Lasse Skovgaard: Sandblasted Bent Dublin with Horn Tobacco Pipe

As the son of famed Danish artisan Benni Jørgensen, Lasse Skovgaard was particularly suited to take on the craft of pipe making. At the age of 16, Skovgaard started working at the prestigious W.Ø. Larsen workshop, where he made tampers and practiced his carving skills. After a couple of years, Skovgaard honed his talents enough to began carving pipes for Larsen, and by the age of 19, he was fashioning the workshop's coveted Straight Grain pieces. As his skills improved, Skovgaard was encouraged by Teddy Knudsen to fashion and sell pipes under his own name. Skovgaard took a small selection of his work to the Chicago Pipe show, and when he sold out two years in a row, he decided to become a full-time artisan pipe maker.

This bent Dublin is a fetching showcase of Skovgaard's shaping skills and finishing work. Tall and slender, the bowl here flares from a rounded, sharply defined heel to a broad rim. The bowl's rigid posture is contrasted by the curvaceous shank-and-stem arrangement that flows out of the low-set transition. A mount of creamy horn extends the shank and flares toward the arching saddle stem, its outward expanse mirroring the bowl's upward flare. An earthy sandblast dresses the stummel and brings vivid definition to the briar's natural grain, save for the rim and a trim band around the shank, which are both smoothly polished and stained a lighter hue for contrast.