Lasse Skovgaard: Sandblasted Bent Dublin with Antler and Horn Tobacco Pipe

Lasse Skovgaard comes from a pipe-making pedigree, as his father is accomplished Danish artisan Benni Jørgensen, and as such has continued in his father's footsteps. At the age of 16 Skovgaard got his start in the pipe world at the W.Ø. Larsen factory making horn tampers, later moving on to craft their select grade pipes at age 18 before rising to carve the storied marque's straight grain pieces at 19 years old. During a meeting with family friend and legendary artisan Teddy Knudsen, Lasse was convinced to bring a selection of his own pipes with him to the 2004 Chicago Pipe show, selling his entire stock of 12. The next year he returned with 75 pieces bearing his name and, once again, completely sold out, after which he devoted himself to honing his craft with his own work, creating pipes of his own distinct style, pipes which are now highly regarded around the world.

While Skovgaard is no stranger to organic, whimsical design, this bent Dublin, to me, is the pinnacle of said shaping principle, toeing the line between fancy Freehand and Danish organicism. The shank and stem are sharply arced upward, the latter fitted with a single expansion ring at the junction between bit and base, mirroring an accent of domed horn at the shank end that tapers into a ring of antler before meeting briar. The shank itself is trim and curves into a wide, parabolic transition that rises at the aft side of the bowl to the zenith of the rim. The bowl is possessed of a distinct heel spur, thanks to the slightly higher placement of the transition, and at flares dramatically from this focused point to just under the rim. Personally I believe that the rim alone is worth an entire paragraph itself, as it is one of the most distinctive, singular rim shapes I have ever seen, pairing a firm, Calabash-esque dome with wavering undulations and asymmetrical shaping. The rear of the rim, as previously mentioned, lifts quite a bit, placing its edge above the horn accent along the shank end, while the fore dips at its edge, in line with the left flank. There is an incredible amount of style and sheer talent on display here, and the color palette offered by the inky sandblast is starkly and handsomely contrasted by the smooth chamfer of the rim, the smooth nomenclature panel, and the pale antler accent.