WO Larsen Straight Grain 7 Smooth Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

WO Larsen was a world-renowned tobacconist in Copenhagen Denmark and a major player in modern pipe history. 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.

While even the “average” WO Larsen pipe embodied a rare excellence in pipe design and handicraft, the pinnacle of the workshop’s output were its Straight Grain and Birdseye grades. These were pipes made, from beginning to end, by the hands of WO Larsen’s highest ranking artisans at any given time, such as Sven Knudsen, Former, Tonni Nielsen, Teddy Knudsen, or Benni Jorgensen, and were priced accordingly. Unlike most other WO Larsen pipes, these were also graded, typically on an ascending 1-10 scale, with the only higher accolade being the mythical “Pearl” grade. This one is a very respectable (and very beautiful) grade 7, taking the form of a freehand Danish Dublin of sorts. Estimating who made a WO Larsen pipe is not an easy task, though if I had to guess, the use of asymmetry on this one reminds me most strongly of Tonni Nielsen’s work.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. It also comes with its original sleeve.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.93 / 23.62mm

Bowl Depth: 1.28″ / 32.51mm

Weight: 1.5oz / 44g