Werner Mummert: Sandblasted Bent Apple Tobacco Pipe

Another sublime sandblast from inventive German pipe artisan Werner Mummert, this bent Apple takes on a more compact, lightweight form than some of his larger renditions, coming in at a pocket-friendly five inches in length. I don't know who could bear to hide a Mummert pipe in their pocket, though, certainly not me, and this crisply rendered fellow certainly deserves to be seen. The bowl is low-slung and tapered, with a subtle ridgeline demarcating its lifted heel, and displays charming cheeking at the transition, while the upturned shank flares gently to meld with the base of the stem.

A lively auburn stain dresses its ultra-craggy sandblasted finish, accentuating growth rings that radiate from the heel in a triumph of natural uniformity and texture. The stimulating finish is contrasted by the sleek smoothness of a dramatic fishtail stem, but unified in coloration with the lively brindled vulcanite pattern commending the meticulously crafted mouthpiece.