Sandblasted Strawberry Wood Bent Apple (Four Clubs) Tobacco Pipe

Frederico Becker vacillates between two general iterations of the bent Apple. One is more akin to the traditional form, while the other, seen here, features a high-set transition and wasp-waisted shank. The result makes for a piece that's Acorn-esque. A portion of the heel has been flattened here for the nomenclature panel, creating a slight point at the bottom, reminiscent of a heel spur. The rest of the bowl is very much an Apple, though, filling the palm effortlessly with its consistently rounded form. Out back, the shank and stem curl from out of the defined transition, the shank flaring toward the stem base for a touch of whimsy to match the playful S-curve. Though the virgin sandblast is something we've seen often from Frederico, here it's been finished on Strawberry wood, the medium's characteristically wild grain flowing in a unique, eye-catching design to contrast the cumberland stem's more consistent, striated pattern.