Brad Pohlmann: Smooth Bent Apple Tobacco Pipe

The history of American artisan pipe making can be divided into two distinct eras: The first, in the '70s and '80s, drew much from Italian aesthetics, as well as the Danish Fancy style, creating pipes of often bold, dramatic proportions and others with more wild, Freehand aspects. The second, in the late '90s and continuing today, brought Danish and Japanese artisan inspiration and techniques, expanding the œuvre with refined classics and intricate, avant-garde renditions. Brad Pohlmann is one of the few carvers to exist in both eras of American artisan pipe making, and his style has mirrored the trajectory of that stylistic history. His pipe-making origins began in the '70s, but Pohlmann took a hiatus until the early 2000s to pursue a career in the computer industry. Since then, though, he's established himself as among the most renowned artisan pipe makers in North America, producing work sought the world over and celebrated not only for its distinctive aesthetic bent but also its premium craftsmanship and unparalleled engineering.

This bent Apple is a typical rendition from Pohlmann, simple and reserved in its appeal yet incredibly precise and aesthetically balanced in its execution. Many of Pohlmann's bent Apple and Tomato designs excel in their use of visual momentum, every line of the piece urging forward. In this particular pipe, that dynamism is realized through the combination of bent shank and stem and a lifted heel that pitches the bowl slightly forward. Such a design cue creates a shape that's substantial in hand and quite muscular but, at the same time, displays a sleek and aerodynamic persona. This sleekness is furthered by Pohlmann's choice for an oval shank and a slanted stem base that matches the forward angle of the bowl. With beautiful grain to match the exemplary shaping, the stummel features vertical grain aligning with the stem's curvature and rounded flame grain to match the bowl's edges.