Ben Wade Amber 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 Ben Wade, from our consignment program, shows off one of the hallmarks of Preben Holm’s approach to freehands: mixed finishes. When ‘chasing the grain,’ i.e., following the natural patterns of the briar during shaping, as Holm did, one will often find that there are parts of the stummel that would look best if left smooth polished, and other parts that would look best sandblasted. As seen here, vertical grain patterns, such as straight grain and flame grain, can be expressed beautifully through freehand shaping, and so they are on full display with a smooth finish; ring grain patterns, on the other hand, provide a decidedly craggy appearance when blasted. Freehand shaping is a conversation, after all. Sometimes the briar knows best.

The condition is good. There are a few handling marks, and the rim shows signs of darkening, but these are superficial imperfections that won’t affect the smoke in the slightest.

Details:

Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm

Bowl Width: 1.01 / 25.65mm

Bowl Depth: 0.61″ / 15.49mm

Weight: 2.6oz / 74g