Ben Wade Danish Pride Partially Sandblasted Freehand Estate Briar Pipe, Danish Estates

Description

While Ben Wade was a historic British pipe brand, for a time during the 1970s, production of Ben Wade pipes was contracted out to one of Danish pipe-making’s superstars: Preben Holm. Though he would tragically pass away at the age of 42, Holm was one of the pioneering figures in the ‘Danish design’ movement in 20th century pipe-making, a movement that still dominates the high-grade pipe scene. By hand-shaping his pipes on a belt sander, Holm was able to make the most of the patterns of grain hidden within briar, creating spectacular works of pipe art that looked just as good as they smoked. Owing to Holm’s untimely passing, his pipes are even more highly sought after than they were during his lifetime.

This particular Ben Wade is an interesting pipe for a number of reasons. One is its mixed finish, bringing out both craggy ring grain and smooth straight grain; the other is that the pipe could be said to be a distinctly Danish, freehand rendition of the more traditional Oom Paul, or Hungarian, shape.

The condition is great. There’s a little bit of rim darkening, but nothing major.

 

Details:

Length: 5.7″ / 144.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.87 / 22.09mm

Bowl Depth: 1.7″ / 43.18mm

Weight: 2.0oz / 58g