Sandblasted Bent Apple with Mammoth Tobacco Pipe

Chinese artisan Lan Zhenjun started his career in graphic design but eventually left the field to be a full-time pipe maker. He takes particular inspiration from Danish masters of the craft, including Bo Nordh and Jorn Micke, but has also worked with a wide array of Chinese artisans, including Ping Zhan, Sam Cui, and Li Zhesong.

The bowl of this bent Apple from Lan is rather round for a typical Apple, the fore drawn with an essentially unbroken arc reaching all the way back to the junction between stem and shank. The aft is well-rounded, as well, arcing downward into the top of the muscular shank, which flares lightly outward before meeting with a white ring of mammoth that serves as an accent at the junction. Lan sandblasted to the stummel to offer a wavy touch to the briar without overwhelming the grain, which is stained a dark mahogany for an elegant appearance. The stem is vulcanite, tapering back from a dome of the same material above the accent and bending back to finish the piece at a final length of 5.6 inches. Imagined, designed, and executed with great attention to detail and color, Lan's work is sure to be appreciated by fans of Chinese and Danish pipe making alike.