Lasse Skovgaard: Smooth Bent Apple Tobacco Pipe

Lasse Skovgaard was born into the pipe world. The son of legendary carver Benni Jørgensen, Skovgaard began his journey into the world of artisan pipes at the age of 16, crafting buffalo horn tampers for W.Ø. Larsen and carving his first few pipes in his spare time. After much practice and around 100 more pipes, he was hired to carve Larsen's two-tone and select grades and, a year later at age 19, was promoted to carving the marque's renowned Straight Grain pieces. After being encouraged by family friend Teddy Knudsen, Lasse took 12 pipes he had carved himself to the 2004 Chicago Pipe Show and sold every single piece, setting the stage for the next year where he once more sold out his stock of 75 pipes. Since then, Skovgaard has gained a reputation for his excellent workmanship, the latest example of which is this bent Apple.

There's an easy fluidity through the entirety of this pipe's outline that I really enjoy, and I find that it works wonderfully with the soft, supple shaping that's both inherent to the Apple shape and magnified by Skovgaard's carving. The stem is a gently downturned saddle affair that features a rearward-slanting base, the base itself flaring out of a consistent taper that possesses the shank from the transition. Said shank takes on a demure upward arc as it pushes out of the transition, and the silhouette that it creates when paired with the stem is simply alluring. Skovgaard utilizes a technique in a lot of his works that I see in this pipe, one that I appreciate quite a bit and have taken to calling "cradling": A shaping element that involves a thick transition continuing through the underside of the bowl, as if it were cradling the bowl. This adds visual separation between the two components and allows for the bowl to more fully display its curves, letting the flanks stand independently and pushing the bowl skyward and into prominence. The curves here are particularly nice, with plenty of rounded edges for the fingers to appreciate, and the rim's dip at the fore and aft enables the lines of these curves to continue in profile, further magnifying their presence. A vibrant auburn stain dresses the stummel here, showcasing a wrapping band of flame grain that runs from one flank of the briar around to the other, while the underside is rich with peppered birdseye.