Lasse Skovgaard: Sandblasted Bent Apple Tobacco Pipe

Lasse Skovgaard's formal foray into pipe making, like so many of his Danish peers, began when he worked for W.Ø. Larsen, the venerated Copenhagen workshop where fellow artisans have either worked or for which they've designed. Also, he benefited from Benni Jørgensen's teachings, the acclaimed artisan also being his dad. Lasse went into business for himself as a pipe artisan in 2004 and has been making fine Danish pipes since.

An organic take on the bent Apple, this piece presents a charmingly plump, forward-canting and bulbous bowl that displays supple curves and a quite subtle taper to its rim. Voluptuous in hand and with cheeking at the transition, the bowl is perched at the end of a sweeping, gestural, and lifting shank, the lines of which extend through mid-heel. It's topped by a vulcanite stem, its base stylishly angled for further flourishing detail. The stummel is wearing a low-profile, dark Danish sandblast, highlighting handsome growth rings, while the smooth, mahogany-stained rim and band at the shank end lend contrast.