Lasse Skovgaard: Sandblasted Brandy Tobacco Pipe

Though still showcasing plenty of Lasse's signature Danish shaping cues, Skovgaard's straight Brandy shapes are quite different than his bent iterations. Where those bent renditions consistently sport a strong, sweeping silhouette in profile, these straight numbers tend to keep things streamlined, forgoing much of that gesture for a more minimalist, pared down look. Here for example, Lasse's really showcased the plump curvature of the bowl itself — as well as its long, smooth taper up to the rim — by pairing it to an arrow-straight, low-profile oval shank and saddle mouthpiece. This works to shift more visual weight to the bowl itself, which plays out nicely here as Lasse's coaxed a seriously impressive display of ring grain out of this particular block, with well-defined undulating rings rippling up concentrically from base to rim. Beautiful work from Lasse here.

- Andrew Wike