Lasse Skovgaard: Smooth Bent Apple Tobacco Pipe

Pipe making seems to have been Lasse Skovgaard's birthright. As the son of renowned carver Benni Jørgensen, Lasse took to the craft at quite a young age, and by 18, he was carving pipes for the prestigious W.Ø. Larsen workshop in Copenhagen, where he worked alongside, and studied under mentor and family friend Teddy Knudsen. He honed his skills over time and learned the intricacies of the craft, and a year after he began carving for Larsen, he was fashioning their prestigious Straight Grain pipes. By 2004, at the age of 20, Skovgaard was fashioning pipes under his own name, and he quickly established himself among Danish pipe makers. It's perhaps no surprise given his background and training that Skovgaard's work is so steeped in the Danish tradition, with soft curves, flowing lines, and a refined sense of balance found across most of the pipes in his portfolio.

This bent Apple is immediately recognizable as the work of Skovgaard, and not only because it's a shape he returns to frequently. The plump bowl, with its soft, rounded curves and gentle forward cant, are textbook examples of how Skovgaard approaches the shape. The pronounced fore and aft of the chamfered rim, bringing to mind a gaping maw, and the cheeking transition with a distinct ridgeline on one side are also clear expressions of Skovgaard's shaping style. The carver enjoys mixing soft and hard lines, and this piece is not exception. The flaring shank is a reuleaux triangle in cross-section, and it curls gracefully into the arcing saddle stem of jet-black vulcanite for a flowing sense of line out back. The stummel wears a warm, contrast-stained smooth finish that brings life to the sweeping flame grain across either flank of the bowl. A stunning display of craftsmanship, this piece can't help but exude an exuberant charm.