Lasse Skovgaard: Smooth Bent Acorn Tobacco Pipe

A sleek Acorn from Danish artisan pipe maker Lasse Skovgaard, this pipe offers a sinuous profile and the softened, gestural shaping cues often present in Skovgaard's work. A second-generation pipe maker, Lasse is the son of Benni Jørgensen and polished his craft working alongside Teddy Knudsen in the W.Ø. Larsen workshop. He now produces fine pipes under his own name with an organic style all his own, a portfolio of which this Acorn is a fine example.

The bowl here flares generously, with the Acorn's rounded top compressed a bit, the rim displaying a near continuous curve as it comes around to a softly chamfered rim. The transition is slightly pinched, especially when viewed aerially, and offers a bit of cheeking at the bowl's base, the shank curving elegantly downward before gliding back up to a flare at the stem junction. A hand-cut vulcanite stem starts with a rather broad base that then flares into a firm expansion ring, tapering swiftly to a demurely curved bit that's poised for comfortable smoking. A warm, smooth, auburn-hued finish allows the grain to singx, and Lasse has shaped the briar expertly to it so we can see clear, beautiful notes of flame grain on the flanks and birdseye packing the rim.