WO Larsen Super 28 Smooth Billiard 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.

Though WO Larsen had a far looser approach to designs than, say, an English factory, there were nonetheless a set of numbered shapes for customers to pick from, subject to availability. The “28” was a very 1950s/early 1960s design, being relatively traditional while also having novel features that distinguished it from Anglo-French standards. Like many Danish pipes of its time, this “28” is an eminently light and slender re-interpretation of a classic shape—in this instance, a bent billiard—with a distinctly long, half-saddle vulcanite stem. Though I have encountered this particular WO Larsen shape a couple of times before, in my experience it is nonetheless a very uncommon one.

The condition is good. Some wear to the rim and slight handling marks.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.76 / 19.30mm

Bowl Depth: 1.42″ / 36.06mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 40g