enough to make it a firm sitter, but it will stay upright, while rocking a bit. It's a muscular little pipe, just over 4 and a half inches long, and seems to carry a gravitas unfound in more lithe pipes. The short taper stem, deeply black, is the perfect complement to the black stummel, especially considering the dividing fitment of what appears to be a double boxwood ring. Natural in hand, light, short and beautiful, it's ready for its maiden voyage.