WO Larsen Straight Grain Pearl Smooth Brandy Estate Briar Pipe, Danish Estates

Description

WO Larsen was a tobacconist in Copenhagen Denmark. In the 1960s, when Danish-style pipes were becoming highly sought after, thanks to revolutionary pipe-makers such as Sixten Ivarsson, a workshop was set up on the Larsen premises to produce enough high-grade Danish pipes to meet demand. This workshop was staffed by the emerging masters of Danish pipe-making, such as Sven and Teddy Knudsen, Hans “Former” Nielsen, Jess Chonowitsch, Poul Ilsted, and Benni Jorgensen.

This is one of WO Larsen’s famed “Straight Grain” pipes, the highest-grade and priciest pipes the workshop produced. But it doesn’t have a grade letter or number stamped on the shank. Instead, it has a stamp of someone sitting in an armchair – or, their silhouette at least – puffing away at their trusty pipe. This is the pipe’s grade, but, somewhat counter-intuitively, this does not make the pipe a “chair” grade. Instead, this was the stamp of the mythical WO Larsen Straight Grain “Pearl.” While Straight Grains were typically graded from 1 to 10, the Pearl was a step above even the latter, representing the workshop’s crowning achievements. These pipes were mostly made by Tonni Nielsen and Teddy Knudsen, though judging by the style and construction of this one, I would estimate it to be a Teddy. It’s a beautiful, slightly reserved brandy, with exactly the kind of angel hair patterns to be expected from a Straight Grain of this stature.

The condition is great. Some slight finish fading on the rim and a couple of minute scratches on the bowl.

 

Details:

Length: 5.5″ / 139.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.90 / 22.86mm

Bowl Depth: 1.55″ / 39.37mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 60g