The Apple Family

The Apple family is the collective name for a group of classic shapes in the pipe repertoire that share a corner-free, rounded bowl. Apple sits at the family's core; Tomato, Egg, Acorn, and Brandy are all considered variations on the same soft silhouette, stretched and compressed in different proportions. What sets the family members apart, then, isn't ornamentation on the bowl but the ratio between its height and its width.

The Shared Form Logic

In the Apple family the bowl swells slightly toward the rim and narrows again as it approaches the base. There's no flat edge or sharp transition, and the join between bowl and shank is usually kept rounded as well. This geometry, unlike cylindrical-bowled shapes such as Billiard, leaves a spherical gripping surface in the hand. The fact that the bowl wall can stay relatively thick is also one of the reasons the family is chosen so often; in general shape classifications, the Apple family is accordingly discussed under the "round group" heading. For detailed terminology, see the pipe anatomy entry.

The family is made in both straight and bent bodies. In bent versions, the continuity the bowl forms with the curved shank is often preferred because it emphasizes the family's soft line.